Churches
Museums
Mines Riches
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CERRO RICO (THE RICH HILL).-
En 1545 the family of Diego Huallpa
were taken hostage by the
Spanish. In order to gain their
freedom, Diego was exhorted to
unearth a mineral deposit similar, or
greater, to that in the mines of
Porco. As a result of his search he
discovered and showed to the
Spanish the greatest mineral
deposit in the world, the Cerro Rico
of Potosí (Potojchi).
At first the exploitation of the ore
was based on the mining technology known to the pre-Hispanic and Inca cultures. They
mined pure silver called "rocicler", and exploited the ‘ayllus’, or inhabitants of the
indigenous territories, by means of the imposition of the mita, obligatory work in favour
of the Spanish conquerors.
Thousands of ‘mitayos’ and workers in the mines lost their lives during this exploitation,
filling with their lives each space left by the process of extracting ore from the hill.
At the present time the riches of this mountain seem inexhaustible, and the Cerro Rico
continues to be the main source of resources for Potosí. However, there has not been
a lot of change in the way mining is conducted. The new ‘mitayos’, the miners, continue
extracting the mineral of the hill in inhuman conditions and in permanent risk of their
lives.
The mining co-operatives generate
the principal income of the city, and
the mines feature more than 5,000
mineshafts and 1,000 kilometres of
galleries.
A visit to the mines will always
cause the visitor to feel the
sensation that the miners feel, the
solitude, the abandonment, the
infinite darkness, the presence of
the ancestral divinities who watch
over the life of the mines, the
akulliqu (ritual of the coca), the ch'alla (offering to the Earth Mother), and the fear of
the rancour of El Tio (the diabolic entity who is owner of all riches).
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COOPERATIVE MINES.-
The most ‘attractive’ are the mines of Candelaria, Rosario Bajo, Santa Rosa, Santa
Rita, Santa Rosita and Grito de Piedra. These mines, in which capital investment is
smaller, are particularly interesting with their galleries and narrow and sometimes
humid tunnels. In some mines it is possible to observe methods and working conditions
very similar to those used during the colonial period.
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PAILAVIRI MINE.-
At an altitude of 4200m is the mine which, outside of state-owned mines, counts on the
largest investment for the exploitation of ore. It has 17 work levels, separated by 30
metres between each level. The lowest level reached is at a depth of over 500 metres.
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‘EL TIO’ OF THE MINES.-
In the interior of every mine you will find one or more crude
altar for the mining deity of the deep, "El Tio". At the start
of every work period the miner must greet El Tio in order
to have a successful day. Generally El Tio is represented
in human form with classic diabolic elements. In such
places, the ritual of the Ch’alla is performed; this consists
of offering the image gifts such as coca leaves, alcohol,
cigarettes and, at times, animal sacrifices in order to ask
for protection and material success.
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