What question did this study set out to answer?

The essay aims to explore the concept of contemporary collectives in El Alto, Bolivia, through historical and cultural lenses.

February 12, 2026

21st-Century Chronicles and Contemporary Collectives from El Alto, Bolivia

Key Points

The essay aims to explore the concept of contemporary collectives in El Alto, Bolivia, through historical and cultural lenses.
Analyzes a 1888 painting to discuss historical tensions between La Paz and El Alto.
Examines chronicles published by Sobras Selectas to illustrate individual and collective identity dynamics.
Interprets Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui's concept of ch'ixi in relation to cultural production.
Highlights foundational political tensions during the 1781–1782 indigenous rebellions.
Identifies a complex interplay between individuality and collectivity in current cultural expressions.
Suggests that the ch'ixi concept effectively frames understanding of cultural production in El Alto.

Abstract

Abstract: In this essay, I make three contributions to the understanding of the contemporary collective as it emerges in and around contemporary El Alto, Bolivia. First, I introduce El Alto and its history through the analysis of a painting from 1888 to explore foundational epistemological and political tensions between La Paz and its outskirts during the 1781–1782 indigenous rebellions. Second, I trace the tension between the individual and the multitude in recent chronicles published by the press Sobras Selectas, led by Alexis Argüello. And third, I offer that Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui's concept of ch'ixi provides a way into understanding the unresolvable interplay between the individual and the multitude that characterizes cultural production in El Alto today.

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