IN STEREO

What they did at the Mint: they minted money. Money came out, coins came out, silver coins. In the Mint, as soon as possible our parents told us, they said that face that is there has times it opens, speaks, moves his eyes, his mouth opens. “Speak, try to make yourself understood.” That was what our parents told us back then. So we were always afraid of the Mint. They knew how to make it happen. They told us: “Now he's going to eat you!” And back then, we were fools – there were no televisions, there was nothing. Before, I remember my father said, “I am going to take you to the Mint; I'm going to make it eat you.” We were afraid, because from our imagination, it seemed that it saw us and spoke to us, looked at us with his gaze, having a good look, like that. We have good Potosí stories.

Now they are wanting to take the Mint to La Paz. I have heard in the news they are wanting to take it little by little to La Paz. And those who represent, that’s to say, who manage the Mint, they are not Potosínos. They are from Cochabamba, they are from La Paz, they are from Santa Cruz. They do not know anything about us, about our heritage. They are taking the things of the Mint little by little. It is going to be fatal! Because we are being taken again, they are taking everything away – they’re taking us away. – Doña Carmen