IN STEREO

Before, the streets were pure earth. In archaeology, it is called ‘strata’: the ‘genealogical’ layers. There was the earth, later the [colonial] cobblestones, [then] cobblestones in the form of a ‘C’. I think that the pavement started from there: first it was in blocks of cement but in the form of hexagon. These are ‘cobblestones’ but they are not colonial. But earlier it was blocks of pure stone, pavers of pure stone. It was amazing. When stone is paved, grass sprouts there next to the stone, which gives that colonial environment. I’ve worked since childhood, since I was very young. These are not musician’s hands, even though I make music with them. There was a programme from the time of [President] Hugo Banzer Suarez, where you made the cobblestones, and they paid you in food.

My grandmother Eugenia, who rests in peace, worked on that. My grandmother, my mom and I would get out cobbling. They were the first pavements, and it was very mind-boggling because before it was pure earth. Then after that, I had my girlfriend who lived in San Pedro. That area is the oldest [part of] town. I used to live in front of the house where [revolutionary leader] Simon Bolivar lived. And after three, four years, when Rene Juaquino [was mayor], he made an agreement with Fancesa [cement company]: “We are going to put in a 10 centimetre pavement.” He had the ambition to earn money but did not have the conception of history. He put pavement on top of all the cobblestones. If we remove all that now, you’re going to find all those stones under the cement. – Lucho