IN STEREO

[On the mine tour], I show them the places where people are working, extracting the minerals. It’s kind of an adventure. We talk with the miners; we take photos, questions, all those things. When I am in the mine, I always tell the tourists, “This is not a theatre or a museum – it’s a real place.” And I show them the real things that are happening. Most of the tourists [expect] to find a huge mine [with] machines; maybe the miners working slow, stopping for a picture. Like a touristic mine. But I tell them this is not like the mines in their countries. Here it’s the real thing. I like trying to go to different places, [like] up where one miner is always drilling in the morning, and going up is slippery, hot, and dusty. To get to his working place is difficult. Also, going down to the area where other miners are working. I like to go there to feel the change of temperature as well.

I always hold on to the tourists, with one hand maybe holding a stable rock, then my other hand holding them. Sometimes it’s difficult [knowing that the miners are in danger], but they always say that it’s stable. I worry for them. That’s why sometimes when we drink, when I share with them, I tell them, “Please try to check your places; please try to repair this.” But it’s not for me; it’s for the tourists. Because when the tourists are inside the mines, they are my responsibility. But I like to show them [the reality]. Because sometimes the information [published] says other things, untrue things. It’s eye-opening for them. For them, it’s hard to see the conditions, how miners are working in risky places. I always tell them that this is because there are no other options in Potosí. One, the last time I visited the mine, said “We’re going to love our jobs.” – Ronald