A Headline You Don't See Everyday

"Bolivian orchestra stranded at ‘haunted’ German castle surrounded by wolves."

I suppose it's no surprise given the year we've been having. 

5 comments:

Deevs said...

Well, let's hope the Bolivian Orchestra doesn't meet with a Bolivian Army Ending.

Gringo said...

There are a fair number of Bolivians of German descent. Paceña, the main Bolivian beer, is exceedingly good, and IIRC, had German beginnings. Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano, no longer an operating company but once the flagship Bolivian airline, was founded by German immigrants. When I was working in Santa Cruz, our company's secretary was of German descent- nor was she bashful about informing you about it.


Hugo Banzer Suárez (Banzer, his father's surname, is German, but Wiki doesn't tell you that.) had the distinction of serving as Bolivia's President twice- once as General-President courtesy of a coup (1971-78) and later elected (1997-2001.

WIiki: Finally, in 1997, Banzer achieved his dream of becoming constitutionally-elected President of Bolivia, at the age of 71. Indeed, he was the first former dictator in Latin America's recent history to transition successfully to democratic politics and return to power by way of the ballot box.

There are also Mennonites in Bolivia. Coincidentally, there are also Mennonites in Paraguay and also a Paraguayan General-President of German descent- Stroessner. He lasted nearly 35 years.

Yes, the Bolivian army deserves contempt. I worked in Argentina with the son of a Bolivian general. Suffice it to say that he was difficult to get along with.

Gringo said...

Another point about German- Bolivian ties is that I knew some Bolivian families- no German surnames- who sent their sons to university in Germany. Banzer is from Santa Cruz, which is also where I worked. I imagine there is less German influence in the highlands.

Grim said...

Great idea. German university is free.

ymarsakar said...

Hauntings don't work on me.