El Alto (Spanish for "The Heights") is the
second-largest city in
Bolivia, located adjacent to
La Paz in
Pedro Domingo Murillo Province
Pedro Domingo Murillo is a province in the Bolivian La Paz Department. It was created on January 8, 1838, with the name Cercado and on October 17, 1912, during the presidency of Eliodoro Villazón, its name was changed in honor of Pedro Domingo ...
on the
Altiplano
The Altiplano (Spanish for "high plain"), Collao (Quechua and Aymara: Qullaw, meaning "place of the Qulla") or Andean Plateau, in west-central South America, is the most extensive high plateau on Earth outside Tibet. The plateau is located at the ...
highlands. El Alto is today one of Bolivia's fastest-growing urban centers, with an estimated population of 943,558 in 2020. It is also the highest major city in the world, with an average elevation of .
The El Alto–La Paz metropolitan area, formed by La Paz, El Alto,
Achocalla
Achocalla (Hispanicized spelling) or Achuqalla (Aymara for weasel) is a location in the La Paz Department in Bolivia. It is the seat of the Achocalla Municipality, the third municipal section of the Pedro Domingo Murillo Province.
Climate
T ...
,
Viacha
Viacha is a city in Bolivia, situated in the Ingavi Province in the La Paz Department. Viacha lies in the Altiplano, 22 km southwest of La Paz. Transportation to and from the city includes cars, buses, and a train.
Economy
Viacha is hom ...
, and
Mecapaca, constitutes the most populous urban area of Bolivia, with a population of about 2.2 million.
History
The dry and inclement plain above La Paz was uninhabited until 1903 when the newly built railways from
Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca (; es, Lago Titicaca ; qu, Titiqaqa Qucha) is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. By volume of water and by surface area, i ...
and
Arica
Arica ( ; ) is a commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the capita ...
reached the rim of the canyon, where the La Paz terminus, railyards and depots were built along with a settlement of railway workers (a spur line down into the canyon opened in 1905). In 1925, the airfield was built as a base for the new air force, which attracted additional settlement. In 1939, El Alto's first elementary school opened. El Alto started to grow tremendously in the 1950s when the settlement was connected to La Paz's water supply (before this, all water had to be transported from La Paz in tanker vehicles) and building land in the canyon became more and more scarce and expensive. In an administrative reform in March 1985, the district of El Alto and its surroundings were politically separated from the City of La Paz (this date is officially referred to and celebrated as the city's "founding day"). In 1987, El Alto was
formally incorporated as a city. In 1994, the city became the seat of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of El Alto
The Roman Catholic Diocese of El Alto ( la, Dioecesis Altanus) is a diocese located in the city of El Alto in the Ecclesiastical province of La Paz in Bolivia.
History
* 25 June 1994: Established as Diocese of El Alto from the Metropolitan Archdi ...
.
Districts
El Alto's autonomous government identifies 14 districts composing the city.
Demographics
El Alto is the largest city in Latin America with a mostly
Indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
population. About 76% of its inhabitants are
Aymara
Aymara may refer to:
Languages and people
* Aymaran languages, the second most widespread Andean language
** Aymara language, the main language within that family
** Central Aymara, the other surviving branch of the Aymara(n) family, which today ...
, 9% are
Quechua
Quechua may refer to:
*Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru
*Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language
**So ...
, 15% are Mestizo (descendants of Indigenous and Europeans), and less than 0.1% are Criollos (White). El Alto was once known as La Paz's bedroom community, though recent growth of commerce and industry has led some local authorities to claim the title of "Bolivia's Economic Capital." With this industrial growth, there is concern about water pollution by businesses, including tanneries and slaughterhouses, for the city and communities downstream. Rapid population growth means the city struggles to bring potable water and sewer service to parts of the population, especially on the fringes of the expanding urban area. Much of the city's roads are unpaved and most citizens do not have access to running water, sewerage, electricity, or garbage collection for their homes.
Geography
The city contains La Paz’s
El Alto International Airport
El Alto International Airport ( es, link=no, Aeropuerto Internacional El Alto) is an international airport serving La Paz, Bolivia. It is located in the city of El Alto, west of La Paz. At an elevation of , it is the highest international ...
. El Alto is one of the highest major cities in the world, up to 4,150 meters (13,615 feet) above mean sea level. It has a cold climate, with the highest average monthly maximum temperature being in November. It is one of the fastest-growing cities in Bolivia, due to immigration from Bolivia’s rural areas to the La Paz region which started with the rural reform of 1952 and increased in the last 10 years. Some migrants say the difficulty of growing crops in the countryside drove them to move to the city.
Climate
The
Köppen climate classification system Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author an ...
classifies El Alto's climate as a rare cold-summer variety of a
subtropical highland climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...
(''Cwc''). Temperatures are typically cool during the day and crisp at night year-round. Snowfall is possible at any time during the year.
The
water supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...
in El Alto has been impacted by drought caused by shrinking glaciers. In 2016 the three main dams supplying water to the city were almost dry due to lack of glacial melt water.
Attractions
Museo de Arte Antonio Paredes Candia
The Museo de Arte Antonio Paredes Candia is an art museum in El Alto, Bolivia.
Inaugurated in 2002, as of 2011 the museum contains 503 works of art and 11,931 books. It includes works by Pérez Alcalá, Darío Antezana, Gil Imana, Alfredo Laplaca ...
opened in 2002. From 2003, access from La Paz to the international airport, as well to oil and gas supplies, has been frequently blocked by protesting social leaders and some of the most powerful players in the
politics of Bolivia
The politics of Bolivia takes place in a tree of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the president is head of state, head of government and head of a diverse multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the gover ...
. El Alto remains one of the major centers of the
Bolivian gas conflict
The Bolivian gas conflict was a social confrontation in Bolivia reaching its peak in 2003, centering on the exploitation of the country's vast natural gas reserves. The expression can be extended to refer to the general conflict in Bolivia ove ...
.
El Alto is known for its
Neo-Andean
Neo-Andean is a contemporary architectural movement primarily situated in El Alto, Bolivia, expressed in the city's many ''cholets'', or mini-mansions, and dancehalls. Bolivian architect Freddy Mamani has been described as "the best-known archite ...
architecture, built from the mid-2000s onward.
There is a large
open-air market.
Gallery
File:La Paz desde el camino a El Alto, Bolivia - panoramio.jpg, El Alto, Bolivia
File:Unifranz Sede El Alto.jpg, University in El Alto (Universidad Franz Tamayo)
File:Aeropuerto Internacional de El Alto jdb03.JPG, El Alto Airport
File:181_-_city_of_El_Alto_-_busy_and_beautiful.jpg, El Alto, La Paz Department
File:Che - El Alto - panoramio.jpg, El Alto, Bolivia
File:Llaucha ...caliente....llaucha!!! (3762805119).jpg, Winter morning in El Alto
File:AA flight from MIA to LPB - cruising through the Andes en route to La Paz, Bolivia - Mt Illamani (6438m) on the right - LPB airport (in El Alto) at 4160m - (24720405392).jpg, El Alto, Bolivia
File:Cholet1 (cropped).jpg, Cholet of El Alto.
Government
El Alto is a municipality within the province of Murillo. The government of the city is divided into the
executive
Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to:
Role or title
* Executive, a senior management role in an organization
** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators
** Executive dir ...
and
legislative
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government.
Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...
branches. The mayor of El Alto is the head of the city government, elected for a term of five years by general election. The legislative branch consists of the municipal council, which elects a president, vice president, and secretary from a group of 11 members.
The current mayor is
Monica Eva Copa, who defeated
MÁS candidate Zacarias Maquera in March 2021 after being ousted by the El Alto party. The previous election was held in March 2021. The Government of El Alto faces competition in providing public services, security and participation with the
grassroots
A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...
and highly successful
Fejuve
The Federation of Neighborhood Councils-El Alto ( es, Federación de Juntas Vecinales de El Alto, FEJUVE) is a federalist mode of political organization of over 600 neighborhood councils that provide public services, construction and jobs to citize ...
movement.
Transportation
El Alto is connected to La Paz by three lines of the
Mi Teleférico
Mi Teleférico (, English: ''My Cable Car''), also known as Teleférico La Paz–El Alto (La Paz–El Alto Cable Car), is an Gondola lift#Urban transport, aerial cable car urban transit system serving the La Paz–El Alto metropolitan area in Bol ...
system. The city is connected to domestic and international destinations by
El Alto International Airport
El Alto International Airport ( es, link=no, Aeropuerto Internacional El Alto) is an international airport serving La Paz, Bolivia. It is located in the city of El Alto, west of La Paz. At an elevation of , it is the highest international ...
.
See also
*
List of highest large cities in the world
This list of the highest cities in the world includes only cities with a population greater than 75,000 inhabitants and an average height above sea level over . For other settlements, see List of highest cities in the world or List of highest tow ...
References
www.ine.gob.bo
Further reading
*Lazar, Sian (2008), ''El Alto, Rebel City'', Duke University Press,
External links
Weather in El AltoEl Alto Boliviaat Discover the World
El Alto Bolivia—a blog
Cultura en las AlturasINE – Instituto Nacional de Estadística de Bolivia"My Travels With Pope Francis in Latin America"by Jim Yardley, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''
{{La Paz Department
1985 establishments in Bolivia
Populated places established in 1985
Populated places in La Paz Department (Bolivia)
Populated places in the Altiplano