Neo-Andean is a contemporary architectural movement primarily situated in

El Alto El Alto (Spanish for "The Heights") is the second-largest city in Bolivia, located adjacent to La Paz in Pedro Domingo Murillo Province on the Altiplano highlands. El Alto is today one of Bolivia's fastest-growing urban centers, with an estim ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, expressed in the city's many ''cholets'', or mini-mansions, and dancehalls. Bolivian architect Freddy Mamani has been described as "the best-known architect" of neo-Andean architecture. Mamani is "a civil engineer who began as a simple laborer two decades ago" and has built over 60 neo-Andean structures in El Alto since 2005. Architecture historian Elisabetta Andreoli described the style, represented in over 100 structures across the El Alto skyline, as neo-Andean. Paola Flores noted that "most f the neo-Andean structureshave been built since

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Evo Morales Juan Evo Morales Ayma (; born 26 October 1959) is a Bolivian politician, trade union organizer, and former cocalero activist who served as the 65th president of Bolivia from 2006 to 2019. Widely regarded as the country's first president to co ...

, an

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 ...

who is the country's first indigenous leader, took office in 2006. Their emergence coincides with a modest economic boom coupled with a rise in Aymara pride." The term was first used in an architectural journal to reference the style of the

United States Embassy The United States has the second most diplomatic missions of any country in the world after Mainland China, including 166 of the 193 member countries of the United Nations, as well as observer state Vatican City and non-member countries Kosovo a ...

building in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

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Arquitectonica Arquitectonica is an international architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, and urban planning design firm headquartered in Miami, Florida’s Coconut Grove neighborhood. The firm also has offices in ten other cities throughout ...

in 1996, described as having "quite literally took inspiration from Peruvian history, modelling the base of the building on the structures of the ancient cities of

Cuzco Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the seventh most populous in Peru; ...

and

Machu Picchu Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru on a mountain range.UNESCO World Heritage Centre. It is located in the Machupicchu District within Urubamba Province above the Sacred Valley, which ...

Reception

Neo-Andean architecture has generally been received with praise from residents in El Alto. Paola Flores notes that ''Alteños'', or residents of El Alto, "are generally pleased with their contribution to modern architecture," noting of a resident who stated "'To me, it's like a shout that says, 'Here we are! This is what we are!'" and another who remarked "'I am an Aymara woman, proud of my culture, happy and full of color. So why should my home not show what I am?'" The buildings were featured in ''Shine Heroes'' by Frederico Estol, a film covering the thousands of

shoeshiner Shoeshiner or boot polisher is an occupation in which a person cleans and buffs shoes and then applies a waxy paste to give a shiny appearance and a protective coating. They are often known as shoeshine boys because the job was traditionally d ...

s of

La Paz La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...

and El Alto. The buildings have been described as "

futuristic The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ...

" and "funky" by outsiders to Andean culture. In particular, several have drawn comparisons to legendary comic-book artist

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gr ...

, with many coming to the conclusion that Kirby–also influenced by South American architecture and patterns–and Mamani draw from the same influences.

Gallery

File:Cholet1.jpg File:Cholet El Alto.jpg File:Detalle candelabro cholet.jpg

References

{{Native american styles Architectural styles 21st-century architectural styles Architecture in Bolivia Indigenous architecture of the Americas