Bolivianas

Bolivianas

Daily Life, second prize stories

February 10, 2011

Salar de Ulyuni, Bolivia Salar de Ulyuni is the world’s largest salt flat, extending over 10,582 square kilometers, and containing 50 to 70 percent of the world’s lithium. Bolivia is home to some 36 indigenous groups, who, although a majority in the population, have suffered marginalization and discrimination since colonial times. The country’s president, Evo Morales, the first indigenous Bolivian to hold that office, is leader of the Movement towards Socialism party, whose long-held goal has been the integration of indigenous communities into national life. President Morales enjoys considerable popularity. In 2009, he was elected for a second term in office with 64 percent of the vote.

Commissioned by: TerraProject

Location: Tiahuanacu, Bolivia

Photo Credit: Pietro Paolini

Pietro Paolini was born in Florence, Italy in 1981. He graduated from the Fondazione Studio Marangoni in Florence in 2005. In 2004, he started to puruse his interest in the South American reality, focusing on the new socialist countries: Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador.

In 2006, he founded the TerraProject collective, which deals with social and geographical issues in Italy through collective projects of documentary photography. His photographs have been exhibited in Italy and abroad. He has worked as a freelancer with many Italian and international magazines. In 2009, he won the Canon Young Photographer Award. Since 2010, he has been selected to be part of the Reflexion Masterclass by Giorgia Fiorio and Gabriel Bauret. In 2012, his work 'Bolivianas' won a prize in the World Press Photo Contest.