Second Trip to Bolivia

I had a lot to do and see while in Cochabamba. Our plan was to stay and visit for a week and then make our way to the Amazon to do some fishing.

As more and more relatives and family friends came to meet us, I started to think that one week was not going to be enough time.

My uncles planned out the rest of the days there so that I could see all the former homes that the family lived in, as well as seeing the sights of the city.

My Basque/Bolivian ancestor, having landed in Bolivia with a large dowery from his recent marriage, invested heavily in local tin and silver mines and made his wealth from selling the minerals back to the Spanish government and other manufacturers.

So, one of the first places they took me to see was the original house or “Caserio” that my Basque relative (Francisco de Gumucio Goiri Astuena) built and lived in when he came to Bolivia, as the first Gumucio, in the mid-1700s. This property is now a protected monument in the city of Cochabamba and classified as a national treasure. It also highlights the fact that historical figures, such as Simon Bolivar and Bolivian President Melgarejo were all guests at the caserio.

**The First Gumucio Home in Cochabamba, Bolivia**

Additionally, they took me to see another property that was part of my family as well, La Casona Santivañez which is a representative jewel of the Colonial-Republican style of the 15th and 16th centuries it to was declared a Historical Heritage site in Cochabamba.

The house belonged Juan Antonio Santivañez de Gazma y Barrao, a long-ago ancestor of mine. Upon the death of his heirs, the house and land became the property of the Bolivian Catholic University. Subsequently, the Municipality of Cochabamba, recovered the property on the basis of an exchange with the express purpose of preserving the Santivañez family museum and making it a cultural and artistic exhibition center.

It is a historical museum that preserves and exhibits Louis XV style furniture and its walls display paintings from the period. Along with a grand piano from the 19th century, beveled mirrors, a dining set, other items and furniture from the period are on display in the first-floor patio.

It should be noted that as a country, Bolivia has had more political revolutions than years in existence. I was told of the many instances when my grandparents and their kids (my mother, her sister and brothers) were chased out of the city or hunted down to be imprisoned or worst, assassinated. This was all because of my family’s affiliation with various governments or simply because of their wealth.

I was then taken to a two-story home in the downtown area of Cochabamba and one of my uncles pointed to the balcony window and told me that my father was standing there when an angry mob of indigenous people took a rifle shot at him, but missed him only by inches.

Fortunately, my uncles also showed me places where the family had lived throughout the city during better times and better fortunes.

All in all, it was a wonderful visit and I had the chance to see much of the city and where my ancestors lived.

We also enjoyed some great Bolivian meals like salteñas (a traditional Bolivian street food filled with a juicy mix of sweet and savory sauces, filled with beef, pork, or chicken).

If you would like to try your hand at making salteñas, click here for a recipe.

Then there were silpanchos (a meal consisting of layers of white rice, boiled and sliced tomatoes, and thinly pounded meat and, usually served with a generous portion of some of Bolivia’s 10,000 varieties of potatoes). Yes, over 10,000!, called papas.

If you would like to prepare silpanchos, check out the menu here.

I can’t wait until my next trip to Bolivia to explore more of its unique cultural and historic sites and to continue with the gastronomic sampling of the fantastic food and uncovering more stories about my ancestors.

Was Brian Kelley Related to John Smith?

First Trip to Bolivia