The Monolito Pachamama, also known as Monolito Bennett (7.30m tall) after Dr Wendell C. Bennett who discovered it in the Tiwanaku ruins in 1932, was brought in La Paz in 1933 to come back to Tiwanaku about 70 years later. Its first dwelling place was el Prado, in front of the cinema 16 de julio, where it stood for about a decade before being moved to Miraflores, by the stadium, where a replica of the Tiwanaku semi-subterranean temple was built on the square.
For years, paceños living nearby claimed they sometimes heard the statue cry, but also that some of the bad things which happened at the time were its vengeance for being taken away from Tiwanaku. Some unusual events, such as floodings in areas normally not affected by such catastrophes, were put down to the 'vindictive temper' of the monolith. The last of this series of events took place in February 2002: torrential rains fell on La Paz and El Alto where dozens of people died and incredible damages were caused. The most badly affected area, some say, was at the end of the street which spread in front of the monolith's gaze. It was time for the statue to be taken to the home it should never have left. Consequently, a copy was made and put in its stead in front of the stadium.
Another reason to explain how the flood got so bad was that the city's sewer system was not so efficient and that, moreover, there was so much trash in the streets that it got clogged too quickly, hence the magnitude of the flood which would, otherwise, have not been so wrenching, this being one of the reasons why, nowadays, you can see so many people cleaning the streets in La Paz.
Lorange Pressée
Sources: Marco & Bico (& the internet)
For years, paceños living nearby claimed they sometimes heard the statue cry, but also that some of the bad things which happened at the time were its vengeance for being taken away from Tiwanaku. Some unusual events, such as floodings in areas normally not affected by such catastrophes, were put down to the 'vindictive temper' of the monolith. The last of this series of events took place in February 2002: torrential rains fell on La Paz and El Alto where dozens of people died and incredible damages were caused. The most badly affected area, some say, was at the end of the street which spread in front of the monolith's gaze. It was time for the statue to be taken to the home it should never have left. Consequently, a copy was made and put in its stead in front of the stadium.
Another reason to explain how the flood got so bad was that the city's sewer system was not so efficient and that, moreover, there was so much trash in the streets that it got clogged too quickly, hence the magnitude of the flood which would, otherwise, have not been so wrenching, this being one of the reasons why, nowadays, you can see so many people cleaning the streets in La Paz.
Lorange Pressée
Sources: Marco & Bico (& the internet)