Explore Your World: Voices from Bolivia

On Saturday, April 26th, Explore Your World: Voices from Bolivia brought together a vibrant and diverse community for a one-of-a-kind event celebrating connection, creativity, and cultural exchange. Held in conjunction with Express Yourself and the 2025 Montclair Literary Festival, this unique, three-part gathering centered the rich cultural heritage of Bolivia while offering space for reflection, imagination, and shared learning.

Part I: The Journey Begins – Gallery Walk

The event opened with an immersive gallery walk that invited visitors into the landscapes and experiences of Bolivia. Through photographs and videos collected during a 2024 educational field trip, participants walked a circular path—symbolically modeled after el tejido de la vida (“the web of life”) by Bolivian artist Erlini Chové. The exhibit recreated the group’s journey through Aymara lands, ancestral sites, and encounters with local communities, offering a multisensory exploration that felt both personal and collective.

Part II: Live Keynote from Bolivia – Erlini Chové

The heart of the afternoon came with a live keynote address by Erlini Chové (Erlini Tola Medina), joining us from Bolivia. A poet, artist, and community knowledge keeper, Chové shared reflections rooted in Aymara thought and her woven philosophy of el tejido de la vida. Speaking in poetic and deeply moving language, she celebrated life, joy, and the unity of all beings—drawing listeners into a fantastic-realist vision of forests, rivers, mountains, and all forms of life. Her address reminded us that we are all connected, no matter where we are in the world.

During her talk, Chové read her short story El niño y el árbol (“The Boy and the Tree”) and generously gifted us with two of her paintings, which were displayed in the gallery walk. In return, we found a meaningful way to give back: as part of the event, participants were invited to create their own web of life drawings, inspired by Erlini’s philosophy and artistic style. This activity became a powerful, emotional moment of the day.

Children, students, adults, and elders all sat together—drawing, reflecting, and sharing what they were creating. Though Erlini joined us virtually via Zoom, participants spoke aloud about their drawings so she could experience the room and feel part of the gathering. Many people expressed that this moment awakened deep emotions and helped them connect to their roots, memories, and sense of self in new and profound ways.

At the heart of this activity was not only the creation of symbolic drawings but also the expression of reciprocity, a core value in Indigenous traditions. Just as Erlini shared her art and spirit with us, we collected everyone’s drawings and will be sending images of them back to her—a gesture of gratitude and mutual exchange.

Part III: Reflection Circle & Celebration

The event closed with a bilingual reflection circle, where members of the Bolivia field trip shared stories, insights, and powerful moments from their travels. The audience—composed of students, educators, families, and community members—joined the conversation with heartfelt questions and comments. The joy, vulnerability, and connection carried through into a festive gathering with Bolivian music, food, and open conversation, helping to nurture new friendships and a growing sense of community.

An Event Rooted in Connection

A standout feature of the day was the presence of seven university educators from across the United States—including institutions in Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, and New Mexico—who had taken part in a December 2024 field trip to Bolivia. This journey, organized by the Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center at Florida International University, gave participants the opportunity to engage directly with Aymara culture, Bolivian intellectuals and artists, traditional architecture, and sacred landscapes such as Lake Titicaca, Isla del Sol, and the ancient camino inca. Dr. Antonella Calarota-Ninman, director of CLaSE, also joined the group in this immersive experience.

Their presence at the event brought deep insight and cross-regional perspectives, enriching every part of the day.

A Lasting Impact

Explore Your World: Voices from Bolivia was more than just a cultural event—it was a space of discovery, dialogue, and unity. It brought together people of many different social, cultural, ethnic, and ideological backgrounds, and created room for shared stories, open hearts, and collective celebration. At its core, the event reminded us of the importance of listening to diverse voices, honoring Indigenous knowledge, and recognizing the threads that connect us all.

Through poetic language, artistic exchange, and heartfelt participation, the event left many with a renewed sense of connection—to themselves, to others, and to the Earth. And with each drawing, each conversation, and each step on that circular gallery walk, the tejido de la vida grew a little stronger.