Building Bolivian Identity With Psychedelic Architecture

Freddy Mamani Silvestre invented a bold and distinctive new style of Bolivian architecture. Borrowing from indigenous Aymara culture, his buildings combine bright colors and striking spaceship-like geometry. With his vibrant designs, Mamani is changing the landscape of his home country and empowering his people.
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[@tyranadoinfernorino8014]

this guy has more than talent, he has passion

[@TheBoliviaShow]

agreed! You should come to Bolivia sometime!

[@javierpacheco8234]

This is so much better than our boring modern architecture of today. I love how he cares about bolivia's culture and puts in in his architecture, it makes bolivia architecture interesting and worth one day to visit.

[@sidgrim2168]

I've read a few comments saying his buildings are awful. I think those people would have to be bolivian, or they'd have to live in Bolivia for a few years to understand why this architect uses geometrical figures and strong colors for his buildings. It's part of the culture here (or at least part of the andean culture). Those figures are everywhere. They're in the traditional weavings, the paintings, the ruins, even in one of the two bolivian flags. But as he said, there are lots of people who see what he's doing as something ugly and corny, something for the poor people, the farmers. Those people would never admit that this architect is doing art, even though the geometrical figures he uses have hundreds, even thousands of years of history behind them. Some people say Gaudi's buildings look like crap, and Gaudi is still deemed as one of the best architects. In the end it's a matter of personal opinion, so I respect those people's point of views. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion, but I think it's stupid and childish to say something is ugly without giving valid reasons.

[@kiranpandiyan159]

No these are awesome and very unique.

[@brokedoge6844]

Sid Grim I'm Bolivian

[@ithilweenshadowsong8151]

Gaudi knew how to connect his creations with its surroundings, Freddy still lacks that -and idk how efficient is he making the space distribution + mechanical/electrical/etc systems distribution because all we see are pics or videos of the space- so for now he's a badass Interior Designer in the way to become a true architect.

[@donutchan8114]

I always thought Latin America was very fond of bright colors. Some relatives showed us some footage of a town they lived near I think (in mexico), pretty much ALL the houses were brightly colored. My mom used to paint the house bright colors all the time(we live in the us) it stood out to the point that whenever we gave directions to our house we'd say oh its the guava colored one (pink and kinda aqua green?) for example. I thought the buildings were charming. Like he said, it's a splash of color in an otherwise earthy colored area.

[@gab_gallard]

Ithilween Shadowsong The thing is that El Alto is a grim, almost desertic city made of unpainted concrete and bricks. The city born as the poorest city in Bolivia, build by the poorest people with the cheaper materials. That was its identity since it was funded about 30 years ago. Freddy doesn't want to take part of that. He does not want to be "in harmony" with the rest of the city because the rest of the city is a reminder of a very difficult and tragic past (we had a genocide in the 80's, and many political mass killings, the most recent happening in 2003, with most victims beign residents of El Alto). He is trying to look to the future and rebuild the city, not based on the aesthetics of poverty and oppression (El Alto was and somewhat still is a ghetto city, where people considered poor live and are discriminated together by the rest of the country), but on the ancestral aymara values, mixed and reinterpreted by the point of view of the youth and their connection to the globalized 21th century.

[@BantiarnaMacRaghnaill]

What an incredibly ambitious and visionary man!👍👏

[@_pulyx]

Pretty cool, i hope it spreads far and wide across Bolivia

[@richardmontes4864]

BEAUTIFUL

[@Kanal7Indonesia]

Unique architecture from their own culture and identity! Very nice!

[@zojo1498]

This is great. It strenghtens their identity and culture.

[@javierpacheco8234]

I agree. this does represent the differences of cultures and traditions that every country has which makes this world interesting. Im happy that he is a different in a way becuase he thinks differently about architecture and has created an architecture that will be unique to bolivia.

[@CreatorCade]

Very artistic and colorful I say it's exactly what the place needs to make it more appealing to other countries and build up the culture.

[@Kai-mq6sc]

Very cool!

[@lyxandrast0ttr0n1x8]

This is the most beautiful architecture I've ever seen. If I were rich I'd ask this guy to design my house.

[@selena-9841]

These are the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen

[@fuxyews2177]

I like this. It's nice to see colour and design in buildings, as opposed to endless brick and glass in repetitious buildings that lack any form of creativity....like where I live...and probably you too, statistically speaking..

[@naem1728]

Even if you don’t like how they look (that for me they look absolutely beautiful) you got to understand that maybe it’s not how beautiful they are but what they mean, and I’m not talking about bolivian culture and all because I’m not even Bolivian, but to the architecture, the risk and the freedom and the guts you need to have to do this

[@bakedtarts]

I dont know why people said the buildings are ugly. The colors compliment the geometrical shape so well and together they form a work of art!

[@CC.R0Y]

Why do people not like this? His buildings look awesome!

[@TheBoliviaShow]

I'm a white american guy that live in El Alto, and it is so cool to see these buildings everyday! Thank you for sharing this video! I also will keep sharing info about Bolivia!

[@mahimas5153]

This what I like about Post Modern architecture, it doesn't have to be beautiful to everyone but it makes you feel like you belong

[@RadenYohanesGunawan]

Imagine if the city full of buildings with that architecture, it would be so cool! 🤘

[@tsukasa1608]

Reminds me of the Mayan Revival architecture style.

[@ablotar]

Hermoso, tengo que visitarlo

[@thecharlez569]

Wow hermosa arquitectura

[@asholed]

They look unique

[@asholed]

And very cool

[@aus-li]

it looks meh, to me; I find it too repetitive.

[@danielcuevas5899]

VoidX Can you name any other architectural examples similar to these in order to justify the use of the word “repetitive” because these buildings look like something out of a hallucinogenic dream and are like nothing I’ve ever seen.

[@josejonhson674]

I would love to visit this place one day

[@ithilweenshadowsong8151]

Glad to see he finally can talk about what he do with a coherent and fluent argument, 3 years ago it wasn't like that, keep going Freddy! you still have a looooooong way to become a 100% architect like improving on your managment of the building-street relation.

[@wavetro]

freddy is so good man

[@user-ze3bn9xm2o]

Felicitaciones que grande su identidad saludos desde Rusia

[@Kai-mq6sc]

They look like Giant gaming pcs

[@firepower7017]

Ryouta オタク Oh come on man do not hurt people that got discriminated by Americans we also had been discriminated before being called poor also I am a Asian but you know about this Vietnam war and whatnot and I became Americanized so do not blame me for this somewhat good english and I also do not understand Khmer that much

[@quanglam4327]

Fire Power701 what ?

[@firepower7017]

Quang Lam during the Vietnam war, Cambodians left their homeland so they wouldn't be with the 2 million that died and our capital became a ghost city and today it is filled but in the past the only shit you see is tanks Patrolling the empty Ruin of a perfectly preserved city trying to catch citizens so they can end up digging a ditch to be shot into, I am a America/Asian due to unlikely events and also Those who Migrated ro America starts poor and you know what happens to poor immigrants

[@stefanherns4541]

Que Lindo!!

[@Rwededyet]

Didn't you post this exact video a year or two ago?

[@warmac88]

Wow, beautiful

[@nikkosisowath4002]

YOOOOO His buildings look exactly like the machines and armor in Jack Kirby's super hero comics.... WOW!

[@nebraska22]

es estupendo! Sigan con el buen trabajo

[@pamelagonzalez9567]

cool buildings!

[@reefk8876]

Beautiful people too

[@kiranpandiyan159]

Nice I wish to visit here.

[@girlsnightgirIsnight]

I want to see these in person someday

[@aaronpierce4443]

He has a great Spanish dialect...its very clear, unlike my fellow Cubans xD

[@Tetawnga6974]

Love from northeast india Mizoram aizawl city

[@jordan2642]

I feel like this is a reupload. Am I wrong?

[@xxbBUTTERCUP1xx]

Slim Shady vice made a video about these buildings as well

[@signx]

Reminds me of Disney's "Its a Small World" which I think is very beautiful.

[@RosalindJulen]

Love it.I am going there

[@TheBoliviaShow]

You totally should come!!!!!! I live in El Alto and post a lot of videos about the city and country. Let me know if you every have any questions! I would be happy to make a video to give you the answer!

[@colress9197]

These buildings are probaly really expensive tho.

[@carstarsarstenstesenn]

Not sure how it's psychedelic but it is amazingly colorful and unique.

[@abhisekdas435]

Grt... Colorful

[@barkingcatswow]

Unique is always good.

[@lysergicheadcase]

Such a cool style. future

[@sparkyroots369]

I LOVE art deco but the colours are boring - this is art deco meets psychedelia - GORGEOUS! The inside buildings look like a cross between a pin-ball machine and DMT trip - love it!

[@parkers3280]

Beautiful

[@labinthapa5957]

Lowkey Antoni Gaudi meets pop art.

[@javierpacheco8234]

You made me laugh. 😂

[@SAli-uh3qr]

Very unique

[@allana8253]

WOW!!!!!!

[@36nibs]

Who gave you the idea 👽✨

[@auntjemima1631]

these look like their from video games omg so cool

[@noahboat580]

If it's what I think it is then awesome

[@rubinhorh]

it is a valid attempt to express/bild a local architectural language, but given the city's context seems just empty ostentation

[@savat_95]

Wow

[@egirl--]

Nice. A reupload

[@Dimitrija69]

So damn cool

[@ibesasuke]

Reupload?

[@Iamafafr]

**Sips tea**

[@william967]

Any one else looking for Tom Clancy's ghosts

[@Deverouxe]

William Parker-Rivera and today is the big multiplayer update lol

[@william967]

Masked Smoke yeah

[@wiegershitpostcollective]

the red building you mean, from one of the bosses

[@Justyn_Lim_]

I love that he is expressing and celebrating his culture through architecture, but I think its just excessive ornamentation. If I was a Bolivian developer, I probably wouldn't want to hire him because his facade treatments are probably pretty costly and just serve as visual interests. He says he gets criticism that his works are kitsh, which is a very common comment for postmodernism architecture. I would say that he is more of a stylist than an architect like Frank Lloyd Wright or Tadao Ando. An architect does more than just facade treatment, cutting openings for windows, and interior finishing. An architect shifts the form, which is something that he doesn't do. All his works shown here are still the form of a simple townhouse. No changes to the actual form nor programs within.

[@leonard_9500]

I want to live in a video game, too.

[@kahlilhernandez7143]

Reminds me of Antoni Gaudí

[@bettycharms]

My house

[@B8ct78]

My Grandma is a native and she's only ever been racially discriminated in Spain, never in Bolivia as bolivians are tolerant of the natives

[@PhillyBoyBcn]

You f-d subtitle timing :(

[@alecambo]

Repost

[@emilymc1195]

Gracias a la llegada del presidente Evo Morales y Álvaro García.

[@MostlyMonte]

I thought it was a train

[@harrison6082]

0:33 Everything this channel makes is secretly ads. Screw native advertising. Don't copy buzzfeed

[@egirl--]

Yes, because one of second of collaboration is enough to deem a channel in its entirety an advertisement.

[@sidgrim2168]

*facepalm*

[@stringcheese5614]

O

[@topamir8427]

1st To admit I'm not first

[@hermitey]

It is just slightly tackier than Las Vegas, but not that much.

[@taq85]

That's one architect I hope to never, ever do projects for anything in my city.

[@morasoftwood8224]

Dude these must be expensive to build...

[@nemesis962074]

I feel like in a few decades Bolivia will split in two, into a native Bolivia(collas) and a hispanic Bolivia(camba).

[@ornino54]

I think someday all European decedents will go back to Europe, but the problem is that all whites will be nothing in Europe sorry guys, you need to open your brain. Bolivia is diversity, Collas, cambas, matacos ayoreos y chapacos. I love Bolivia the way it is. Camba is a word historically used in Bolivia to refer to the indigenous population in the Eastern tropical region of the country, or to those born in the area of Santa Cruz. Lo demas es rebalse de Europa my friend.

[@rediponto9588]

Looks more ugly than Casinos in Las Vegas

[@eruno_]

looks awful

[@enzosw]

I agree

[@auntjemima1631]

コイノ/ Koino not me

[@miguelalberto2190]

nah, looks cool

[@prbh8751]

Think out of the box