Mineros de Bolivia

A photo book on mining communities in Bolivia

Amsterdam, January 2009 – Pascal van Heesch presents his first book, Mineros de Bolivia. With impressive black and white pictures as his medium, he guides the viewer through the world of Bolivian mineworkers. The Bolivian publishing company Luna Llena is the book’s publisher. Renate Sun-Louw wrote the text, based on information collected by the photographer.

Bolivia has a long history of mining. The ground is rich in minerals: gold, silver, tin, lead, precious stones, gas. Bolivia could be the most prosperous country in South America. In reality, it is one of the continent’s poorest countries. Spanish domination, which lasted for centuries, and the political instability that followed have taken their toll. The ground has been plundered, but is not exhausted yet. At present, many Bolivians still work in the mining industry. Conditions are harsh. With a keen eye, Pascal van Heesch has recorded the miners’ hard life in all its facets: the underage boys who go to work in the mine for the first time; life in the mineworkers’ villages; the protests of pensioner miners who receive no pension; the contrast between large co-operatives and lonely adventurers.

Mineros de Bolivia is published by Juan Christobal Quiroga, editor of Luna Llena. Quiroga: “I think it’s important that the lives of Bolivian miners are recorded and shared, so that Bolivians and non-Bolivians can get a picture of the day-to-day reality of the workers.”

Pascal van Heesch (1969) has specialised in social documentaries. He usually works on one subject for a long time. In doing so, he immerses himself in people’s day-to-day life and how they survive. The series Mineros de Bolivia has been exhibited in its entirety several times, in the Netherlands, Bolivia and Spain.

Distribution outside Bolivia is through the photographer himself.

Mineros de Bolivia

Photography: Pascal van Heesch

Text editing: Renate Sun-Louw

Publisher: Luna Llena

Price: € 15

Book 21 x 16 cm

Paperback 55 pages, 38 photos offset black/white

Text in Spanish and English

ISBN 978 99954 704 3 2

Also available: book including print. Buyers may choose a print from the book. The print is signed, limited and numbered 1 to 25 inclusive. A print is around 27 x 33 cm in passe-partout 40 x 50 cm. Total package, print and book: € 100.-