Small potatoes for big job in Bolivia

In the US they finance their campaigns by getting millions of bucks from banks that need favours, like a massive cover-up. In Bolivia, one candidate is getting her money grassroots, from the ground, literally; she is selling potatoes to get her campaign rolling. Felipa Huanca, of La Paz, will be selling chunyo - that is, dried potatoes, a staple in Bolivia - to get her message to the voters. 29 March is the date of the gubernatorial elections in Bolivia's nine departamentos, seven of which are already MAS districts (the two opposition districts are Santa Cruz and Beni).
The potato is iconic as it is an Andean member of the Solanaceae family which the entire world has appropriated, along with tomatoes. Come to think of it, these little tubers are big bucks.
So all the best to Snra Huanca and her papitas, Amigos de Bolivia here in NY salutes your efforts.

Bolivia recoups stolen art from New York criminals

FILE - In this April 23, 2013 file photo, a stained glass window, broken by thieves according to the local priest, remains damaged at the Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana in Copacabana, Bolivia. Bolivian officials say more than 400 objects of art have been stolen from churches, including paintings, decorative silverwork, polished gold and silver altar pieces and gem-encrusted jewelry. (Juan Karita, AP / AP)

FILE - In this April 23, 2013 file photo, a stained glass window,...

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — The discovery that two paintings held by a New York couple had been stolen from a Bolivian church in 2002 has ignited a search for 10 other colonial-era paintings that were taken in the theft, one the largest such crimes in the country's history.

The paintings, "Escape to Egypt" and "Virgin of Candelaria," were found in the collection of Richard and Roberta Huber, who contacted Bolivian officials after learning the two large works had been reported stolen.

The paintings, each about 6 feet (2 meters) high and more than 300 years old, were among 12 ecclesiastical artworks stolen in June 2002 from the San Martin church in the southern city of Potosi. Wilma Blazz, a city prosecutor in Potosi, said Thursday authorities would reopen their search for the items and would seek help from Brazil.

The Hubers had purchased the paintings legally in 2003 from an art gallery in Sao Paulo and restored them. Their origin came to light in 2012 as the Philadelphia Museum of Art prepared to mount an exhibit of the couple's collection and checked lists of artwork reported stolen.

While the restoration work had altered the paintings' appearance, Huber said Thursday, "I felt that they were probably the same ones."

The process of working with various agencies to return the paintings has been slow, Huber said by phone in New York. While the couple awaits instructions from Bolivia on how to proceed, the paintings currently hang in the living room of their New York home.

"It's not our custom to keep stolen goods," he said.

"We bought them because we liked them and, so, we will miss them."

The San Martin church was built in the mid-1600s by indigenous slaves in Potosi, which was a key center of silver mining about 250 miles (410 kilometers) south of La Paz, and it became a museum for colonial-era art

"After the robbery (in 2002), we had to hang replicas on the walls," the Rev. Omar Barrenechea told The Associated Press.

Bolivian officials say more than 400 objects of art have been stolen from churches in recent years. They include paintings, decorative silverwork, polished gold and silver altar pieces and gem-encrusted jewelry.

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AP writer Karen Matthews in New York contributed to this report.