Hemp in South America

Over the years I have received many questions about hemp in Bolivia. Most from well meaning people, but they are not serious enough to go to the seed cultivators with the data they need to get the right seeds - for instance, the day/night differential in weather for a certain area.

Recently  a more serious enquirer, who is hooked up to a Canadian university, showed deeper interest and is now at the stage of approaching Bolivian government officials, although he is not sure yet if it is lumped in with marijuana, as it has been in the US and elsewhere. Chile is growing  hemp profitably for seed oil already.

In the past Brazil wanted to cultivate hemp, as it was very needed for rope and fibre - it makes the best paper for instance - but Portugal did not want to allow its colonists too much power so did not encourage its cultivation. In North America its cultivation allowed the colonists to outfit an army and navy and be self sufficient. That is why North American states achieved independence before the rest of the nations in the hemisphere.

Hemp can today hemp bring about financial independence, if grown it can supply in a span of 90 days expensive, GMO free and highly nutritious oil - which, unlike fish oils these days, will also be free of mercury, cadmium and other metals with which man has polluted the oceans. The stems are a quick supply of cellulose, the ingredient of paper and so many other products; it makes a better paper than either tree or cotton pulp.

And another advantage to Bolivia especially is that it can be grown on the side of a mountain - indeed at high elevations as it is in Nepal - thus being useful as a crop that does not require prime farm land. In Bolivia, arable land is at a premium, being less than 5% of the total land mass of the country. So Amigos de Bolivia in New York will continue to support Pablo, a Mexican who is studying in Canada and presently working on an agricultural project in Viacha, Bolivia, with the hope that he can assist Bolivia in this enterprise.

Musical prodigy rocks in Bolivia

Recently we were discussing the possibility of mixing Andean music with jazz and blues. Then someone mentioned a young blind Bolivian pianist who is on the way to doing that, so here is an article from Britain's Telegraph about this prodigy:

Blind jazz prodigy takes Bolivia's music scene by storm

Jose Andre Montano Baina is just seven-years-old but already displays an incredible musical talent that has enabled him to play at some of the top venues in Bolivia.

Jose Andre Montano Baina is a rising star in Bolivia's music scene. But the promising jazz musician isn't a typical rockstar; he's blind and aged just seven years old.

At the young age of four, this musical wonder picked up the drums with astonishing proficiency and quickly moved on to the piano. By age five, he had already formed a jazz trio.

If his ample musical talent - unmatched by many skilled musicians two or three times his age - wasn't already enough, the fact that Montano Baina is blind just adds to his strikingly impressive resume.

Apart from being able to play any jazz song in the book with alarming ease and style, this Bolivian child prodigy has well-rounded musical taste and isn't limited to jazz.

"Blues, heavy metal, tango, bolero - I like everything," said Montano Baina.            

He has already performed in some of the top venues in Bolivia, including the Legislative Palace, and with famous musicians like Bolivian rocker Glen Vargas. In many other ways, Montano Baina is just like other seven-year-old boys.
"I do homework, I play music and they accompany me on the keyboard, I do math, English, gym class - everything," he said.