Bolivian Kitsch Home, Bolivia

The lavish urban homes of architect Freddy Mamani Silvestre in El Alto, Bolivia, have been mocked as kitschy-looking cohetillos. It means “spaceships,” earning him the moniker “spaceship architecture.”

However, fans of Mamani claim that his bright “new Andean” style has helped recreate a previously artistically monochromatic city. He has discovered a way to merge traditional Andean and Tiwanaku traditions into an urban context. He incorporates geometric shapes found in ruins. He turned it into more figural organic compositions that reference elements such as mountains, lightning, animals, and flowers. Mamani has completed over 70 such structures in El Alto and more than 100 across Bolivia. Many residents regard these structures as status symbols, so let us give credit where it is due.