Car baptisms in Bolivia.

• Author: Luxner, Larry
• Position: Americas Ojo! - Brief Article

MENTION COPACABANA, and people automatically think of samba, dental-floss bikinis, and the glittering lights of Rio. But there's another Copacabana--with its own colors, customs, and carnival--and it has nothing to do with Brazil.

Founded ages ago by the Inca warrior Tupac Yupanqui, Bolivia's Copacabana sits 12,600 feet above sea level, on the edge of shimmering blue Lake Titicaca. Its name comes from Kota Kahuana, which means "lookout over the lake" in the Inca language.

A four-hour bus ride from La Paz, the town is a convenient jumping-off point for discovering the nearby ruins of Tiwanaku and Isla del Sol. No fewer than forty-two hotels and youth hostels crowd the downtown area, with many more restaurants, souvenir shops, and Internet cafes lining Avenida 6 de Agosto, the main boulevard.

On the outskirts of town is El Calvario, a steep hill that can be climbed in twenty minutes if you're in particularly good shape, forty-five minutes if you're like the rest of us. Devoutly Catholic pilgrims ascending El Calvario stop to pray at each of the fourteen stations of the cross, and are rewarded at the summit with a spectacular view of Lake Titicaca and the Peruvian shoreline in the hazy blue distance.

Copacabana's main attraction is undoubtedly the Basilica of Copacabana, a beautiful cathedral completed in 1640 and forming a perfect cross. The freshly painted white building has several domes covered with colored tiles, making it stand out from the rest of the town.

It is here where tourists can observe Copacabana's most unusual ritual: the blessing of newly purchased vehicles.

"Faithful people come here from all over Bolivia, and also Peru, Argentina, and even Brazil," says Father Victor Chacon, a thirty-six-year-old...