JournalismPakistan.com | Published 13 years ago
Join our WhatsApp channel
LA PAZ, Bolivia: The nation's vice president and his bride chose for their Saturday nuptials a temple of stone walls that the ancient Aymara people constructed some 3,000 years ago to observe the heavens.
The unusual ceremony uniting 49-year-old Vice President Alvaro Garcia with Claudia Fernandez, a 25-year-old journalist, was held at an ancestral site honoring the Pachamama, or Mother Earth, in a place called Tiwanaku, about 70 kilometers west of the Bolivian capital of La Paz.
Crews from two television channels provided coverage of the ceremony attended by about 200 people, including Bolivian President Evo Morales, Nobel peace laureates Rigoberta Menchu of Guatemala and Adolfo Perez Esquivel of Argentina, government ministers, ambassadors and Aymara dignitaries.
A pair of shamans bathed the couple in incense smoke and asked the Pachamama and other Andean gods to produce good omens for the pair at the archaeological site located near Lake Titicaca.
In a modern touch, the bride wore a full-length white bridal gown by a French designer. They planned to celebrate a more traditional wedding ceremony Sunday at a Roman Catholic Church.
Although Garcia is not of indigenous origin, Bolivia's president is and often refers to his Aymara roots. Although it has become increasingly popular for non-indigenous Bolivians to make offerings to the Pachamama, a full Aymara wedding is quite unusual, even for indigenous couples.
November 01, 2025: Belarus court jails journalist Siarhei Chabotska for extremism and defaming the president, highlighting Minsk’s ongoing crackdown on press freedom.
November 01, 2025: Mexican journalist Miguel Angel Beltran was found murdered in Durango. CPJ urges authorities to ensure justice amid rising violence against journalists in Mexico.
November 01, 2025: UNESCO survey finds one-third of media lawyers cannot effectively defend journalists due to threats, limited resources, and lack of specialization.
October 31, 2025: Radio Free Asia, a US government-funded broadcaster covering tightly controlled Asian media environments, has suspended all news operations after federal funding dried up.
October 30, 2025: CDEPS and CPJ condemn the arrest of 7TV’s Maimouna Ndour Faye and other journalists in a late October crackdown on Senegalese media over interviews with a wanted politician.
October 29, 2025: CPJ calls on Turkey to release journalist Merdan Yanardag and return control of TELE1, after his arrest on espionage charges and state media takeover.
October 26, 2025: CNN’s Christiane Amanpour reveals her ovarian cancer has returned but says it’s being well-managed, urging greater awareness and early diagnosis.
October 23, 2025: Two Ukrainian journalists were killed in a Russian drone strike in Kramatorsk. FREEDOM TV’s Alyona Gramova and Yevgeny Karmazin died while reporting.
November 02, 2025 Independent outlet All About Macau to halt print and online operations amid rising pressure, financial strain, and legal threats, sparking press freedom concerns in the city.
November 02, 2025 PFUJ urges Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments to end Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists and ensure their safety and press freedom.
November 02, 2025 Impunity for crimes against journalists deepens worldwide as Pakistan reports a 60 percent surge in attacks and weak enforcement of safety laws.
November 01, 2025 Pakistan Press Foundation reports 137 attacks on journalists in 2025, highlighting rising threats, legal harassment, and censorship on the International Day to End Impunity.
November 01, 2025 A viral Samaa TV clip featuring MNA Sher Afzal Marwat’s crude remarks and Talat Hussain’s laughter raises questions about the declining ethics of Pakistani television.