Remedios Loza

Francisca Remedios Loza Alvarado, known as Remedios Loza (21 August 1949 La Paz) is a Bolivian artisan, TV presenter for Radio Televisión Popular, and politician.

Life

She was born on 21 August 1949; her father owned a tailor shop, and her mother was engaged in making handicrafts for Alasitas.

She was the eldest of 11 children (five of whom died in infancy) and from a very young age was dedicated to the design and manufacture of "polleras" (a type of long skirt worn by "Cholas", an ethnic group from the bolivian Andes, in addition to continuing the family tradition of crafts typical Alasitas.

Art

In 1968, se made her foray into “Sabor a Tierra”, a radio show led by Carlos Palenque, where she was presented as an artisan, and later was host on both radio and television on Radio Televisión Popular,^[1] ushering a new form of alternative communication. The program also offered social, legal and medical assistance to low-income or people with little knowledge of their rights and legal assistance.^[2]

Remedios Loza became the first "Chola" hosting a radio program in spanish (for cholas only made radio shows in aymara language), and later, she became the first chola hosting a tv show, at a time when it was unthinkable to have a "Chola" as a communicator. With Mónica Medina and Adolfo Paco, she led the development programs that would have the largest radio and television tune in the 1980s and 1990s.

In 1982, her only child was born, Sayuri, but committed to her work, never left the media while being mother and communicator.

Politics

In 1989, Loza entered politics supporting her mentor Carlos Palenque, and she was a representative in the department of La Paz in two terms during, where she represented the nation in international events related to gender issues and indigenous as the "indigenous Latin American Parliaments" where she was president in 1992, and the Conference on Women in China also took over the "Commission for women" from which gave support to women of all social classes and with different problems.^[3]

She also presented the proposal for the law for the rights of domestic workers obtaining approval after claims for domestic workers. In the midst of this, the sudden death of Carlos Palenque in 1997, caused her election as head of the party led by the late Palenque: CONDEPA, for which she would stand as presidential candidate in 1997, obtaining a third of the vote in the election results.

In the national elections of 1997, Loza would pioneer being the first female presidential candidate.

During this past administration, her work continued with the same vision: support for women and indigenous people, propagation of culture and Aymara languages in the world of the media and, above all, the revaluation of women in all areas, with skills, education and intellect.

After the victory of Nationalist Democratic Action in the 1997 elections, CONDEPA joined the "Mega-coalition" but internal conflicts arose between Remedios Loza and Veronica Palenque; so the party split into two factions, and gave way to the expulsion of CONDEPA from the Mega-coalition which meant the death blow to the populist party.

Loza, at the end of her parliamentary career (1997-2002), decided to retire from politics. After leaving politics, Loza returned to the media, this time managing her own "Andean Communications System" which continues to lead a program with the same lines of La Tribuna Libre, spreading indigenous culture and heritage.

Throughout her career, Loza never stopped being artisan, every year, and despite the lack of time because of her duties as a parliamentarian, preparing miniature hats exhibited at the Alasitas fair. In 2006, finally she left the media, and devoted herself as an artisan.

Occasionally, she goes to interviews to discuss his experience as parliamentary and political project founded with Palenque.

References

This article incorporates information from the equivalent article on the Spanish Wikipedia.