Vacas (
Quechua name: Wak'as, deriving from ''
Wak'a'') is a
Bolivia
Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
n village in the southeast of the
Cochabamba Department
Cochabamba (, , ), from Quechua ''qucha'' or ''qhucha'', meaning "lake", ''pampa'' meaning "plain", is one of the nine departments of Bolivia. It is known to be the " granary" of the country because of its variety of agricultural products from ...
. It is the capital of the
Vacas Municipality, the second
municipal section of the
Arani Province. Vacas is located about 85 km far from
Cochabamba
Cochabamba (; ) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital (political), capital of the Cochabamba Department and the list of cities in Bolivia, fourth largest city in Bolivia, with ...
and about 30 km far from
Arani.
The people living in Vacas and surrounding areas are predominantly
indigenous citizens of
Quechuan descent. During the
Inca
The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...
period Vacas served as a ''
tampu'' along the
Inca road system
The Inca road system (also spelled Inka road system and known as ''Qhapaq Ñan''Qhapaq=rich, powerful, opulent, wealthy, privileged; ñan=road, way, path, route. Source "Diccionario quechua - español - quechua" Gobierno Regional Cusco - Cusco ...
that led to
Inkallaqta and
Pocona. Later on, during the
colonial period, it was founded under the name of "Santa Bárbara de Bacas".
Vacas is situated in a rural environment in the altitudes of the ''
Cono Sur
The Southern Cone (, ) is a geographical and cultural subregion composed of the southernmost areas of South America, mostly south of the Tropic of Capricorn. Traditionally, it covers Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, bounded on the west by the Pac ...
'' (Southern Cone) of Cochabamba. The climate is suitable for the cultivation of potatoes, wheat, barley, broad bean and oat. Vacas is known as the "Land of the potato" (Quechua: ''Papaq llaqtan'', ). The fields are prepared with the help of
yokes of oxen. The cultivation of the soil is supplemented by
animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, animal fiber, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising ...
of cows, sheep, pigs and hens.
Education
As to education all types of schools are available in or next to Vacas.
* Preschool education: ''Guardería Sagrado Corazón de Jesús''.
* Primary school: ''Escuela Unidad Experimental'', founded in 1862
* Secondary school: ''Colegio Profesor Toribio Claure''
* Higher education:
Ismael Montes Teacher Training College (''Escuela Superior de Formación de Maestros "Ismael Montes"'' or ESFM "Ismael Montes") (in
Challwa Mayu)
Festivities
* May 4:
Santa Vera Cruz Tatala
* May or June:
Corpus Christi
* June 29:
Saint Peter
Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...
* July 16:
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, or Virgin of Carmel, is a Roman Catholic Titles of Mary, title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated as patron saint, patroness of the Carmelites, Carmelite Order.
The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on M ...
,
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
of Bolivia
* October 15: ''Anniversary of Vacas Municipality''
* December 4:
Saint Barbara
Saint Barbara (; ; ; ), known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara, was an Early Christianity, early Christian Greek saint and martyr. There is no reference to her in the authentic early Christian writings nor in the origin ...
, Anniversary of Vacas
Fairs
* April: Fish, potato and crafts fair
See also
*
Asiru Qucha
*
Parqu Qucha
*
Qullpa Qucha
External links
Map of Arani ProvinceMap of Vacas MunicipalityImages of VacasBetty Veizaga and the group Pukaj Wayra: ''Aires de mi tierra'' (''Takipayanaku'')(Spanish)
Escuela Superior de Formación de Maestros Ismael Montes(Spanish)
{{Cochabamba Department
Populated places in Cochabamba Department