El Cupolog

Pan-american Transmissions : The Road to Tierra Del Fuego

Bring your family to jail, invite some tourists, too At the San Pedro Prison in central La Paz, it is not unusual for inmates to share their cells with their wife and kids and run a business from behind bars. It’s an interesting place and, up until a few years ago, travelers were able to take tours of the jail. Prison guides would introduce them to different inmates who would share their jail stories, and then, at the end of the tour, visitors were offered cocaine. “The best in the world,” they claimed. Due to rising international attention, the prison tours are no longer operating - or at least they weren’t when I visited the place - but a decent write up was published in The Guardian a few years ago for anyone that’s curious. La Paz, Bolivia - © Diego Cupolo 2012

Bring your family to jail, invite some tourists, too

At the San Pedro Prison in central La Paz, it is not unusual for inmates to share their cells with their wife and kids and run a business from behind bars. It’s an interesting place and, up until a few years ago, travelers were able to take tours of the jail.

Prison guides would introduce them to different inmates who would share their jail stories, and then, at the end of the tour, visitors were offered cocaine. “The best in the world,” they claimed.

Due to rising international attention, the prison tours are no longer operating - or at least they weren’t when I visited the place - but a decent write up was published in The Guardian a few years ago for anyone that’s curious.

La Paz, Bolivia - © Diego Cupolo 2012

11 months ago 4 notes
Tagged with:  #san pedro  #prison  #jail  #tour  #la paz  #bolivia  #crime  #corruption  #culture  #society  #story  #prose  #travel  #world  #cocaine  #latin america  #south america  #2012  #photo  #photography
  1. lilkrazy13 reblogged this from slick-lovee
  2. slick-lovee reblogged this from diegocupolo
  3. diegocupolo posted this