Neo-Andean baroque: Bolivia's indigenous Aymara know how to live it up

Just add more: Aymara buildings must earn their way and most feature money-making spaces on the lower floors, such as this fantastically gaudy function hall, with the owner and his or her family living in the penthouse above. Photos: AFP

Just add more: Aymara buildings must earn their way and most feature money-making spaces on the lower floors, such as this fantastically gaudy function hall, with the owner and his or her family living in the penthouse above. Photos: AFP

Splashed in bright colours, sporting swank ballrooms and lavish apartments, new mansions are popping up in poor neighbourhoods in the Bolivian highlands, built by the booming nouveau riche of the indigenous Aymara.