Alwa, though, believes she has a long way to go to emulate her rap heroes Warrior from Peru and Argentine Alika. “I’m in the process of becoming a rapper, I’m not there yet,” she says.

Alwa says she is the first Aymara rapper from Bolivia and one day wants to make a living from her voice. "I don't care if people like my music. Just tell my mother that fear won't stop me. She won ...

Alwa stands rigidly in front of a microphone, wearing a traditional puffy “pollera” skirt, a picture of serious concentration as Andean panpipe music starts up in the background. The scene is set for ...