The President of Bolivia Congratulates Lourdes Quenta Perca
» Submitted by blstanford on Fri, 09/05/2014 - 15:56. » 
President Evo Morales awarded Lourdes Quenta Perca the title of Textile Engineer on August 2, 2014. She was among the first professional graduates of the Indigenous Universities of Bolivia (UNIBOL).
President Morales complemented the new graduates on their high level of discipline and competence and said that he hoped that the new graduates had received training that was both theoretical and practical and he hoped they would be loved and respected for their work.
It was a great ending to a very challenging year. Only a few months before she expected to graduate, Lourdes and her classmates were told that the requirements for their degrees had been revised. In addition to their coursework, they had to do a thesis in the Aymara language and a research project in Spanish! Everyone at the university worked together seven days a week, and on July 18, Lourdes defended both her thesis and her research project.
Her thesis in Aymara, “QARQAPATA, CHACHAPUYAAY-LLUNACH’UQI, IRINUAWAYUSAWUÑANAMAYJT’ANA-KAPATAUKHAMARAKISALTANAKAPATAYATXATATA” is a study of the symbols used in hand-weaving of the ayawu, the cloths used for carrying babies. She analyzed the meanings of the symbols, stripes and colors and developed techniques for reproducing them with industrial machines.
Her research project, written in Spanish, focused on the production of thread from Llama fiber and included an analysis of the thread itself, the market, industrial processes using the threat, and the economic, social and financial impact of the production.
Lourdes wrote, “First and above all, I give thanks to God for being with me in every step that I take, for strengthening my heart and illuminating my mind.” “Second,” she wrote, I thank you with all my heart for having giving your economic aid. It has been a big help for me and my family…the money allowed me to buy my study materials such as pens, notebooks, weavings, thread, and relieved the worries of my family….From now on I plan to participate in the scholarship by helping younger students in higher education.”
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