Maybe it’s the fever in our blood,
maybe it's the way we feel,
the music and the soul we give to life,
the strength and tenderness when we hear a song,
different accents but the same heart.

~ Honorio Herrero

Since the end of March, Bricks in Bits has been hosting a contest called “BiBuilders Latinoamérica 2021“ where several Latin American communities represented by a team of two members each are taking part in different challenges with one common requirement: they need to build and submit a creation within five days.

The theme for the first week was “What identifies us as Latin Americans?” The build we are highlighting today was created by the challengers representing “Comunidad LEGO - Bolivia.” The following interview was translated from Spanish to English, so please forgive any errors or unique word choices.

Sergio: Hi Israel and Ysrael, can you tell us more about yourselves?

Israel: I’m Israel Alarcon Rivas (@rilase_builder). I’m 35 years old, a graphic designer and a LEGO hobbyist.

Ysrael: My name is Ysrael Mendoza Maldonado (@ysraelalan). I’m 40 years old, and I’m an architect, graphic designer and photographer from La Paz, Bolivia.

Sergio: The theme was to build what identifies us as Latin Americans. How did you come up with this idea of a street?

Ysrael: After a team brainstorm, we decided to show a barrio (neighborhood), something really typical in Latin America. We named it “LATAM Street.”

Israel: We believe it’s one of the most flashy ways to represent the Latin American fraternal relationship we have in the streets and in the neighborhood.

Ysrael: Having the neighborhood concept in mind, our new ideas were born.

Sergio: What were some of the ideas that made it into your build?

Israel: That terrific red Americas silhouette in the stone pavement was suggested by Ysrael. And then we thought of fiesta, those Latin American festivals where people spend their time with their families and go across the streets finding old friends, making new ones. I had in mind our local festivals and folkloric entrances, a Bolivian street celebration where people dance and get along.

Ysrael: Specifically, the idea was to represent one side of the street as a colonial district, the other side as a composition of traditional houses, and the middle of the street to include some typical Latin American characters.

Sergio: Can you tell us more about the street façades?

Israel: On the left, the first building is based on my country Bolivia, where you can see details of a convenience store. Next to it, there is a retail store with modern architecture (note the air conditioner) followed by buildings inspired on a rustic Colombia where white, yellow and green prevails which gives an interesting and appealing contrast.

Ysrael: On the right, the buildings follow an older and more traditional style compared to the left side.

Sergio: By having a limited amount of pictures to show in the contest, I suspect some details or Easter eggs may get lost. Is there anything you want to highlight or something that you really liked?

Ysrael: Some details like the clothesline, the lamp-posts, and a few cracks in some buildings, stuff like that add to the realism.

Sergio: Yes, those cables represent us so well!

Israel: It’s something we always see in most Latin American countries.

Sergio: How did you split the work?

Israel: Each one took care of one side of the street (chuckles) and then let the imagination run wild.

Ysrael: That was because we picked an idea really fast and it was easy to split. After each side was done including the facades, sidewalk and setting, I was responsible for the stone pavement and Israel was in charge of the minifigures.

Sergio: Do you plan to build it with physical bricks?

Ysrael: Given how things are developing with COVID-19, it’s hard to say.

Israel: After the contest is finished we will focus on LEGO Ideas.

Sergio: Good luck and thank you for your time!

Have you been part of a street celebration in Latin America? Have you seen other MOCs representing your local culture? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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