M. Rigoberto (Manuel Rigoberto) Paredes

Born on April 17, 1870, in Carabuco in Bolivia’s La Paz region, M. Rigoberto Paredes Iturri became known as a historian, folklorist, ethnographer, essayist, and public figure. Several reliable sources describe him as an early and influential researcher of Bolivian anthropology, ethnography, and folklore, especially for his sustained attention to national life and popular traditions.

His work ranged across history, sociology, and cultural study, and sources credit him with a body of around thirty-five titles. Among the books most often mentioned are Mitos, supersticiones y supervivencias populares de Bolivia, El arte folklórico de Bolivia, and studies connected to the altiplano and Bolivian history. He is especially remembered for documenting beliefs, customs, and forms of expression rooted in everyday Bolivian culture.

There is some disagreement among sources about details such as his exact birthplace and year of death, but they consistently place his life between 1870 and the early 1950s. What stands out clearly is the scale of his contribution: he helped lay the groundwork for the study of folklore and ethnography in Bolivia, and his writing remains part of the country’s intellectual and cultural memory.