The City Of EL Alto Bolivia

EL ALTO, BOLIVIA - JANUARY 31: An unidentified Bolivian boy standing outside a house January 31, 2007 in the city of El Alto located on the plateau above La Paz, Bolivia. El Alto is home to a lot of low-income workers since living expenses in La Paz in the valley below are much higher. El Alto is also the fastest growing city in Bolivia, since it is a first stop for Bolivians, often indigenous people, moving in to the city from poorer districts. Social awareness is big in El Alto with some of the most prominent activists coming from the city and the city is renowned for the Gas War in 2003 where indigenous and labour groups protested what they believed was immense exploitation of the poor country's vast natural gas reserves. Bolivia is the poorest country in South America while at the same time sitting on the continent's second biggest gas reserves. (Photo by David Hogsholt/Getty Images)