I was recently browsing the Internet and, using Google, found the following web site La llama, reina de los Andes, conquista el mundo moderno which is in Spanish.

Google offered an automatic translation of the page from Spanish into English and I thought you might be amused by how it translated. To start off the word “llama” translated for some reason into “flame” which tends to make some of the sentences rather bizarre. Fernando Escóbar Rooms, the author, probably would not be impressed. (I have editited it down a little.)

The flame, queen of the Andes, conquer the modern world

Ever since their great kindness like animal of work, company has been put in the open, and also like producer of raw material for the modern industry of the weave and, more recently, like nutritional source, the flame has initiated a process of conquest of the entire world.

First like exotic animal and now like domestic animal, the flame is being mattered by countries of North America and Europe, constituting itself in an excellent company, specially for its raising in the rural areas or the outskirts of the great cities.

From immemorial times, the Andean man has had next to himself as inseparable companion in his solitude to the flame, nobleman animal, that next to the alpaca, the vicuna and the guanaco, has served to him like effective means of transport of their products, wool supplier for their dresses, offering for their Gods and, mainly, like company in his long-hauls by mountains and plateau.

With its arrogant and challenging glance, but simultaneously with its nobility and humility, the flame is queen and lady of the Andean heights, where great cattle ranches of diverse species control like flocks of the farmers who, by their amount and quality, aymaras and quechuas measure their economic hierarchy in the societies, and not without reason, because to have these camelidaes it constitutes a very important source of income in the economy of those towns.


As much the flame as the alpaca constitutes, still nowadays, efficient means for the product transport, specially in places in which ways do not exist, or for the shipment extraction from truely difficult places like mountains, gorges, precipices and other geographic features that prevent the accomplishment of these tasks of another way.

The care that they require is minimum on the part of the shepherds, and its food is the brave straw and other species that occur in the heights. At the present time they do not have predators, except for pumas of mountains in some places of the country. Not vicuna happens the same to, whose fine skin and hair very are quoted by the furtive hunters whom they invade, inclusively, areas protected, to receive pieces and to sell them to high prices in the illegal market, constituting this one in one of the main predators.

Genetic improvement

Of a time to this part, the western world has put its eyes in the flame, but, as usual, always with commercial aims, except for counted exceptions. By that reason, they have been begun to develop programs for the improvement of the population of camelidaes, not only in Bolivia, but also in bordering countries like Peru and Chile, whose governmental people in charge of agriculture have initiated campaigns for their promotion.

Along with this boom, exhibition fairs have begun to be made in all the country, in which the cattle dealers exhibit their better units of flames and alpacas. Parallelly, the genetic technology has entered before the humble altiplánicos towns to offer programs of genetic improvement, whose initial results are really important.

With this program of genetic improvement it is wanted to revert the indices of extreme poverty that there is at the present time in that region.

Until now, already three fairs have been made exhibitions of South American camelidaes, caused by the Integral Association of Cattle dealers of Camelidaes of High The Andes, with the participation of cattle dealers and unit of Peru, Chile and Bolivia, where, besides to be to beautiful units of flames and alpacas, samples of crafts have been made and gastronomical exhibitions with base in the flame meat have mounted.

Meat of flame

. . . it has been stated that the cholesterol levels of this meat are minimum, smaller inclusively than the one of the head of cattle meat, besides to taste very pleasant. In that sense an awareness process has begun on kindness of this product, and its sale to the public in general is being promoted whom still with timidity it acquires in the few places of sale which they exist. As far as the prices of commercialization, they are minors who those that prevails for the head of cattle meat, that is the one of massive consumption.

Animals of company


Recent experiences give account of which the flame is constituted in a remarkable guardian of the properties, by his valentía before the frequent invasion on the part of animals predators like coyotes, pumas and others, to which the flame faces accurate escupitajos and kicks driving away them.

Also one is like a safe animal for the children who caress it and mount without this one is worried. He is quiet and elegant, adapts easily to any type of climate, in short, many are kindness that the flame has, that makes of her the ideal animal for raising.