La Rinconada

Imagine living in a place where the air is thinner than anywhere else on Earth, where your life expectancy is barely 30 years, and you work for 30 days straight for nothing... Welcome to La Rinconada, Peru.

Its elevation is 16,700 ft (5,100 meters) above sea level. For perspective, this is 4,000 ft higher than the top of Mt. Fuji and a few thousand feet shy of the peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

……And people live there. Many of them. The population fluctuates but it is estimated that it gets up to 30,000 to 50,000, depending on the season.

The oxygen level is around 50% lower than at sea level.

The life expectancy for full-time residents is reported to be between 30 and 35 years.

There is little to no infrastructure—most homes have no running water, electricity, or sewage.

So why on earth do people live here?

Gold.

La Rinconada, Spanish for "The Cornered One," is a gold mining town. It began as just that: a mine, where miners would go for 30 days and then leave. However, with gold prices climbing steadily and significant gold deposits discovered in the mine, miners and nearby families were encouraged to stay longer and eventually settle permanently, enticed by the prospect of reliable earnings from gold mining.

Here’s the interesting part: a majority of the time, the residents of La Rinconada are working for free.

Let’s take a step back to summarize: 50% less oxygen than at sea level, your body essentially shuts down by age 30, and you work for free.

Again, why in the world would anyone live like this? It seems entirely unnatural.

Well, this is the catch. They operate under an entirely unregulated system called the "cachorreo" method, where after working for 30 days with no pay, there is one day in which all the miners get to keep all the gold they find and carry out of the mines.

This is why they live there: the "pago," or the free day.

Ever since I first heard about this, it’s been on my mind, wondering how we got to this point—where a rock that, long before any of us were alive, was decided to have value. Enough value that humans are willing to endure conditions that result in a life expectancy of 30 years, just to get their hands on it and sell it.

What does this say about human nature?

We all think we’re different, that we wouldn’t put up with living like the people in La Rinconada. However, I see this as a microcosm of how many people live—enduring harsh conditions for extended periods in exchange for a short period of freedom. They chase and mine “gold” in their chosen endeavors, driven by the promise that one day, they will be able to enjoy what they’ve mined, once it’s all over.

I also think about how it represents what it's like to chase gold and live at the highest elevations, rather than enjoying the peaks and valleys of life and the benefits that come with all the elevations this world has to offer. It may be exhilarating on that day of chasing gold, the one you get to keep, but it’s at the expense of a short, sick life overall.

The citizens are making a cost-benefit analysis, as we all do, and they have determined that the benefits outweigh the costs of living this life.

They have ultimately decided that this is their best and only option, and they endure it and do what it takes to survive. They are extremely resilient—just as we all are. They’ve likely adapted to it and don’t think much of it. I’d imagine the harsh conditions may even bond the community together. It may only be us on the outside who see anything wrong with it.

They could leave at any time; the door is wide open, and nothing is really stopping them from enduring these conditions. But they still willingly stick around for another 30 days for the next free day.

However you spin it, La Rinconada, “The Cornered One,” is an interesting case study on human nature.

Are you a citizen of La Rinconada?

G