EL ALTO, Bolivia (AP) — Brash, baroque and steeped in native Andean symbols, the mini-mansions are a striking sight on the caked-dirt streets of El Alto, the inexorably expanding sister city of Bolivia’s capital.

They attest to a new class of indigenous nouveau riche, many of them merchants who converted street stalls into fortunes. Owners often sink a million dollars into the opulent edifices, lavishing funds on brilliantly colored ballrooms.