El "Tio", the Devil as seen inside a mine shaft in the Cerro Rico in Potosi, Bolivia.

A statue of El "Tio" (the Devil) as seen inside a mine shaft in the Cerro Rico in Potosi, Bolivia. Miners pay homage and ask permission to extract the minerals every time they go inside the mine, where women are not allowed to enter. They offer coca leaves, alcohol, tobacco and fire as part of a ceremony called "pijchar".