Colorful costumes and
extravagant masks
advance to the beat of trumpets, drums and cymbals;
kids get into foam fights;
thousands crowd, beer in hand, in every corner of the streets of
Oruro
:
the most famous carnival in Bolivia
is back.
After the suspension of 2021 and the restrictions of 2022 due to the covid-19 pandemic, the main parade of the Oruro Carnival was held on Saturday
without chinstraps or
vaccination controls and with a lot of party spirit.
The festivities continue until Tuesday, February 21.
"I've danced for so many years and now I'm still dancing too. And I'm still dancing, until I die maybe I'm going to dance," said Beatriz Yujra, a 65-year-old shopkeeper while chewing coca leaves, dressed in the golden costume of the dance of the
Incas
.
Many papers and dancers of the traditional "Diablada" of the Carnival of Oruro, Bolivia.
Photo AP Photo/Juan Karita.
He had just completed the four kilometer pilgrimage to the
Sanctuary of the Virgen del Socavón
, patron saint of miners in this western Bolivian city, rich in zinc, tin and lead.
The procession is the central event of the Oruro Carnival, declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 2001.
Almost 40 thousand participants
Some
28,000 dancers and 10,000 musicians
from around fifty typical dance groups participate in the "folkloric entrance".
Dressed in ornaments and sequins, the groups decorate their numbers with fireworks, smoke bombs and lots of confetti, while the crowd cheers them on.
The Oruro Carnival was declared an Intangible Oral Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
Photo Aizar Raldes / AFP.
"Our cultures and traditions shine again in the majestic Oruro Carnival," Bolivian President Luis Arce tweeted on Saturday.
"Dancers and bands wear their best clothes and present incomparable choreographies to dazzle the world," added the president, who was not present in this city 225 kilometers from La Paz.
Although the Oruro Carnival has
pre-Hispanic origins
, it became oriented towards Christianity after the Spanish conquest.
Dancers in the Morenada, one of the traditional dances of the carnival.
Photo Aizar Raldes / AFP.
Each group concludes its parade with the same ritual:
crossing the temple of the Sanctuary on its knees
to the altar to receive the blessing of the Catholic priest.
"It's a procession to the Virgin made dance," explained Crhystian Marañón, a 40-year-old gynecologist.
"We all come to dance to reach the feet of our 'Mommy' from Socavón and ask her for favors, give her thanks for some things that life gives us.
We dance out of devotion
."
Next to him, Celyt Gómez, 38, was radiant.
"I am from Oruro and carnival, for me, is an incomparable cultural expression. It is a presence of
devotion to the Virgen del Socavón
," she said proudly.
The Waca Waca dance is one of several in the main Oruro carnival parade.
Photo Aizar Raldes / AFP.
Risks from "uncontrolled exploitation"
Among the flagship dances of the Oruro Carnival are the
morenada
, the
diablada
and the
caporales
, in addition to the
waca waca
, the
tinku
, the
tobas
and the Afro-Bolivian
saya
.
For the inhabitants of Oruro, a mining and agricultural city at about
3,700 meters of altitude
in the Bolivian altiplano, the festival, although short, is an important source of income.
UNESCO warns against "uncontrolled exploitation" that raises prices too high.
Photo Aizar Raldes / AFP.
But Unesco warns that "the uncontrolled financial exploitation of the carnival", with expensive seats and
hotels at prices inaccessible
to a large part of the population, is a "danger" for the iconic celebration.
AFP/Martin Silva
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