If you’re traveling in Bolivia in February, you can’t miss Oruro’s annual Carnival! This is one of the biggest celebrations in South America.
When it comes to Carnival, most people think of Rio, Brazil: hot Latin beauties, charming Brazilian guys, gorgeous festival costumes, unrestrained South American music...
However, unlike Rio, which has a new theme every year: Oruro's Carnival has always retained its traditional dance, the Diablada, which remained unchanged even during the colonial period. In 2001, UNESCO declared the Oruro Carnival a "masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity", recognizing the religious and cultural values ??it expresses. In 2008, UNESCO included it in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Oruro is also known as the folkloric capital of Bolivia. Therefore, during the annual Carnival, this small city located at an altitude of 3,700 meters will attract 400,000 to 500,000 people to watch. Accommodation and tickets are extremely tight. Friends who plan this trip must make plans in advance.
The carnival festival that was suspended due to the epidemic in 2021 was approved by the government to restart this year and is scheduled to officially open on February 26. My friend and I jumped with excitement when we heard the news, which undoubtedly added more exciting content to our trip to Bolivia.
In order to see the carnival in Oruro, we reluctantly skipped other planned itineraries in Bolivia and took a 7-hour bus ride from Cochabamba, the night before the opening. Arrive in the small town at 11 o'clock. The streets were decorated with lights and colorful decorations, and business people were busy setting up temporary stalls. There were 10-story high benches for watching the parade neatly placed on both sides of the road. The main square was even more crowded, with hot music playing. Heaven. My friend and I were so hungry that trying to find a place to fill our stomachs through the crowds was impossible at this time.
After a quick bite of pizza at a small shop that was not yet closed, we rushed back to the hotel to recharge and look forward to the carnival parade the next morning.
At 8:30 in the morning on the 26th, parades began to pass by the hotel entrance. Police cars cleared the way and dispersed the crowded crowd. Our pre-booked viewing location is in the city's main square, which is also the best viewing point: the streets are the widest and the most spectacular parades will pass through here. My friend and I were jogging all the way. The police paid special attention to us two "foreigners" and were given directions wherever we went. With vaccine certificates and tickets ready, we arrived at the square smoothly at 9 o'clock and climbed up the tall ladder to the stands, which were already packed.
The parade team wore elaborate traditional costumes, with bright smiles on their faces, and danced in uniform steps to the music. The audience cheered one after another.
What caught my eye the most were the ever-changing masks, costumes and accessories of different parades. Locals told me that these costumes for performances were prepared a year ago, and most of them were handmade. It can take a week or even a month, and each piece costs hundreds of dollars!
The parade stretched for four kilometers and performed continuously for 20 hours. The performers include more than 28,000 dancers and more than 10,000 musicians, divided into about 50 groups. In order to give the audience the unique visual enjoyment of Oruro Carnival, they have been rehearsing hard several months ago.
The parade successfully retained the characteristics of medieval mysteries: it expressed the theme of the victory of angels over devils and the victory of good over evil.
In addition to the traditional dance Diablada, the dances of different indigenous peoples such as Morenada, Potolo, Pujllay, Tinku, Kullawada, Tobas, Caporales, Llamarada, WacaWaca, SuriSikuristhe, Kantus, Salay, negritos are part of the intangible heritage of Bolivia.
The passing performance teams love to interact with the audience. The louder the audience cheers, the more excited the dancers and musicians become. Every time they passed by the graceful girls in miniskirts, the young men in the stands shouted "beso... beso..." (meaning blowing a kiss). The girls did not disappoint the audience, blowing kisses directly to the stands, making the atmosphere even more lively. When passing by the strong boys' team, the audience's shouts became "Oso... Oso..." (meaning bear). Hearing the shouts one after another, the young men's dance steps became more vigorous and powerful!
At the climax of the carnival, the audience jumped off the stands to dance with the performers, and the whole city turned into a sea of ??joy... The young men held on to the beautiful girls and refused to let go; and as a relatively scarce person, I With an oriental appearance, I was surrounded by the band boys and took pictures. The local audience also dragged me away to take photos one by one. I really experienced the highlight moment of a "star".
Oruro’s Carnival statutory holiday lasts for 10 days. Because the Carnival coincides with Oruro’s harvest day, the spontaneous celebrations last for more than a month or even longer, including parades, Religious ceremonies, small gatherings of family and friends, etc. During this period, when walking on the street, you are often splashed with water until you are soaked, and sprayed with bubbles until you can't open your eyes. But you must not be upset, because this is a symbol of good luck. At the same time, It is also one of the important celebration activities of the Carnival.
Conclusion: Of course, such a grand ceremony must be celebrated by the whole country. You can feel the festive atmosphere in every city in Bolivia, and the way of celebration in each city will be slightly different.
About the author:
Coco, a native of Beijing, quit her job in a state-owned enterprise for many years, studied in the United States, and now lives in South America. I love sports and life; I love learning and traveling; I love coding and sharing. I hope my words can warm every one of you on the road.