Carnaval originated as a celebration of the springtime planting season when families buried and burned offerings to the Pachamama (Mother Earth) in hopes of being blessed with healthy and bountiful harvests. With the imposition of Catholicism, the Carnaval celebration was transplanted to early February to coincide with the beginning of Lent. Now the festivities include the two belief systems, blending indigenous with Catholic.

During the twenty hours of parading, for example, tribal war dances like the Tinku alternate with St. Peter conquering the seven deadly sins. Another example of this assimilation can be seen in the different depictions of the Virgin Mary many regions of Bolivia have adopted. As a means of incorporating Catholicism but not losing rich cultural tradition, statues and images of the Virgin are often superimposed on a more traditional symbol of worship. For example, the Virgin of the mining city Potosí sits atop a mountain so that while paying their respects to the Catholic symbol, Potosinos continue their tradition of honoring the mountain that sustained their society. Another Virgin depicts the indigenous reverence toward nature and the cosmos by sitting atop a crescent moon with stars.

As Carnaval falls during the hottest time of year, the festivities also include water fighting. Cholitas sell spray cans of foam, pre-filled water balloons (8 for 15 cents!), ponchos and beer, and the entire city is a warzone. Unlike the friendly fire in Tarija I've described in previous posts, in Oruro you couldn't step out of a building withough getting soaked. Balloons sailed over the parade route in the spaces between dancing groups, but when those ornate costumes made thier approach, all attention shifted to the complex and lively dancing.

Though over 28,000 dancers and 10,000 accompanying musicians participate in the parading, Carnaval de Oruro still had a very intimate feel. For example, here a perfect stranger shares his beer with a tired dancer, head dress in hand.

After literally hours of snaking through the city, the dancers make their way to the Sanctuaria del Socavon, or "Church of the Mineshaft" (so called due to the miraculous appearance of a mural of the Virgin Mary in Oruro's richest silver mine) for a short ceremony before they rejoin the throngs of spectators outside. Because a few volunteers were dancing with one of the final Tinku groups the first night, and they didn't begin the route until 3 am, we were at the church at sunrise, still cheering them on. We finally dragged ourselves back to the hostel just as the morning cleaning shift began to tackle the garbage-filled parade route, preparing for the dancing to begin again in a few hours.

Carnaval de Oruro was an amazingly diverse and lively cultural experience, and in my opinion has earned its status as one of Mankind's Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO in 2001. It is a must-do if you ever find yourself in Bolivia in February.