Bolivia knows the joy, splendor and devotion of the Carnival of Oruro. The morenadas, the diabladas, the tinkus or even the caporales brought a new shine to Oruro, the capital of Bolivian folklore, on Saturday 18. The carnival, one of the largest in South America, opened with joy, devotion and without restriction.
The “Carnaval de Oruro” is a religious festival organized in honor of the Virgen del Socavón (Virgin of the Mines); elements of the pre-Columbian religions of the indigenous peoples of the highlands live there. It was inscribed by UNESCO in 2001 on the list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity and included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008.
After months of preparation, hundreds of dancers transformed the streets of Oruro into a stage of dance and rejoicing, wearing colorful costumes of typical Bolivian dances from the early hours of the morning, also to pay homage to the local Virgin. Brass bands also accompanied the three-kilometre course of the various troops.
