Get to Carnival 2016 in Oruro, Bolivia

January 14, 2016 Pirwa

This year, Oruro will celebrate its carnival on Saturday, February 6th. On this day, more than 400,000 will gather in this former mining town to revel in non-stop folkloric dance parades and parties on a huge scale. See why this is the most popular annual festival in all of Bolivia, and one of South America’s most famous, by joining in on the fun as Lucifer and his devils show off their famous dance moves.

The festivities begin three days before the main carnival day begin with marching bands playing to greet the Virgen del Socavon (the Virgin of the Mineshaft, a version of the Candelmas Virgin Virgin thought to have appeared in a mineshaft in Oruro). It is followed by the Anata Andina, an offering to the Pachamama earth deity and an indigenous dance celebration. Finally, on Friday there is an all-night party in honor of El Tío, the devil figure thought to offer protection in the underworld of the mines. (Miners keep statues of El Tío in their shafts, offering coca leaves and cigarettes in hopes of protection and good fortune. Many believe that God’s influence does not extend to the mines.)

Saturday is the main Carnival day, known as Pilgrimage Saturday. On this day, a flamboyant Archangel Michael will lead a parade, followed by bears, pumas, monkeys and condors from pre-Incan Andean mythology. Dancers will also be portraying the seven deadly sins, local miners’ unions, ancient Incas, Spanish conquistadores, and the black slaves who once worked the mines. By far, the star is Lucifer and his devils, whose over-the-top costumes never fail to impress. (Their dance, the Diablada, is now Bolivia’s most iconic.)

The coterie will be followed by vehicles carrying offerings for Inti, the Incan sun deity, and El Tío. Overall, more than 10,000 musicians and 50 large groups of folk dancers will parade along the 20-hour route that will lead them from the Virgin’s sanctuary to the Oruro soccer stadium. Two dance plays will then portray the Spanish conquest and Archangel Michael’s battle between good and evil (spoiler alert: the seven deadly sins don’t make it out alive).

The following day is Carnival Sunday. Early in the morning, just after Archangel Michael cements his victory, the dancers will begin the return to the Virgin’s sanctuary to pay her homage. It’s another parade in the afternoon, although smaller than the day before.

On Devil’s Monday, the three-day dance parade and party will end with the devils dancing around large bonfires. In the following days, there won’t be any more large parties or parades, but individual families will celebrate with more offerings to the Pachamama earth deity and, on Wednesday, a playful water fight.

The whole colorful spectacle has been declared a UNESCO Masterpiece of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity, and is well worth traveling to Oruro to see. Pirwa Travel offers a full-day package which includes transport to and from La Paz, a continental breakfast, a packed lunch, a drink and beer. (Since Oruro doesn’t have the capacity to house all of its visitors during the festival, it’s easier to stay at a hostel in La Paz and get bused in and out.) You’ll settle into a well-positioned section of stands (before the Palco section) which offers shade, great views, and easy access to the area restrooms. You’ll receive a distinctive poncho to shield you from the foam, beer, and other flying substances, and a guide will be by your side throughout the event, to explain the significance of the dance and costumes. We meet and depart La Paz very early on February 6^th, at 4:45am, and will begin the return trip at 9pm, although you won’t actually arrive back in La Paz until 1am, so it’s quite a long but festive day!