Carnaval de Oruro

The Carnival of Oruro (Spanish Carnaval de Oruro ) is a religious festival is held in honor of the " Virgen del Socavon " ( Virgin of the mine tunnels ); live in it elements continued the pre-Columbian religion of the indigenous peoples of the highlands. It is held annually and is one of the main tourist attractions of Bolivia. The Carnival of Oruro has been included in the list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2001 by UNESCO and included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008. 2014 were 350,000 people at the carnival in Oruro.

Expiration

Every year the carnival is heralded on Holy Thursday with the indigenous carnival the Anata Andino, participate in the mainly indigenous. Here thanks to the Pachamama and the Achachilas ( deities who are responsible for wind, rain, ice, etc. and live in the mountains ) for the harvest of last year and asks again comparable to a good harvest for the coming year ( approximately with Thanksgiving ).

The actual carnival of Oruro begins on the Saturday before Shrove Monday (Fat Saturday) and lasts three days. The dance groups start near the bus station in Oruro and end their move in a church, the Iglesia del Socavon. The move has a length of about 3 km. Only he who is a member of Conjunto (dance group or brotherhood ), may participate in the parade through the town.

On the first day (Saturday) explicitly for the Virgen del Socavón ( Virgin of the mine tunnels ) is danced. Many participants swear her to attend at least three years at the carnival to ask for something from her in return. Some participants have to take their lives every year at the carnival part.

On the second day (Sunday) to dance for the Dios Momo, the God of the fun. The organization of this day is looser, inter alia, is also the consumption of alcohol allowed (which is actually forbidden on Saturday ).

The Monday of the Mardi Gras ( Shrove Monday ) is dedicated exclusively to Diablada and Morenada. The Conjuntos meet on this day before the court at the church. Dancing they enter the church and say goodbye to the Virgin. Here they ask for strength and success for the coming year and are grateful for their support. Evening each group celebrating a festival that is one selected ( pasante ) the group aligns (every year another ) for themselves. There, an image of the Virgin is given to the new pasante, the " care " it until next year.

Organization

Is organized by the Carnival of Oruro from the ACFO, the Asociacion de Conjuntos del folklore de Oruro (Association of folkloric dance groups from Oruro ). It specifies the boot sequence from the dance groups determined, assessed the occurrence and sets penalties ( if a dance group moved forward slowly, for example ) for breaches of club rules. Inter alia can lead to such sanctions shift at the last place.

At the carnival are currently participating in 48 dance groups. This dance while 18 different dances, among others, Diablada, Morenada, Caporales, Toba, Tinku, Phujllay etc. The starting order will be determined by the ACFO. On Saturday, this essentially corresponds to the founding date of each dance groups.

Other events during the carnival

With the carnival hang two more events together:

Even before the start (usually two to three weeks in advance) finds the " festival de bandas " ( Blasmusikfest ) instead. This gives rise to all musicians of all brass bands that accompany the dance groups with music in the carnival together on to ( etc. including the Bolivian national anthem, the anthem of Oruro ) to play together a few pieces of music. After that, a competition takes place, and it will be crowned the best brass band. This festival brings together around 3,000 to 4,000 musicians.

On the morning of Carnival Sunday all bands ( bandas ) of the participating dance groups ( Greeting to the Sun ) meet against four clock in the square outside the church to Saludo al Sol, which is also called el Alba. With the rising sun begin all music groups at the same time to play the melody of their dance group. Since each group has a different tune, one can only make a certain melody, if you stand directly in front of one of those " bandas ".

Economic impact

The ride to and from Oruro is this time of year twice as much as usual, and the seats in the buses are already sold out well in advance. Hotels and guest houses are fully booked months in advance. Jobs will be created by making typical, artfully shaped and decorated giant plaster masks in the form of Devil's faces.

Bridge collapse in 2014, deaths and injuries

Under the burden of spectators broke on March 1, 2014 in Oruro, a bridge and plunged to a music group, in this accident five people died and dozens were injured. During Carnival in Bolivia total in 2014, 75 people have been killed by government information in a few days to 6 March, including 15 by acts of violence, 37 traffic accidents, 23 by other disasters. Alone to the carnival in Oruro 350,000 people had come.