Oruro, Bolivia

Oruro is a city in the highlands of the Bolivian Andes Mountain Range and is capital of the department of Oruro. Oruro was economically significant mainly for its tin mining. The city is located at about 3710 m, about three hours by bus south of La Paz, and with about 264 683 inhabitants ( census 2012) is the fifth largest city in Bolivia.

Geography

Oruro has a typical diurnal climate in which the daily temperature fluctuations are more pronounced than the mean temperature variations between winter and summer. Thus, the extreme temperatures are about 23 ° C in summer and -17 ° C in winter. The humidity time is between December and March during April there is a pronounced dry season until November. The sky is mostly clear and intense blue color. Although the climate is very cold, they say that it is very healthy and significantly prolong life.

The vegetation in and around Oruro is sparse, for no more lush growth at this rate is possible. An animal species there are in addition vicuña, alpaca and llamas also Quirquincho, a small belt species. Therefore, the residents Oruros are also popularly called the Quirquinchos.

Population

The population of the city has increased in recent decades to nearly twice:

The population Oruros consists of an ethnic composition that is composed of Quechua, Aymara, Uru - Chipaya, Europeans and their mixed descendants.

Cityscape

Oruro corresponds to the image of a typical industrial city. The whole city is dominated by the influence of the mining industry. While mining no longer has the importance of bygone days, a fine dust is still everywhere in the air, creeping down to the smallest crack.

Economy

Until the closure of the mines between 1990 and 1992 was Oruro most important center of mining (tin, silver, gold, tungsten, antimony, sulfur, borax and copper) in Bolivia.

The collapse of the Zinnmarktes 1985 caused the end of mining in Oruro. First, the reduction of the ore could still be maintained in the mines. Today, however, only very few, mostly privatized mines in operation. Some miners have formed after the closure of state to cooperatives and operate the reduction of mineral ores now in-house. In most of the privatized mines gold is mainly mined in the state of tungsten, antimony, borax and sulfur. The most important mines of Bolivia are still in the department of Oruro and are in Huanuni, Colquiri and Avicaya.

Due to the fall of the Bergbauindistrie Orureños had to seek other economic sectors. So today intensified agriculture (potatoes, quinoa, Oca, beans and barley) and livestock breeding (horses, cows, pigs, llamas and alpacas ) operated. In addition, here shoe industry, soap factories, mills, industrial ceramics enterprises, metalworking and pasta factories have settled.

Traffic network

Mining, it is thanks to them that Oruro today is still an important transportation hub. In the formerly most important mining center, the first railway line in the country with connections to all major cities of Bolivia and to Chile and Argentina was born. Likewise was worried for a good road network. All major roads in the country led via Oruro, which greatly favors its development as an industrial city.

Today through Oruro in north-south direction, the highway Ruta 1, which runs from the Peruvian border on Lake Titicaca on the double metropolis of La Paz / El Alto to Oruro and Potosí and Tarija to continue on Bermejo on the Argentine border. In the east-west direction Oruro is crossed by the highway Ruta 12, which begins in the west to the Chilean border and east of Oruro meets the Ruta 4, which is connected via Cochabamba with the lowland city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra and onwards to Puerto Busch leads on the Brazilian border.

Festivals

Oruro is a widely famous center of the Bolivian carnival, which was 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 and among other things here with special, intricately carved huge colorful wooden masks in the form of Devil's faces and parodies of the exploited from slavery blacks and indigenous people and elaborate dances (including Diablada and Morenada ) is celebrated. The Carnival of Oruro live elements of the pre-Columbian religion of the indigenous peoples of the highlands continued.

The ride to and from Oruro is this time of year more expensive by 100 % than usual, and the seats in the buses have long been sold out in advance. The town fills up and seems to be bursting at the seams. Even hotels and guest houses are fully booked months in advance.

On Maundy Thursday is always held the indigenous carnival, the Anata, may participate in the only 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 asked again for a good harvest.

The Carnival of Oruro begins on the Saturday before Carnival Monday and lasts three days. On Saturday the carnival ( the mine tunnels Virgin ) is explicitly danced for the Virgen del Socavón. Only he who is a member of Conjunto (dance group or brotherhood ), may participate in the parade through the town. Some participants swear her to attend three years at the carnival. Some participants have to take their lives every year at the carnival part.

On Sunday of Carnival, at four clock in the morning, all the bands meet ( bandas ) of the participating dance groups in the square outside the church to Saludo al Sol, el Alba. With the rising sun, all begin at the same musical groups to play the melody of her dance group. Since each group has a different tune, it is almost impossible to hear a melody.

On this day, they dance for the Dios Momo, the God of the fun. The Monday of the Mardi Gras ( Shrove Monday with us ) is exclusively dedicated to the 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.

See also Main article: Carnival of Oruro

Founding Oruros

With the advent of the Spaniards in 1535 on today's Bolivian soil and the foundation pariahs, a beautiful colonial Age village, which today is 23 kilometers away from Oruro, began the history of mining in the area.

In Paria, 1535 founded by Diego de Almagro and thus the oldest Spanish settlement Alt- Peru, was mined in the times of the Incas gold.

Paria, however, never reached the status of a city, while Oruro, the on November 1, 1606 under the name of Villa San Felipe de Austria ( in homage to Philip III. , Who was King of Spain at the time) by Manuel de Castro del Castillo y Padilla was founded, climb to the center of mining in Bolivia. Already in 1557 it was known that there were at Paria silver deposits in the area. But it was very difficult at first to get into this region due to the very bloody civil wars that led the Spaniards in 1538 to 1548 with each other.

The act establishing Villa San Felipe de Austria was only a formality. Even before the documentary confirmation of the place was heavily populated. After Salamanca Trujillo is said to have already given 30,000 residents and 6,000 miners in the year before the official establishment. But before the city was given this name, baptized Francisco de Medrano it in 1585, " San Miguel de Oruro " and the documents from this period mention even then only the name of Oruro. According to Mesa Gisbert and the land in this period was anyway known among the population only under the name of Uru - Uru, because of the Urus, who lived in this area and is also due to the city's name.

Aktenkundlich was the name of Oruro but only on September 5, 1826 by J. Mariscal Antonio de Sucre, the then president of Bolivia.

Due to precious metal -rich deposits that did not escape the Spaniards, Oruro was only a year after its inception to the most populated cities in Hispanic America. Administratively stood Villa San Felipe de Austria Audiencia de Charcas of, an administrative district of the Viceroyalty of Peru, which is based in La Plata, today Sucre had.

With the establishment but the problems did not start until. The founding fathers and mine owners were afraid of Potosí, Oruro that could run them the rank. They feared that the indigenous people who are supposed to come to Potosí to the mita (periodic rotation work), could stay in Oruro, what the majority also did this.

The President of the Audiencia de chakras, Maldonado de Torres wanted, then consult with the king, whether it would not be better Oruro deny the town right again and it only Asiento ( here: miners settlement ) to leave, as the competition for Potosí was too big. It was decided to abolish the mita in Oruro, so that the Indians who were assigned to work in Potosí, also complying with their obligation to work. So it came that the Indians, after they had fulfilled their Potosí in forced labor imposed duty, came to Oruro to continue working there, but as "free " workers.

The specially appointed for this purpose at Vogt Diego de Portugal in 1607 sent from Peru to Oruro to get a picture of the situation in the mining center and verify whether the city should retain their title. He noted that the city was already developed both structurally and administratively so far that could no longer be her but know the city charter. The foundation remained and was not discussed.

Characteristic of all mining centers was the rapid growth after the discovery of the mines, an era of splendor and flowering. The slow decline followed, and many residents left the city, as the natural riches that were once crucial to the foundation dried up.

By the situation developed Oruro quickly became a thriving city; Rise and fall, however, were related to the yield of the mines. Until the main veins of silver ( Vetas principales ) dried up, Oruro was heavily populated and Potosi is a constant thorn in the side. Only when the tin mines of Simón I. Patiño were discovered, the mining operation could be resumed and the economic situation Oruros stabilizing.

Attractions

• Santuario del Socavón ( Church of the Miraculous Virgin and the patron saint of the city, will be held in whose honor the Carnival)
• Museo Minero del Socavón ( mining museum below the church entrance in the church)
• Museo Simón I. Patiño ( home of Zinnbarons )
• Museo Taller Cardozo Velásquez ( private museum by a local artist )
• La Casa de la Cultura ( House of Culture )
• Museo Antropológico ( Folklore Museum )
• Museo de Arte Sacro ( Museum of Sacred Art)
• Artesanales Talleres ( workshops of artists, the sumptuous costumes ( Diablada, Morenada ) produced for the Carnival )
• Museo Mineralogico ( Mineralogical Museum )

Twinning

• Salt Lake City, Utah, United States