We arrived in Oruro Friday evening (Feb 4) about 5:30 PM to a very overcrowded village as it burst with excitement. The big event, La Entrada would begin at sunrise (630 AM) on Saturday morning, Feb 5, the last Saturday before Ash Wednesday. Already the spray foam, water guns... think super-soakers confetti and water balloons were everywhere! Appropriate dress was anything covered by a poncho. We watched a group of small boys selling ponchos: they were snaking through the crowd chanting and singing... poncho... poncho... poncho... having loads of fun. There were also rows and rows of vendors selling confetti, masks, paper streamers and some of the biggest super-soakers I have ever seen.

Ray had brought a super-soaker from home and we had saved two 2-liter water bottles to use as refueling may require. All this fit snugly in his daypack. We also had a room with a balcony over the street. So, that could have been a bit of fun for water attacks if we had spent more time in the room.

Oruro's Carnival is not a simple pre-Lenten party. It is a blending of cultures: indigenous faith practices, Catholic faith practices, reminders of historical atrocities, legends, myth, reality, and a pre-Lenten party. Oh, and it is the time for water and shaving foam wars, BBQ, drinking, general relaxation, energetic dancing, revelry and blessings. Carnival parade begins at sunrise on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday. The parade runs continually all day long and goes well into Saturday night: the wee early hours of Sunday morning. An all night street party commences after the first day's activities and at sunrise Sunday morning, the dancing begins all over again. The first day, as I mentioned, is danced for faith. The second and succeeding days are for fun.

Did you know UNESCO has declared Oruro Carnival a special mark of distinction and that there is much in place to preserve this heritage? For instance, one important part of the heritage is to make certain none of the dancers has any alcohol on the first day of Carnival until after they have completed their ritual dance to the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Socavón. So, to maintain the cultural heritage, none of the dancers drink until after they have completed their dance and received their blessings at the sanctuary.

We met as a group in the lobby of our hotel at 8:15 AM Saturday morning then walked the few short blocks to our grandstand seats, which were right near Oruro's main plaza. At 9:00 AM, the parade had made its way to our seats. Our seats were right near where Bolivia's president would sit and so we were guaranteed the dancers would make a very good show as they passed by. Oruro's Carnival parade is a pageant of dancers and band members in elaborate costumes. Everyone is people-powered. There are no floats or motorized transportation, simply masses of people on foot gyrating, jumping, dancing and singing.

Priests and altar servers led the parade. Miners wearing hard hats and decorated with many, many garlands of paper ribbon followed behind. Then a banner, a car decorated with cloth and many silver objects attached to the cloth, preceded each group of dancers and musicians. A statue of the Virgin rode on the hood of each car. One hundred fifty to two hundred people comprised many of the groups of dancers. More than 30,000 participants danced and played in this parade! Brass bands followed behind each group of dancers. The costumes were elaborate and the energetic dancing and singing went on and on in flashes of color and delight. Lead dancers used whistles to send signals to their group and keep it in sync. Each dance had it's own tune and several choruses of verse were sung for each tune. These same songs played over and over again all day, all night, all day throughout Carnival. As the festival continued a fantastic vibrancy filled the air.

Many groups performed each type of dance. So it went on and on, over and over again.

EBA Transtur, Mauricio's company, took care of us: we were given essential Carnival sacks containing confetti, paper ribbon, whistles, and little candies. It didn't take long for us to become decorated with garlands of paper ribbon and confetti. We blew our whistles and clapped our hands to encourage the dancers, much like a musical applause. Throughout the day EBA Transtur brought us bottled water, cups of passion fruit juice, box lunches, soda and beer. Ray and I stayed glued to our seats until almost 6:30 PM. It was great fun to bless the parade participants with confetti! And, some of the participants would toss little gifts back to you: we received a little hat and a poncho as special remembrances of Carnival.

In Bolivia the 'devil', or god of the underground, is a positive thing. It is the devil who controls the underground and the underground yields gold, silver, tin and pewter. For the mines to be productive, the miners make offerings to the devil. Each of the mines has a statue of the underground god, Tio. The miners pour alcohol over the eyes of this statue and then pour a bit on the ground as an offering to pachamama... mother earth...they bring offerings of coca leaves, candies, cigarettes, alcohol- very pagan stuff. Tio even smokes lit cigarettes.

One of our guides told us the indigenous peoples could not pronounce the "D" sound of Dios for God, so it was pronounced Tio, which happens to be the Spanish word for uncle. So, the Tio Supay reference, Uncle Satan, would not exactly be a literal translation from the Andean heritage; rather, Tio Supay is a blend of belief systems and mispronunciations.

In any case, the people of Bolivia are all Catholic and they know they are sinning by making offerings to this pagan image. So, once a year, before Lent, at Carnival they dance to show their faith and passion for God. The Carnival route for the dancing ends at the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Socavón. The first day the dancers are all sober because they need to be well to perform the atonement and dance the three kilometers to the church.

Oruro Carnival - La Diablada, the Devil Dance: Cast of characters includes devils, the devil's female consort, (China Supay), St. Michael the Archangel, spectacled bears and condors. There are many, many devils and his cohorts in each Diablada group to the one innocent and youthful St. Michael.

Each of the diablada masks with its snakes, lizards, spiders, bug eyes and horns must be at least three feet tall.

This dance depicts the conflict between good and evil. Good always wins.

Oruro Carnival - La Morenada, Represents the Forced Marches of African Slaves Cast of characters includes black slaves and Spanish slave drivers (Caporales)

Los Morenos were black slaves brought to Bolivia by the Spanish and the Portuguese. So many of the black slaves who were brought to the high altitudes to work in the gold and silver mines died because of the hard work and lack of oxygen. The slave owners realized what was happening and moved many of their slaves to the lowlands to work in the jungles. That's why today there is a large black population in the jungles of Bolivia in the coca and coffee plantations. The Africans adapted the Aymara culture of the altiplano and when they were moved to the jungles, they took the Aymara culture with them. So, today you will see black people in the jungles of Bolivia wearing traditional Aymara clothing and the black women will were the bolo hats that are seen worn by the indigenous peoples on the altiplano.

Heavy metal costumes for this dance are the colors of silver and gold. The colors represent the heavy treasure that the slaves carried on their backs. The shapes of these costumes resemble tiered metal wedding cakes and the cadence of their dancing steps is march-like and slow. The dancers have tobacco pipes wedged into the corners of their mouths and the tongues of their masks hang out to reflect the thirst and tiredness of the slaves. Large plumes of feathers are attached to their headpieces and they carry ratchet-sounding rattles, some made with armadillo shells and others made from toy metal trucks. The ratchet sound represents the sound of the chains that the slaves wore.

Beautiful young women dance in large groups ahead of the Morenos. The women wear above the knee boots, short skirts, and hats with colorful feather plumes. Large pom-poms hang from their long braided hair. Their costumes are color coordinated with the group of Morenos they precede.

There are also groups of Spanish ladies who dance with matching face-masks and fine clothing.

Oruro Carnival - Los Caporales, Represents the slave drivers Some of the most beautiful young girls and the most handsome young men dance the highly energetic caporales dance. These people represent the foremen of the slaves. Twelve large jingle-bells decorate the outside of the entire length of their knee-high boots. Ching-ching accompanies their every dance step.

There are also caporales who dance alone with their long whips and taunt a single black-painted Negro slave who avoids the whipping by keeping ahead of the whip. This black painted person occasionally falls to the ground and then rolls down the pavement. What a reminder of a cruel history these black slaves suffered!

Oruro Carnival - Tarabuco's Fight Dance, the Tinku

Just as the name of the dance indicates, the dancing movement stops and turns into a fight: the male dancers take their leather-style conquistador hats off, fist fight, struggle and dog-pile on each other. Then, the men pair off with the ladies arm-in-arm wearing broad smiles. The whole story repeats itself over and over throughout the day. At a rest break in the parade line, the pairs separate and the story begins again.

Oruro Carnival - Dancers from the Amazon and Other Dances

Imagine elaborate four-foot tall feathered headdresses, African-style wood masks and jungle attire. Many of these dances involve high jumping movements, great leaping bounds and many, many feathers.

The Suri Sicuri dance represents the mating ritual of the lesser rheas and la llamarada is the sheepherder's dance. There are so many dances each with a large contingent of dancers and musicians and each individual in elaborate costume. You simply must look at the pictures or better yet make a trip to see for yourself!

Oruro Carnival - The Music of Carnival

Oruro's Carnival music is provided by many, many brass bands. There are also a few bands that play Andean flutes, panpipes and drums. The same songs are played over and over again: La Morenada and La Diablada are favorites.

Oruro Carnival - Spacing and Breaks

When there is either spacing in the Carnival parade between the various groups, or a rest break for the participants, water balloon fights and foam wars break out between the crowds on either side of the street. The dancers rest and suck a lemon or enjoy a drink of water. Parade participants will also re-apply makeup and visit.

Oruro Carnival - Cont'd

Ray and I left the parade about 6:30 PM and made our way through the crowd to our hotel. I gifted a bottle of water to a group of dancers on break. They were so appreciative! We took a quick break in our room and then headed to the streets and made our way to the sanctuary where we could see the Carnival participants enter the church.

Two priests stood outside the church and blessed the dancers and band members with holy water as they completed their pilgrimage/dance. Once inside many of the participants walk on their knees the entire aisle of the church before receiving another blessing from the attending priests inside church. A short service took place inside the church. Then, they walked to the side of the church and make their final pilgrimage to the Virgin of Socavón. The next group entered the church. The bands entered as part of each group and also played inside the church until the service began.

Inside the church I witnessed the pain and exhaustion of these once vibrant dancers. Many of their costumes included boots that went up over their knees. Here in the church I saw the usefulness of these ultra-high boots and the creativity of the dancers who had towels stuffed in at the knees to cushion them as they walked on their knees the last bits of their pilgrimage. I saw their pain as their legs turned to rubber when they tried to lower themselves to their knees. Various members would help each other. With their masks off, I saw the profuse sweat and tired expressions. I noticed how the beautiful women acknowledged their aching feet. Quiet reigned.

Out-of-doors and around the church the festivities continued. Here there were midway-style games of chance, all sorts of food and beverage vendors, a Ferris wheel and some other carnival rides. There was a huge crowd of joyous, mingling, singing, dancing people. Once nighttime came, large fireworks were set off. Ray and I saw fireworks Saturday evening and again Sunday morning at 4:30 AM I would guess that the display of fireworks was sporadic and lasted all night. I'm not really sure since I did try to sleep a bit.

Partying, drinking, singing and dancing continued all night and at sunrise the Sunday morning, the dance-route was again filled with the same dancers. The order of the participating groups is reversed on Sunday; so, if you were the last group to dance on Saturday night, you would be the first group to dance at sunrise on Sunday morning.

Saturday night while I was attempting sleep I kept hearing the brass bells of the Caporales dancers, ching-ching, ching-ching along with the sounds of La Morenada. Ah, glorious images of strong, young dancing men popped through my mind but little sleep.

Ray and I woke early Sunday morning in order to attend the sunrise service. Our guide Mauricio suggested anyone from the group who wanted to should meet in the hotel lobby at 4:15 AM. I hadn't been able to sleep much with all the noise and excitement, so I roused myself at 3:30 and took a most glorious hot shower. When the group arrived back at the Sactuary of the Virgin of Socavón at 4:30 Sunday morning the crowd was shoulder to shoulder as far as the eye could see. Everyone was singing and dancing to La Morenada. Brass bands lined up on the church steps. Our group moved through the crowd as we kept our bodies pressed against the person ahead of and behind us. It took us awhile to work our way through the crowd, but we all stuck together and made it to a very good vantagepoint. (What an intimate group we had become!)

The streets smelled of urine and the stench was absolutely terrible in some places. UGH!

Mass began a little after sunrise in the sanctuary; and, simultaneously outside the church the crowd continued dancing and singing to the music of La Morenada. The exterior noise was so loud it was quite difficult, and at times totally impossible, to hear and follow along with the mass. When mass started there were still seats available. However, as mass was underway, it became standing room only. When Ray and I returned to our seats after communion, our seats had been taken and we joined the standing crowd at the back of church. Upon exiting the church after mass, a woman stood with a bowl of holy water and a red carnation. In the traditional Bolivian fashion, she tapped the palms of people as they exited the church. We held our palms out, received the holy water and blessed ourselves.

We milled around the crowd after mass, strolled back along the parade route and into the main plaza. A man from Oruro wanted us to pose with his son for a photo, so we obliged. We walked back to the hotel and enjoyed a quick breakfast and then we headed back out to observe day two of the parade. On Sunday the dancers danced without their masks and the entire atmosphere was relaxed. Folks were walking through the parade route with cases of beer cans and bottled water. The dancers joyously swallowed their liquid refreshment then continued dancing and singing. The high-energy and vibrancy amazed me.

Oruro Carnival - Blessing Day - Martes de Cha'lla

Tuesday is a big day for blessings, all the vehicles and homes in town are decorated in ribbon, bows, flowers, petals, confetti, balloons and blessed. The sound of firecrackers is everywhere because they are lit and thrown for good luck and prosperity during the coming year. Tuesday is a relaxed day for families. All the shops are closed. Although the stores and sites in Oruro are closed on Martes de Cha'lla, plenty of water balloons and spray foam are still being sold by vendors around the plaza. This is the day to be very aware of buckets or bowls of water being spilled out from windows above street level. (Keep the hood up on your poncho!)

Oruro Carnival - Postscript

If Bolivia had a water and shaving foam fight with Chile, I am certain the Bolivian's would win!

The peña show we went to in La Paz was very good and included many of the dances we saw at Carnival. I was glad to have seen the dances presented on a stage prior to the Carnival parade. During our a three and a half-hour drive from La Paz to Oruro Mauricio made good use of his time as a tour guide to explain many dances and Andean customs in great detail. The peña show and Mauricio's fabulous explanations helped me appreciate what I saw and experienced.

The Story of El Chiru Chiru

Many years ago, a man in Bolivia stole from the rich and gave to the poor: yes, a 'Robin Hood' of South America. This man had a deep devotion to the Virgin of Socavón, the Virgin of the Mineshaft. He became hurt when stealing from someone and the Virgin appeared to him. His body was wrapped in a cloth and he was taken to the hospital where he died. After he died the image of the Virgin was left on that cloth. That is the tapestry that hangs on the altar in the church today. One of the stained glass windows in the church tells this story in pictures. El Sactuario de la Virgin del Socavón was built over the mineshaft where Chiru Chiru lived.

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Come visit with me at http://travelerstogo.com/ by posting your follow-up questions in the Carribean, Mexico, Central & South American forum. My alias is Sharon Mc1, and I am the destination moderator for that forum -- I love talking about travel!

I recently wrote a practical travel guide for the Peruvian and Bolivian high Andes. I had a great deal of fun writing it, and particularly enjoyed writing the restaurant reviews. Here is the link:

http://p104.ezboard.com/feuropetogofrm21.showMessage?topicID=40.topic -----------------

Articles in this series include:

Miami, Jupiter, & the Everglades (Florida) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/141804/index.html

La Paz, Tiwanaku & Valley of the Moon (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/141500/index.html

Oruro Carnival (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/141977/index.html

Sajama National Park (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/143197/index.html

Salar de Uyuni (Bolivia) http://worldisround.com/articles/143714/index.html

Train Graveyard - Uyuni (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/141742/index.html

Train Graveyard - Pulacayo (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/141647/index.html

Along the Road from Uyuni to Potosí (Bolivia) http://worldisround.com/articles/143868/index.html

Potosí (Bolivia) http://worldisround.com/articles/145509/index.html

Sucre (Bolivia) http://worldisround.com/articles/182068/index.html

Tarabuco (Bolivia) http://worldisround.com/articles/182063/index.html

Jatun Yampara (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/169005/index.html

Lake Titikaka (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/261030/index.html

Copacabana (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/261498/index.html

Along the Road - Copacabana (Bolivia) to Puno (Peru) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/261584/index.html

Cusco, Sacsayhuaman & Lima (Peru) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/270254/index.html