146 CultureShock! Bolivia
A Festival Calendar
Virtually every town and even neighbourhood has its own
annual festival. This section concludes with a selected list of
the most noteworthy annual fi estas.January
6 January—Reyes Magos. Various provinces in the Beni
celebrate the arrival of the three kings with dramatic
processions.
24 January—Alasitas. La Paz hosts a grand artisan fair
of realistic miniatures, in tribute to El Ekeko, the god of
abundance. People buy miniature representations of all
the things they expect to need during the year.February
2 February—Virgen de la Candelaria. Rural communities
re-enact the pre-Columbian potato ritual, offering
ch’allas (sprinkling of alcoholic beverages) to venerate
La Pachamama (Mother Earth God). Catholics make a
pilgrimage to Copacabana, on the banks of Lake Titicaca.
In Santa Cruz, there are processions and traditional
music.
Near the end of the month— Carnaval. Bolivia’s equivalent
of the Mardi Gras carnival. The city of Oruro is famous
for its Carnaval, but most Bolivian cities now create their
own version of the Oruro festival. In rural communities,
Carnaval may be combined with a fertility celebration,
where pairs of llamas and sheep are symbolically
partnered and decorated with images of serpents.
The highlight of Carnaval is Oruro’s Saturday Entrada,
a day-long procession with thousands of dancers in
ornate costumes. La Diablada (Dance of the Devils) and
La Morenada, symbolising the tribulations of black slaves
in Bolivia, are featured dances. La Paz’s Sunday Entrada
is only three hours away, for those who have not had
enough. In the lowlands, the Entrada in Santa Cruz most
resembles the Brazilian counterpart.
Following the Entrada, dancers continue the revelry in
clubs and bars, the bedlam continues in the streets, and