152 CultureShock! Bolivia
dance, while Sucre and Oruro host processions, fairs and
masses. Los Yungas is the place to be. Also known as Dia
de La Paz.August
15 August—Virgen of Urkupiña. Held in Quillacollo,
Cochabamba, includes symbolic rock smashing, as well
as the usual dancing, eating and drinking.September
14 September—Fiesta de Sorata. This cliffside town wakes
up from its sleepy rapture once a year. Not the most well
known fi esta, but the setting may be the most beautiful in all
Bolivia. (Sorata is featured in a later section of this book.)
14 September— Cochabamba’s Departmental Anniversary.
Culture and tourism fair, with handicrafts and
typical food.
21 September—Spring Equinox, Tiahuanaco. Observe
the fi rst ray of sun cross the line that marks spring, in the
ambience of the most elaborate pre-Inca ruins in Bolivia.
Don’t miss!October
13 October—Virgen del Rosario, Tarija. Onlookers
toss fl owers on a street procession, creating a colourful
carpet.
24 September—San Rafael. A four day festival in Santa
Fe, a mining town in Oruro, with folk dancing and
more drinking.November
1 November—Day of the Dead. Visits to cemeteries include
eating, drinking and music to be shared with the spirits.
Most interesting rituals in Potosí. The dead are celebrated
rather than mourned. Closest equivalent in the US is
the New Orleans jazz funeral, where the song Didn’t He
Ramble! honours the dead.
10 November—Santo Domingo. Three days of revelry and
excesses in where else but Oruro, Bolivia’s festival capital!