Carnival de Oruro

What:  Bolivia’s own spin on the South Amer­i­can Car­ni­val sea­son sees the “Dev­il Danc­ing fes­ti­val” being host­ed in the min­ing town of Oruro – where for 10 days pre­ced­ing Ash Wednes­day the car­ni­val mix­es mod­ern tra­di­tions such as pro­ces­sions, the­atrics, music, folk danc­ing, water fights, food and of course alco­hol with more tra­di­tion­al reli­gious ele­ments, includ­ing the com­mem­o­ra­tion of the towns patron saint, the Vir­gin of Soca­vo and also the remem­brance ‘Lady of the Mine­shaft’ (which can still be vis­it­ed in the town’s chapel) – which is said to have mirac­u­lous­ly appeared in the main mine shaft of Oruro in the 1756.

The Car­naval de Oruro is now also famous for its three day parade which fea­tures the icon­ic dev­il dancers, who march through the streets of Oruro from the main square for 4km to the main foot­ball sta­di­um – which giv­en Oruro is at a height of 3700 metres above sea lev­el is no mean feat. As the dev­ils head towards the sta­di­um they are then accom­pa­nied by the god of the earth – Pachama­ma and the uncle god – Tio – where backed by tens of thou­sands of musi­cians, and in front of hun­dreds of thou­sands of onlook­ers – the dev­il dancers spend three days re-enact­ing the vic­to­ry of good over evil (although the good side has help from the gods) – which com­bined with the car­ni­val atmos­phere, a mass water fight and of course the fes­ti­val of lent helps to not only make this an enjoy­able fes­ti­val but also helps peo­ple to cel­e­brate, and cause, a reawak­en­ing of life.

When: The Car­naval de Oruro begins 10 days pri­or to Ash Wednes­day – with the car­ni­val real­ly kick­ing into gear on the Fri­day before Ash Wednes­day and end­ing on the noon of Ash Wednes­day, with the Sat­ur­day, Sun­day and Mon­day fea­tur­ing an all day parade includ­ing the dev­il dancers – and offer­ing numer­ous chances for the reli­gious ele­ments of the fes­ti­val – includ­ing the observ­ing of the ‘lady of the mine­shaft’ mon­u­ment to be observed.

Where: The Car­ni­val takes place in the town of Oruro, Bolivia with the dev­il danc­ing and numer­ous per­for­mances tak­ing place along the Plaza 10 to the town’s main square, for the parade you can expect the route to be tak­en on foot from the main square to the main foot­ball sta­di­um in Oruro – and it’s also rec­om­mend­ed to vis­it the ‘Lady of the mine­shaft’ which is avail­able in the main chapel of Oruro.

Tick­ets: The main square and view­ing of the car­ni­val and watch­ing of the parades is free for all – although you can expect huge crowds and expect to be doused in water if on street lev­el in the main square or on watch­ing the parade.

Dura­tion: Offi­cial­ly begin­ning 10 days before Ash Wednes­day peri­od, the fes­ti­val kicks off with cer­e­mo­ny ded­i­cat­ed to the  Vir­gen del Socavon in mid-after­noon – where a com­bi­na­tion of march­ing bands, dancers and locals will com­bine to bang any instru­ment in site and unleash the first of the water dosing’s to the crowd to begin the fes­ti­val.

But the Car­naval de Oruro real­ly kicks into gear on the Fri­day before ash Wednes­day, when an all night par­ty stretch­ing through all the streets of the town and fea­tur­ing danc­ing, par­ties and of course alco­hol kicks off and lasts until dawn on the Sat­ur­day – when the car­ni­val parade offi­cial­ly begins.

From the Sat­ur­day, you can then expect a three day week­end cel­e­bra­tion – dubbed pil­grim­age Sat­ur­day, fun Sun­day and dev­il Mon­day – where from dawn on the Sat­ur­day to dusk on the Sun­day the three day parade begins back and forth along the route, with the music, dance and fun nev­er stop­ping. 

Need to Know:  The fes­ti­val takes place in the small(ish) town of Oruro, which is some 3000 metres above sea lev­el, so it’s advised to give your­self at least a day to accli­ma­tise to the alti­tude – also as hun­dreds of thou­sands of peo­ple attend the fes­ti­val – it’s advised to book accom­mo­da­tion ear­ly in advance and keep a close eye on your pos­ses­sions – and expect to be dosed in water at some point dur­ing the fes­ti­val.