February 21 – Oruro Carnival in Bolivia

nPosted on February 21, 2020

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n(February 21 – 24)
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nI read that the Oruro Carnival, in Bolivia, is one of the “most important” carnivals In the world…although I am not sure how importance is defined here. I mean, surely we’ve all heard more about Mardi Gras in New Orleans (Mardi Gras and Carnival are the same) or Carnival in Río (de Janeiro, Brazil, that is!)?
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Anyway, UNESCO has declared the Oruro parade important, a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.” It’s Catholicism and Spanish culture mixed with Andean and Latin American culture. It’s a parade and pageantry. It’s colorful folkloric costumes. It’s a wide variety of vibrant dances and multicultural music. 
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nYesterday, the day before Carnival begins, native peoples represented the Andean cultures by walking and dancing the parade route. Some farmers carried or displayed their agricultural crops – fruits, vegetables, flowers.
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nToday is dedicated to honoring the “Virgin of the Mineshaft,” and giving thanks for silver and other mineral resources by sprinkling earth (another name for this is “dirt” LOL) all over workshops, businesses, and shops! 
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n(This sounds like it would make a problem for a lot of businesses – like restaurants!?! But I’m sure that the residents of Oruro know what they’re doing! They’ve been following their traditions for centuries, after all.)
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nTonight there will be fireworks! Later, volunteers will keep vigil over the parade route while bands play songs and serenade those keeping watch.
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nTomorrow is actual Carnival – this is the day of the BIG parade! There will be more than 48 groups of folk dancers performing 18 different folk dances and around 150 bands.
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nAll told, there will be about 28,000 dancers, 10,000 musicians, and 400,000 visitors stretched out over the 4 miles of the parade route! WOW!
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nOn Sunday there will be a special service at dawn. And on Monday a variety of dance demonstrations and social gatherings are planned to take place all over town. There will also be two traditional plays: one about the Spanish conquest of the Andean peoples, and the second about a battle between good and evil.
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nAlso on this date:

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nActor Alan Rickman’s birthday

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• nFebruary holidays

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• nFebruary birthdays

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• nHistorical anniversaries in February
  

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• nMarch holidays

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• nMarch birthdays

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• nHistorical anniversaries in March

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