Experience Bolivia’s Carnival de Oruro

Each spring, the city of Oruro, Bolivia, becomes the home of one of the largest parties in all of South America: The Carnival de Oruro. Typically beginning on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday, this festival blends the indigenous South American pagan traditions with Catholic rituals to create an event full of color, sound and excitement.

© Edurivero | Dreamstime

The four-day experience features around 10,000 musicians in 150 bands playing instruments like flutes, trumpets and drums; 28,000 dancers; and 400,000 total visitors. For some perspective — the normal population of the city of Oruro is around 260,000. The performers dress in colorful garments, wearing devil costumes complete with horns, masks and red, orange and yellow face paint. There are monsters, conquistadors, demons, feathered women and fire breathers.

© King Ho Yim | Dreamstime

The parade stretches over four miles of streets lined with confetti, colorful smoke and streamers draped from one balcony to the next. One of the main performances features the Archangel Michael ultimately triumphing over the Devil and the Seven Deadly Sins, and after it’s all over, visitors will each make a pilgrimage to four corners of the city to worship the four pagan spirits. Needless to say, there is never a dull moment at the Carnival de Oruro.