Trip to Oruro x2

I went to Oruro, a city about 4-5 hours away from Cochabamba to experience Carnaval, a festival that is sort of like Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Well, that is the best example I can come up with at the moment. They are actually quite different, but they occur around the same time of the year; before Lent.

Here's a bit of history taken from another website. Not sure about the accuracy!
Much of Oruro’s cultural traditions are based on the legend of Wari, Lord of the Earthquakes, who lived inside Mount Uru Uru. Every morning, the sun’s firstborn daughter, Inti Wara, the dawn, woke Wari, who tried to capture her with arms of smoke and fire but the Sun always rescued his daughter.

Seeking revenge, Wari turned the local farmers away from solar worship and their agricultural efforts and into activities pursued in the dark: mining, drinking too much chicha and the worship of snakes, lizards and frogs. The people became silent and apathetic.

Following a fierce rainstorm, Inti Wara descended to earth on a rainbow accompanied by handmaidens and chiefs Wari had exiled. The goddess reinstituted the ancient worship of the sun, taught the people to speak Quechua, and guided them along the righteous path.

In retaliation, Wari send four great plagues: La Vibora, a monstrous serpent that devoured livestock; El Sapo, a colossal frog; El Lagarto, a lizard that threatened to destroy villages; and las Hormigas, a legion of ants. Inti Wara fought each of these plagues, decapitated them and turned them into stone. (Today they are the rock formations of La Víbora, el Sapo, el Lagarto and las Hormigas.)

Following her victory, and to prevent further retribution from Wari, Inti Wara transformed herself into the Virgen de Socavón, Patrona de los Mineros, the patron saint of miners. Wari became El Tio, the uncle, who lives underground in the mines.

Carnaval is based on the pre-Colonial ceremony of giving thanks to the earth-mother Pachamama. During carnaval, one group of dancers is dressed in devil costumes, led by the chief dancer, called Waricato, representing Wari. Between the devils, groups of dancers dressed as pumas and insects caper to the music from brass bands, or pipers or drummers. The noise is loud and frenzied.

Out of the devil dancers comes China Supay, the Devil's wife, who dances a seductive dance to entice the Archangel Michael. Around her dance the members of local workers unions, each carrying a small symbol of their union such as pickaxes or shovels. Dancers dressed as Incas with condor headdresses and suns and moons on their chests dance along with dancers dressed as the black slaves imported by the Spaniards to work in the silver mines.

Today there are also many Christian influences that show up in the parade. For example, Mary (along with the Pachamama) is a symbol of fertility and life.

It was a fun time, and since I went on a 'budget' tour, I experienced things such as bathrooms without toilets, climbing up and down a rickety ladder to get to my seat in the stands, and walking through questionable 'water' after a day filled with water balloon fights and squirt-gun attacks. (Water is also a sign of fertilitity, so the females tend to get bombarded. Especially the foreigners. ha.)