Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
pare elaborate costumes for the event and upwards of 25,000 performers practice for
weeks in advance. El Gran Poder is a wild and exciting time, and offers a glimpse of Ay-
mará culture at its festive finest. A number of dances are featured, such as the
suri sikuris
(in which the dancers are bedecked in ostrich feathers), the lively
kullasada, morenada,
caporales
and the
inkas,
which duplicates Inca ceremonial dances.
Fiestas de Julio
This month-long cultural series at the Teatro Municipal features much folk music
throughout July.
CULTURAL
Virgen del Carmen
The patron saint of the department of La Paz gets her own public holiday (July 16), which
includes many dances and parades.
CHRISTIAN
Entrada Folklórica de Universitaria
Held on the last Saturday in July, and with an atmosphere alluding to Carnaval, hundreds
of dance groups made up of students from around the country perform traditional dances
through the streets of La Paz.
FOLKLORE
EKEKO
Ekeko is the household god and the keeper and distributor of material possessions. During Alasitas his devotees
collect miniatures of those items they'd like to acquire during the following year and heap them onto small plaster
images of the god. He's loaded down with household utensils, baskets of coca, wallets full of miniature currency,
lottery tickets, liquor, chocolate and other luxury goods. The more optimistic devotees buy miniature souped-up
camiones
(trucks), 1st-class airline tickets to Miami and three-story suburban homes! Once purchased, all items
must be blessed by a certified
yatiri
(witch doctor) before they can become real. If this apparent greed seems not
to be in keeping with Aymará values - the community and balance in all things - it's worth noting that Ekeko is
also charged with displaying that which a family is able to share with the community.
Sleeping
Most backpackers beeline for central La Paz to find a bed. The area around the Mercado
de Hechicería (Witches' Market; between Illampu, Santa Cruz and Sagárnaga) is about as
close as Bolivia gets to a travelers' ghetto. If you want to live closer to movie theaters, a
