Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE FIESTA DE LA VIRGEN DE URKUPIÑA
Every year for three days around August 15, Quillacollo hosts the
Fiesta de la Virgen
de Urkupiña
, which attracts up to half a million visitors and involves a massive parade
of costumed dancers from all over Bolivia, as well as copious eating and drinking inter-
twined with sincere expressions of spiritual faith - many pilgrims walk to Quillacollo by
night from Cochabamba as a sign of religious devotion. The fiesta dates back to the early
nineteenth century, when a local Quechua-speaking shepherdess had repeated visions of
the Virgin Mary on the nearby
Cerro Cota hill
. When the villagers of Quillacollo investig-
ated, they saw a brief glimpse of the Virgin ascending to heaven, and later found a carved
image of her hidden among the rocks. This was carried to the parish church of San Idelf-
onsino, and soon credited with numerous miracles. The name Urkupiña is derived from the
Quechua for “on the mountain” - the shepherdess's cry when she pointed out the Virgin to
the villagers.
AswithmostmajorBolivianreligiousfiestas,however,there'slittledoubtthatitstrueori-
gins lie deep in the pre-Christian past. Significant pre-Hispanic burial sites have been un-
covered in the centre of Quillacollo, and the town's name means “
mountain of the moon
”
in Quechua - the Incas considered the moon to be a major female deity, and following the
Spanish conquest it was often conflated with the Virgin Mary. As well as the procession
and dances, a central feature of the fiesta is a visit to the rocky outcrop where the Virgin
appeared, during which tourists and pilgrims alike hack lumps of rock from the
sacred
mountain
to take home with them in the belief that this will ensure health and material
prosperity. They also make libations of coca and alcohol and burn candles, offerings asso-
ciated with the Andean earth goddess
Pachamama
. As in the
fiesta of Alasitas
in La Paz,
pilgrims buy miniature replicas of objects they wish to possess in the belief that by doing
so the real thing will be theirs before the year is out.
The best way to visit the fiesta is as a
day-trip
from Cochabamba, though you'll need
to get to Quillacollo early in the morning to ensure a good spot from which to watch the
dances. Accommodation in Cochabamba can be hard to find during the fiesta.
Incarakay
Set high on the mountainside overlooking the Cochabamba Valley about 25km west of the
city, the ruins of the Inca outpost of
Incarakay
make an excellent if rather strenuous day-
trip from Cochabamba. The site itself is fairly small, a collection of a dozen or so buildings
made ofrough-cut stones with the trapezoidal internal niches anddoorways and
earthquake-
resistant
inward-leaning walls characteristic of Inca architecture. What really impresses,
however, is the setting: perched on the mountainside at an altitude of 3200m, Incarakay en-
joys fantastic views over Cochabamba to Cerro Tunari. From up here, the flat expanse of the
