The city of Oruro is considered the capital city of Bolivian folklore. Every year, it hosts the most colorful and traditional carnival of America. The folklore groups participating in the carnival parade are organized in brotherhoods, many of which have meanwhile existed for more than 50 years. The most characteristic dance of this carnival is the Diablada (Devil’s Dance), which is a mixture of Andean traditions and Catholic influences. The dancers disguised with Devil’s masks jump high and make brusque and coordinated movements to both sides.

The devil’s mask is complemented with a colored cape, scarves in the dancers’ hands, a shirtfront and tight pants in boots. The women are disguised as women devils or “chinas supay”; they use less colorful masks than the men but besides the capes and scarves, they use short, pleated skirts that give a sensual feminine touch to the dance. The third complementary element is an individual dressed as Archangel Gabriel, who also dances with a mask reflecting the good and who carries a spade. Usually, this character is the oldest dancer.

One last element accompanying this dance is the presence of dancers disguised as animals, e.g. a bear and a condor. Other characteristic carnival dances are La Morenada, which is originally from Lake Titikaka and which represents suffering of the indigenous slaves in colonial times; Los Caporales is a styled version of the Saya which was introduced as part of the Bolivian folklore by the African slaves who were brought to the country to work in the mines of Potosí in colonial times. And there are many other dances such as the Llamerada, Tobas, Incas, Sicureada, Moceños, Auqui-Auquis, Tinku which all show the cultural and folkloric diversity.

It is important to underline that each dance has a different musical rhythm that is somehow consistent with the dance itself and that helps to break the monotony, further enriching the choreographic beauty of the colors of the costumes and the movements of the dances. Throughout the parade, there is a fence to avoid direct contact between the dancers and the public. This fence has greatly improved the quality and organization of this event. Visitors should bring impermeable ponchos because in Bolivia, just like in many other South American countries, people all play with water balloons during carnival, involving everyone in the game, often even those who do not want to participate.

Archeological and natural sites in the department of Oruro

The department of Oruro has a variety of interesting sites. The Sajama natural park is one such place: at the foot of an extinct volcano (Sajama) there is a keñua forest; the keñua is a small local tree which is believed to have populated the highlands before the arrival of man. In this park, one can admire the typical animal and plant wealth of the upper Andes, bringing to mind the times of development of the first cultures in the Bolivian highlands. A major attraction of the park is the geysers and hot springs, besides the volcano itself for climbing enthusiasts.

If you are interested in the benefits of nature to heal certain diseases, or you simply want to relax, you can visit the hot spring resorts of Capachos and Obrajes at more or less 23 Km (30 minutes) on the road to Cochabamba. You can get there by car from the center of the city. At these resorts, the water wells up from the earth at 65 degrees. Pazea is another place with hot springs at 7 Km from the city. Estalsa and Urmiri are hot springs and alluvial tin deposits on the road to Potosí at 84 Km from the city.

Lake Poopó: In the center of the department, you can visit Lake Poopó. The principal attraction of the lake is the Panza island where you can hunt and fish. Poopó is 65 Km from the city on the road to Potosí. Another nearby interesting town is Huari, at less than 150 Km from Oruro on the road from Oruro to the salt flats of Uyuni and Coipasa. At the moment, this town hosts the Huari beer brewery. Huari beer is one of the most valued beers of Bolivia because of its taste as it is prepared with water from the local spring.

In colonial times and even during many years of the Republic this town was an obligatory resting place for travelers crossing the highlands to the Pacific Ocean or for people traveling from north to south over the Bolivian highlands. This seems to be the reason why this place has an annual Fair in the week after Palm Sunday which is called the “Jampi” fair. One of the principal attractions of the fair is the flow and circulation of medicinal products from different origins (even from the Pacific and Amazon regions) which people exchange for products from remote regions. It also used to be an agriculture and livestock fair.

At the moment, the fair has been reduced considerably in terms of the number of exhibitors and attendants. However, it still has the soul of the only fair in Bolivia for the exchange of traditional medication and where people meet every year to honor the local patron saint, “tata” Santiago. A few kilometers away from Huari is the village of Llapa Llapani of the Uru Murato ethnic group near Lake Poopó. At the moment, the most important activity of the local people is fishing in the lake and the collection of wildlife products from the surroundings. From an archeological perspective, this area was territory of the Quillacas, a culture that controlled the zone between 900 BC until the beginning of the Tiwanaku influence in the region. Recent excavations show that the zone was a settlement of the Wankarani culture as well.

Paria: The first city founded by the Spaniards in Bolivia. Its church was declared a national monument, because of its famous tower and altarpiece. It is located at 23 Km from the city on the road to Cochabamba.

Curahuara de Carangas church: Near the border with Chile, of year 1608. The church has two painted wooden decorations, which are the oldest frescoes in South America.

Empresa Nacional de Fundiciones (ENAF): The Vinto smelter is one of the best and largest smelting facilities in South America, with a very sophisticated technical installation, at 7 Km on the road to Potosí.

Capachos: A hot spring resort with individual baths and roofs in one sector and an Olympic swimming pool in another sector, on the road to Cochabamba.

Huanuni: One of the most productive mines administered by state mining company COMIBOL. Located at 50 Km from the city.

Lake Uru-Uru: This lake is a partial deviation of the Desaguadero River, with aquatic plants and an enormous variety of typical regional fish and birds, which are greatly appreciated in Bolivia.

Coipasa salt flat and lake: Located north from the Uyuni salt flat, this is the second largest salt flat in Bolivia. It is a particularly beautiful area with a rich bird population, particularly flamingoes.

Uru-Uru: At 10 Km from the city of Oruro, near Machacamarca, archeological pieces were found. One of the most important Pre-Columbian cultures in Bolivia lived in the region of Oruro, namely the Uru-Uru culture. This culture is known for its zoomorphic and anthropomorphic ceramic characters of red sandstone, which date from 1800 years Before Christ. At the moment, there are more than fifty pieces in the Casa de la Cultura.

Cala Cala: At 45 minutes from the city, this area has marvelous cave paintings, among which pavilions with paintings of flamingoes, lamas, schematic figures of shepherds leading their flocks, wild cats and lamas which have a place of preference in the Andean mythology. Pumiri: Very important prehistoric ruins, approximately 20 Km from the town of Turco. There are also semi-troglodyte caves.

El Túnel: Situated in the northeast at the foot of the San Pedro hill. It is said that this tunnel was a subterranean access to Cusco, which the Incas used to transport precious metals extracted from the mines in Oruro.

In Bolivia, each department has many legends, one of which tells that the Uru people were invaded by three gigantic animals: a frog, a lizard and a snake that were turned into rocks thanks to a Ñusta Uru (Uru princess) and the Condor half-God and which look like the rocks found on the Agua de Castilla hill. At twilight, here you can witness the beautiful highland phenomenon of the mirages.