Bolivia : a baroque-style among  Uru people

The Carnival of Oruro is the most significant cultural event in Bolivia. In 2008, UNESCO added this celebration to its Intangible Heritage of Humanity list. The ceremonies stem from Andean customs, with invocations to Pachamama or Mother Earth, later transformed into the Virgin Mary through Christian syncretism, and to Uncle Supay, Uncle God of the Mountains, later transformed into the Devil. The native Ito ceremonies were ended by the Spaniards in the 17th century.

A short morning break between 7 and 10... A lot of South American tourists come especially for the carnival. Bolivia is a poor country, hence affordable not only to Chileans, Argentines, Brazilians, but also to Ecuadorians and Colombians... I felt as if I were on another planet, totally gringo! This ongoing parade of masks, colors, thundering music and raging fireworks amazed me, gripped me and also stunned me.

I was like the invisible man in the middle of a wild, beaming, drunk crowd

On this occasion, it is impossible to find a hotel room. I lucked out on a small room strewn with syringes and flasks at a vet’s. In fact, it was the operating theatre where animals are operated on... $20 the night, the same rate paid for a decent hotel off season. The film opens in Copacabana on the shores of Lake Titicaca... Locals stage the festival in honor of the Virgin, an event allowing street drinking. Unlike the U.S.A, it is forbidden to drink in the streets of Bolivia other than in celebrations.

In Sucre it’s tiger’s milk other than beer that people go crazy about...

What is tiger’s milk? Here is the recipe: a packet of evaporated milk, a box of concentrated milk, a cup of powdered milk, a cup of regular milk, 2 cups of singani (coffee liqueur) and coconut milk. Refrigerate before serving... In reality, methylated spirit (70 degrees) is added to spice up concoct in times of festivities... guaranteed effect! Give it a try! And then we’ll talk... In short, a trip to Bolivia will do the trick when it comes to stepping out of the day-to-day scenery altogether... the return will be a shorter version of oneself.

http://youtu.be/FWb5IESaBuo

allowfullscreen></iframe>