Hello friends!
This week was the festival of the VIRGIN OF URKUPIÑA, the
biggest religious celebration in Bolivia and one of the biggest parties in South
America. The festival is centered in the
city of Quillacollo, where I work every day at the PAI Tarpuy afterschool
program. “La Festividad de Urkupiña” occurs annually in mid-August and somewhat
resembles Mardis Gras in the US. The celebration commemorates the apparition
of Mary to a young shepherdess in the hills of Quillacollo. Indeed, the word “Urkupiña”
is Quechua for “She is already up on the hill.”
The Urkupiña festival officially begins with a grand “entrada
folklórica,” a huge parade of folkloric dancers and musicians that lasts from 8am
to 2am the next day! Over 15,000 dancers participate each year, and their
costumes are really something to behold! Below
are some of the pictures I took at the parade:
The dancers ranged in age from very, very old to very, very young.
These three were kind enough to take a photo with me.
"El Escorpián"
... And the Sustainable Bolivia crew!
Urkupiña is a truly fascinating display of Bolivia’s
religious heritage: a unique almagamation of Catholicism and pagan tradition. For example, while the celebration includes a
central Mass traditionally attended by the Bolivian president, its other
rituals, such as greeting ‘pachamama’ (Mother Earth) with copious amounts of
beer, are far from Catholic orthodoxy. Furthermore, as my fellow Catholic friends
(may) know, August 15, the main day of the festival, commemorates in the larger
Catholic the Assumption of the Mother of God, or the day Mary ascended to Heaven.
Thus, the festival of “la Virgen de Urkupiña” combines the Catholic reverence for
Mary with home-grown Bolivian tradition.
Well, that’s all I have for now… but check back soon as I’ll
be posting about the rest of the festival and my very bizarre, very memorable
trip up Cerro Calvario (“Calvary Hill”)!
Peace,
Christine
No comments:
Post a Comment