The Carnaval de Oruro occupies the Saturday before Ash Wednesday and draws approximately 400,000 participants and spectators to Oruro, a mining city 230 kilometers southeast of La Paz at 3,706 meters elevation. UNESCO designated this event a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2001. The celebration centers on the Diablada, a dance depicting the struggle between good and evil with elaborate devil costumes featuring horned masks, embroidered capes, and boots. The procession route stretches 4 kilometers from the Miner's Monument to the Sanctuary of the Virgen del Socavón, where the Virgin Mary allegedly appeared to miners in the 18th century. Approximately 48 folkloric groups participate, including morenada dancers in layered skirts and tinku dancers representing ritual combat from northern Potosí. The event fuses Catholic imagery with indigenous Andean worship of Pachamama and the Tío, the mine devil. Preparations begin in November with dance rehearsals and costume construction. Hotels in Oruro fill months in advance, and many attendees travel from La Paz on overnight buses departing February evenings before the main Saturday. The procession typically begins at 7:00 AM and continues past midnight. Rain frequently occurs during Oruro's wet season in February, turning unpaved areas into mud.
Alasitas operates for three weeks starting January 24 in La Paz, centered around Parque Central. The festival honors Ekeko, the Aymara god of abundance depicted as a mustached figure carrying miniature goods. Vendors sell miniature versions of items people wish to acquire: houses, cars, university degrees, currency, food, marriage certificates, visas, and business licenses. Tradition requires purchasing miniatures before noon on January 24 and having them blessed by a yatiri (Aymara priest) who burns offerings to Pachamama. The belief holds that possessing these miniatures for one year attracts the real version. The market expands across several city blocks with approximately 2,000 vendors. Miniatures include detailed replicas: stacks of Boliviano notes, deeds written in legal language, vehicles with working doors, furnished dollhouses. The practice dates to pre-Columbian times but adapted after Spanish colonization when Ekeko figures began wearing Spanish colonial clothing. January 24 coincides with the foundation anniversary of Nuestra Señora de La Paz, established 1548. The festival generates an estimated 50 million Bolivianos in commerce annually. Crowds peak on the first weekend, making navigation through vendor stalls difficult. Similar Alasitas celebrations occur in El Alto, Cochabamba, and Oruro through February.
Gran Poder takes place the Saturday after Corpus Christi in La Paz, typically late May or early June. The celebration honors Jesús del Gran Poder, housed in a basilica in the Chijini neighborhood. Approximately 30,000 dancers and 10,000 musicians participate in a procession covering 6 kilometers through central La Paz, starting near the basilica and ending at Parque Urbano Central. Performances begin around 8:00 AM and continue past midnight. The morenada is the dominant dance, performed by groups called fraternidades, some with over 2,000 members. Costumes cost between 15,000 and 80,000 Bolivianos depending on embroidery density and materials. Women wear pollera skirts, bowler hats, and jewelry weighing several kilograms. Men wear matracas (metal chest pieces weighing up to 30 kilograms) and devil masks. Fraternidades spend the entire year fundraising through cuotas (member fees), organizing polladas (chicken dinners), and selling products. The 1974 Gran Poder procession had approximately 1,800 dancers; by 2010 this exceeded 30,000. Spectators crowd balconies and bleachers erected along the route, with premium seats selling for 200-500 Bolivianos. The event functions as a display of economic status among La Paz's Aymara commercial class, particularly those involved in import businesses. Alcohol consumption is substantial, and medical stations treat dehydration and exhaustion as dancers perform at elevations around 3,600 meters for 12-16 hours. The celebration generates an estimated 300 million Bolivianos in economic activity including costumes, music equipment, food, and lodging.
The Fiesta de la Virgen de Urkupiña occurs August 14-16 in Quillacollo, a town 13 kilometers west of Cochabamba. The Virgin Mary allegedly appeared to a shepherdess named Fortunata in the late 18th century on Cota Hill. The name Urkupiña derives from Quechua "Urkhipiña" meaning "she is on the hill." Pilgrims number approximately 750,000 annually. The main procession occurs August 15, moving the virgin's image 3 kilometers from Quillacollo's main square to Cota Hill. Devotees believe rocks from the hill contain miraculous properties, and August 16 involves thousands climbing the hill to extract stones using picks and shovels, leaving the hillside pockmarked. Vendors sell miniature items similar to Alasitas. Folkloric dance groups from across Cochabamba department perform, with groups numbering 15,000-20,000 dancers total. The festival generates approximately 250 million Bolivianos in commerce. Transportation between Cochabamba and Quillacollo becomes congested, with buses departing every few minutes. The Urkupiña celebration has expanded to Bolivian diaspora communities in Argentina, Spain, and the United States. Security concerns arise from crowd density and the consumption of chicha, a fermented corn beverage sold in large jugs along procession routes. The August dates fall during Bolivia's dry season, producing daytime temperatures around 18-22 Celsius in Quillacollo at 2,574 meters elevation.
Todo Santos occurs November 1-2 across Bolivia. Families construct altars in homes with offerings for deceased relatives. The belief holds that souls return to visit during these days. Altars include bread shaped like babies (tantawawas), ladders for souls to climb from the underworld, flowers, candles, coca leaves, and the deceased person's favorite foods and drinks. Bakeries begin producing tantawawas in mid-October, with prices ranging from 5 to 50 Bolivianos depending on size and decoration. Purple and yellow are traditional altar colors. November 1 commemorates deceased children (Día de los Angelitos), while November 2 honors deceased adults. Families visit cemeteries bringing flowers, particularly red and yellow t'ikas, and musicians perform at gravesites. The General Cemetery in La Paz receives approximately 200,000 visitors on November 2. Ñatitas (decorated human skulls) appear in some homes and are dressed in flower crowns and given cigarettes and coca leaves. This practice, particularly strong among Aymara populations, involves skulls kept from previous burials, believed to offer protection. The Catholic Church officially discourages the ñatitas tradition but accommodates it during annual blessings at churches like Cementerio General in La Paz each November 8. Market vendors sell specific items for Todo Santos altars, including sugar canes, flower crowns, and special breads. Radio stations broadcast dedications to the deceased. The celebrations reflect syncretism between Catholic All Saints' Day and pre-Columbian ancestor veneration practices.