72 hours
03.31.2004Despite losing 2-0 to Chile, La Paz still put on its 72-hours-long cultural festival near Plaza San Francisco. In part, the event was put on "in defense of Bolivia's cultural heritage" after a news report declared the Diablada — the traditional Oruro Carnaval dance — as part of Chile's cultural patrimony. This ignited further anti-Chilean sentiment. So. Many of the same dance troupes that performed this year in Oruro were invited by the mayor of La Paz to put on a show after the fútbol match.
A stage was set up on Plaza de los Héroes (across from Plaza San Francisco) for music & dance performances to last 72 hours. The whole thing kicked off last night. The area filled w/ street venders & onlookers as the dancers (w/ their bands) made their way up Av. Mariscal Santa Cruz to cheers. The first band, Pacha Mallku, took the stage around 8pm.
I missed most of the Diablada entrance, but got a shot of their band. I did get a good look at the Morenada dancers in their various costumes. Here's a sample of pictures (I had to use long exposures, since it was night). Click on any image to see a larger version.
UPDATE: The cultural festival was cancelled around 1am due to security concerns following the parliament explosion.
Posted by Miguel at 02:18 PM
Comments
Very vivid pictures.
Interesting post, once again.
Posted by: tom at March 31, 2004 05:29 PM
Sweet shots! I lked the swirls and time lapse on them.
Posted by: sam at April 1, 2004 10:30 PM