Thousands of dancers and musicians returned to the streets of this Bolivian mining city on Saturday and headed to a temple where devotees worship the Virgin Mary, in a colorful and massive pilgrimage a year after carnival activities were suspended in the Andean nation due to the pandemic.
The Andean carnival, one of the most traditional festivities in the country, began with a Catholic procession and continued with the entrance of the dancers, who wore protective masks or face masks, required by the organizers.
“It’s very emotional to come back. I arrive with too much devotion… It is exciting to be with the public and to arrive at the feet of the little virgin, ”Oralí Canedo, a 32-year-old dancer, who assured that she was infected twice with the coronavirus, told The Associated Press. “Still, I am here with a lot of faith in the Virgin,” she added.
“I think that this disease has come to all of us at some point. Thanks to God, to the little virgin, she has made us be born again… perhaps other brothers left and in memory of them we make a pilgrimage today,” said Martín Canedo Duran, another dancer.
In some dances such as the Diablada -an icon of carnival- the dancers used devil masks, so they did not wear face masks.
The authorities of the Bolivian regions decided that the carnival activities will return this year after considering that the country is going through a slowdown in infections. However, the specialists warned that if the celebrations are not carried out in moderation and the corresponding biosecurity measures are not carried out, the country could face a fifth outbreak.
The organizers hope that this year more than 20,000 dancers from 50 folk dance groups will participate in Oruro in the festival, which has strong religious roots and was declared by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2001.
“It is an atypical carnival due to the pandemic, but we are trying to carry out an economic reactivation,” Oruro governor Johnny Vedia told state channel Bolivia TV.
The carnival is expected to start on Saturday night in the Santa Cruz region, in the east of the country, with its queens and carriages. Santa Cruz is one of the most populated regions and one that has been hit by the pandemic.
The Andean country has so far reported 893,048 infections and 21,419 deaths from COVID-19. Meanwhile, vaccination with the complete schedule —two doses— has been applied to 5.4 of the 11.6 million inhabitants, according to health authorities.