Worshipping Devils: Diablada, Pachamama, Kari Kari

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Kari Kari, Diablada, Pachamama and the Tio Photo - Oruro, Bolivia

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HighlightsCarnival is the main - and some say the only - attraction in Oruro. UNESCO recognized it as a Human Heritage event and due to it the city is called the Folkloric Capital of Bolivia. La Diablada - (The Devilish) as the event is usually called -takes place on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday and is a huge parade of devils performed by dancers in elaborate masks and customs, which attracts crowds from the whole country.Plaza 10 de Febrero is the town's focal point. It features less important buildings that its counterparts in ...Read More

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Sheraton Restaurant

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Located in front of the bus terminal, the Sheraton Restaurant is handy and offers good meals. In Bolivia that means they serve the same dishes as everybody else but that they use better ingredients and serve larger quantities. The prices here are roughly twice the ones at regular restaurants, but even then few dishes cross the three dollars mark. The dishes are huge and sharing them between two persons seems to be the only chance of finishing them.Pique (Pee-kae) Macho is one of the most elusive dishes in the Bolivian cuisine. It has a chauvinistic name that no local was able to explain it satisfactorily to me. It seems to be different in every restaurant serving it; however, in the carbohydra...Read More

Located in front of the bus terminal, the Sheraton Restaurant is handy and offers good meals. In Bolivia that means they serve the same dishes as everybody else but that they use better ingredients and serve larger quantities. The prices here are roughly twice the ones at regular restaurants, but even then few dishes cross the three dollars mark. The dishes are huge and sharing them between two persons seems to be the only chance of finishing them.

Pique (Pee-kae) Macho is one of the most elusive dishes in the Bolivian cuisine. It has a chauvinistic name that no local was able to explain it satisfactorily to me. It seems to be different in every restaurant serving it; however, in the carbohydrates ultra-rich local cuisine this is one of the only two leaner dishes (the other one is called Plato Paceño). To allow for the differences among the different establishments, the pique can be described as a dish including a lot of bits of everything.

On the proteins angle it provides small bites of cooked or fried beef, slices of a local white cheese and sometimes the extra-big variety of fava-beans. The fats are provided by the ubiquitous vegetable oil. Carbohydrates appear mainly in the form of French fries decorating the top of the dish. The best part of this dish is the generous quantities of vegetables – cooked and fresh – it includes; that is a rare treat in Bolivia. Olives sometimes adorn the generous portions; however, they are prepared here with chemical vinegar and have an unpleasant residual taste.

The cooked parts of the dish are served hot, while the fresh parts are kept cold. This trivial point is of importance here since in the cold Altiplano everything gets cold very quickly. The dish would not freeze on the plate but it would get unpleasant.

This dish offers the opportunity to touch a delicate issue of the local culture. The pique is usually accompanied by beer and Bolivia suffers of an alcoholism problem. Most people would assume that if ordering a beer, the customer will continue drinking until the next sunrise. Hence, if dining with a local, it should be clarified that one beer is the limit. The best advice is to avoid the whole scene by trying one of the excellent juices prepared from tropical fruits; the unusual maracuya is recommended. Read Less

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on June 16, 2007

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Carnival in Oruro: Diablada

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Carnival is the main – and some say the only – attraction in Oruro. UNESCO recognized it as a Human Heritage event and due to it the city is called the Folkloric Capital of Bolivia.La Diablada takes place on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday and is a huge parade of devils performed by dancers in elaborate masks and customs, which attracts crowds from the whole country.Finding accommodations and a comfortable place to look at the parade from is difficult. It is recommended to book places through the travel agencies in La Paz before arriving at Oruro.The telling signs of the carnival appear weeks before the event. In Oruro’s crowded streets, kids armed with water-guns and water-f...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on June 15, 2007

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Downtown Oruro

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Downtown Oruro is remarkably less colonial than other major cities in Bolivia, maybe due to its relative lack of importance. 3700 meters above the sea level and roughly at the center of the Andean plateau, Oruro features a cold, windy climate; the burning rays of the sun during the day are exchanged by mercilessly freezing nights.Plaza 10 de Febrero is the town’s focal point. It features less important buildings that its counterparts in La Paz or Sucre, but that creates a good opportunity to enjoy the plaza itself. Most modern cities have obliterated the notion of a central plaza and thus modern people ignore the joy of sitting at a bench surrounded by green gardens while having the absol...Read More

Downtown Oruro is remarkably less colonial than other major cities in Bolivia, maybe due to its relative lack of importance. 3700 meters above the sea level and roughly at the center of the Andean plateau, Oruro features a cold, windy climate; the burning rays of the sun during the day are exchanged by mercilessly freezing nights.

Plaza 10 de Febrero is the town’s focal point. It features less important buildings that its counterparts in La Paz or Sucre, but that creates a good opportunity to enjoy the plaza itself. Most modern cities have obliterated the notion of a central plaza and thus modern people ignore the joy of sitting at a bench surrounded by green gardens while having the absolute certainty of being watching all the main events in town. No revolution would happen without noticing it; no piece of juicy gossip would pass unperceived while enjoying the mid-afternoon sun. Who needs cable television or Internet while a central plaza is nearby?

The other main point of interest in Oruro is the Santuario de la Virgen del Socavón, a church dedicated to the cult of the Socavon Virgin. The cult began at the 16th century at the base of the hill closest to downtown. The image was painted over a mud wall and later a small church was built around it. The church had been restored twice, in the 19th and 20th centuries in what is known as “Republican Colonial” style. A curved staircase at its base, connecting the church with the street gives the place a harmonious look. The Socavon part of the name refers to the nearby mines. The virgin is revered by the miners and the carnival dancing groups.

Below the church is the Museo Minero, where the different aspects of the mining – including the railways and old cars can be studied. As all the Bolivian mines also this one contains underground sanctuaries to the devil, which is called here “Tio.” At first, the concept is confounding. “Tio” means “uncle” in Spanish and that obviously is not the case of the creature facing the nosy visitors. To understand the concept, it must be known that the Quechua language lacks the consonant “D.” Hence, the Spanish “Dios” (God) became “Tio” while the Quechua people tried to pronounce it. Yet, the figure being worshipped there is not God, but Satan. Painted in deep red, with big horns on his head and goat’s feet, it resembles a sitting satyr with a huge erection. The miners in active mines bring him cigarettes, coca leaves, alcohol, and soda drinks on a daily basis.

Nearby is the Museo Etnografico which contains a huge collection of items related to the Chipaya and Uru people – the indigenous people of the area – as well as masks and customs used for the Carnival. It is interesting to note that all the devil masks have huge, round, blue eyes.
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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on June 16, 2007

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Sleeping in Oruro

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In my several visits to Oruro I failed to find suitable accommodations. There are two areas featuring hotels. The main one is next to the bus terminal and the second is next to the train station. The first is by far more attractive, despite the second being next to a night market offering plenty of local food meals. Overtime I tried both areas - I couldn't change my hosts' decisions - and had an opportunity to compare.Some characteristics were shared by the establishments in both areas. Despite the Romans having fairly mastered the science of plumbing a couple of millennia ago, it is still part of a distant, utopic future in ...Read More

In my several visits to Oruro I failed to find suitable accommodations. There are two areas featuring hotels. The main one is next to the bus terminal and the second is next to the train station. The first is by far more attractive, despite the second being next to a night market offering plenty of local food meals. Overtime I tried both areas - I couldn't change my hosts' decisions - and had an opportunity to compare.

Some characteristics were shared by the establishments in both areas. Despite the Romans having fairly mastered the science of plumbing a couple of millennia ago, it is still part of a distant, utopic future in Bolivia. The hotel's concierge would show the guest a precariously connected electric heater - its cables drawing strange paths along the ceiling and walls - and would promise hot water at all times. Invariably - while putting my life in danger and turning the contraption on (most electric sockets in Bolivia are not connected to earth) - I got an anemic trickle of quasi-frozen water. Complaining is useless since liquid water is considered to be hot water in the Altiplano; I've got identical reactions while visiting local homes. The best solution to the problem while in the area is to move around with products allowing washing oneself without water.

At Hotel Lipton (Av 6 de Agosto 225, next to the bus terminal), the room was spacious. The double-sized bed, with a sunken mattress, seemed to be small within the empty room, which was void of any other furniture except for a closet. There was no heating, but there were enough blankets to survive a cold night. A room here costs five dollars and allows easy access to the bus terminal, but it is a bit far from downtown.

San Salvador is a two stars hotel in front of the railway station. When I saw the room for the first time, I smiled. Despite my worries - the area has a bad reputation - the room looked cozy and warm. It was small, but it included a coach and a television set with a funny, old-fashioned antenna, a nice carpet and what looked as a nice bed. However, the attached bathroom failed to provide even the humble promise displayed by the water heater. A room here costs around three dollars. Yet, on the entertainment angle the situation here was better than around the bus terminal. Nearby was the Mercado Campero, a night market offering the opportunity to taste local dishes and buy local products. I had been warned to be careful there, but returned to the hotel before nine without damages or having felt threatened.
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