GRAN PODER PARADE IN LA PAZ, BOLIVIA

Last Saturday it was developed one of the biggest parades in Bolivia. It is "Gran Poder" Parade which takes place every year in La Paz, Bolivia. About 58 groups participate in this parade starting in the neighborhood called Cementerio dancing kilometers and kilometers until to arrive to downtown. It generally starts early in the morning about 7:00am. and ends 2:00am. on Sunday. Each group of dancers aproximately dances about five or six hours from the beginning until the end of the route.

Generally, a big part of the citizenship participates in this event. This year, President Evo Morales accompanied this celebration too together with other autorities.

An author refers that during 1600, it was accustomed to make Inti Raymi (Celebrations to the Sun) celebrations in the Andes using lots of gold, silver and mullu (a kind of subtance used in rituals). As in the past, during Gran Poder parade female dancers used to have earings and ornaments made of gold.

Different kind of dances can be seen during this parade. Cullaguada, Llamerada, Caporales, Morenada, Diablada, Tinkus, Tarqueada and others.

QUECHUA SINGER, GREGORIO MAMANI

Gregorio Mamani was born in North Potosi, Bolivia. He writes songs both in Quechua and Spanish, Here we have one of his compositions.

MELODIES FROM QUECHUAS

Norte Potosi is the name of a group that belongs to quechua indigenous people located in the south part of Bolivia, Potosi. They write and sing their songs both in their mother language, Quechua and Spanish.

JALQAS DANCE FROM NORTH POTOSI

Music and dance that belong to the northern part of Potosí. Potosi is one of the cities of Bolivia. They are singing using quechua, one of the indigenous languages in the bolivian Andes.

MAYATA TUNKARU

Mayata tunkaru is a song composed by a bolivian folkloric group called Awatiñas. The lyrics is in indigenous aymara language and it teaches how to count numbers. The main part says: maya, paya, kimsa, pusi, phisqa, suxta... which means one, two, three, four and the rest of the numbers up to ten.

Sagrada Coca Group

"Uka jacha uru jutaskiway....

The big day will come ... says part of the song in aymara language played by a local folkloric group called Sagrada Coca.

Tarqueada, music and dance

This dance is called Tarqueada and it is generally danced in rural areas. This group belongs to Tihuanacu town in La Paz, Bolivia. Yesterday, there was a music and dance festival in a mountain called Kimsa Chata which means "three mountains together". Kimsa in aymara language means three and chata means together. This festival joined indigenous aymaras from three countries, Bolivia, Peru and Chile. In the ancient times, aymaras were only one but with the creation of the republics we were divided into three.

MORENADA DANCE

Morenada Eloy Salmon, is one one the most important morenada groups in La Paz, Bolivia. This was founded on December 1968 in La Paz, and since that time has been participating in the most important folkloric events such as Gran Poder Parade which takes place at the end of May or beginnings of June each year. This group of dancers was founded by a group of people dedicated to sell machines, mainly sewing machines Singer which was very famous here in the 60’ s in La Paz.

Eloy Salmón, up to now is one of the main streets where one can buy many types of machines at more or less reasonable prices without invoice. Sellers of this street are generally very prosperous and used to participate in big folkloric events, dancing especially Morenada or other local dances which implies a lot of money.

Morenada is a dance which requires a heavy custom for men and the use of a lot of jewels for women. Eloy Salmon group used three characteristic colors, white, red and green.

IN COPACABANA

Copacabana is a town within Titicaca Lake. It is highly visited by nationals and foreigners. From this place, one may take a boat to go to the Sun and Moon Islands or to other places within the lake.
Each year on May 2 and 3 they celebrate a big event that joins folkoric groups: morenadas, tinkus, cullaguada, llamerada, etc. All the groups start dancing on the main square of Copacabana and they go dancing for about five blocks. They go up to a hill named Qolqepata. Qolqepata is an aymara word that means the place of the money. There, dancers pray and ask for prosperity.