Over 140 Distinct Carnival Events Documented in Bolivia to Protect Local Tradition

The Bolivian government has presented a manual recording more than 140 Carnival celebrations in various regions of the South American country in order to protect those cultural traditions

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The Minister of Culture and Tourism Wilma Alanoca said the initiative contains some 145 typical carnivals that are celebrated across all the Bolivian departments.

"We have completely taken out this manual of what carnivals we have, not only do we have the calendar by region but also the meaning, something brief of all the declarations of heritage that we have to protect," Alanoca said.

The minister emphasized that Carnival in Bolivia is celebrated during the planting and harvesting season, so its celebration also promotes a spiritual relationship of gratitude with what nature has received.

"The relationship as the Plurinational State of Bolivia is linked to Mother Earth and this is expressed through ritual practices such as challa that is carried out in both rural and urban areas," Alanoca said.

According to the register, 27 cultural events took place in Cochabamba, 25 in Tarija, 21 in Chuquisaca, 19 in Oruro, 18 in La Paz, 13 in Potosi, and 10 in Beni and Santa Cruz.

Oruro Carnival, declared a "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO dates back more than two centuries. Some 6,000 dancers -- among an estimated crowd of some 450,000 -- take part in the festivities every year, BBC reported.

This year, tragedy struck at an Ouro Carnival celebration when a gas canister explosion killed three children and left 40 others injured. President Evo Morales said he was "dismayed at the news of the deaths caused by the explosion" on Twitter.