A celebration, a reason for thanksgiving, a history of traditions...that is the Anata or Anata Andina, a party that is celebrated in Oruro, the highland region of Bolivia, whose origins go back to pre-Hispanic times. It's six in the morning and everything starts here.
The festival is linked to the cycle of agricultural production and is celebrated every year during the rainy season, in February. From different parts of the country, people come and meet in order to, with this multicolored leading parade, open the doors to the most famous carnival in the country.
The term Anata is of Aymara origin and means "game and joy." It is perhaps the main reason that has kept these people lively. Children, young people, adults and others who are already senior adults share traditions, songs and dances that have been inherited for centuries and today make up the most striking cultural fabric of the region. Some arrive from Cochabamba, others have traveled eighty or a hundred kilometers. Some are up since three in the morning, others from five, and there are also those who have not slept a wink to not lose their position.
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