The story
Carnaval Minero Oruro in Oruro
Carnaval Minero frames the Carnaval de Oruro through the lens of the mining heritage that produced it: a silver- and later tin-mining town whose signature dance, La Diablada, grew up among Bolivian miners. The dance honors the Virgen del Socavon, the Virgin of the Mineshaft, blending pre-colonial Andean rites, the legend of Huari and the battle of Archangel Michael against the Devil across four days of UNESCO-listed celebration.
Each year, Oruro's carnival returns to its origins as a miners' celebration, and Carnaval Minero is the name given to that underlying identity: a festival born from a town built on silver and, later, tin mining.