The largest Alasitas fair (or Alacita, Alacitas, Alasita; Spanish: Feria de las Alasitas) is an annual month-long cultural event starting on 24 January in
La Paz
La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
, Bolivia. It honours
Ekeko
The Ekeko is the Tiwanakan (pre Columbian civilization) god of abundance and prosperity in the mythology and folklore of the people from the Peruvian and Bolivian Altiplano Its chief importance in popular culture is as the main figure of the an ...
, the
Aymara god of abundance, and is noted for the giving of miniature items.
Other fiestas and ferias throughout Bolivia incorporate alasitas into religious observances: The Fiesta of the
Virgin of Copacabana
The Virgen de Copacabana (literal translation: Virgin of Copacabana; figurative translation: Our Lady of Copacabana; variant: Blessed Virgin of the Candelaria, Our Lady of Copacabana) is the patron saint of Bolivia. She is venerated in Bolivia dur ...
and the Fiesta of the Virgin of Urkupiña, for example.
Origins
The indigenous
Aymara people observed an event called Chhalasita in the
pre-Columbian era, when people prayed for good crops and exchanged basic goods. Over time, it evolved to accommodate elements of
Catholicism and Western acquisitiveness.
[
Its name is the Aymara word for "buy me".
Arthur Posnansky observed that in the Tiwanaku culture, on dates near 22 December, the population used to worship their deities to ask for good luck, offering miniatures of what they wished to have or achieve.]
Based on Posnansky's observations, the manufacture of miniatures would have its origins in the pre-Columbian era and the Alasitas fair would have its first urban expressions in the early years of the founding of La Paz
La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
, specifically, when its founders moved it from Laja on the banks of the Choqueyapu River. During that occasion, Juan Rodríguez ordered the celebration of a mass where Spanish and Indigenous people participated, the latter wanted to contribute by bringing small stone idols and miniatures exchanging them for stone coins.
During the 1781 siege of La Paz
La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
, Sebastián Segurola
Saint Sebastian (in Latin: ''Sebastianus''; Narbo, Gallia Narbonensis, Roman Empire c. AD 255 – Rome, Italia, Roman Empire c. AD 288) was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocleti ...
re-established the celebration moving it from October to 24 January, as a gesture of gratitude towards ''Our Lady of Peace'', the holy figure for which the city of La Paz
La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
was named. The transactions were made with the same stone coins and slowly the cult to the ''Ekeko
The Ekeko is the Tiwanakan (pre Columbian civilization) god of abundance and prosperity in the mythology and folklore of the people from the Peruvian and Bolivian Altiplano Its chief importance in popular culture is as the main figure of the an ...
'' was reintroduced. He appeared for the first time modelled in clay; nowadays the figures are usually cast in plaster.
Modern celebrations
The Alasitas festival is held annually for the Ekeko
The Ekeko is the Tiwanakan (pre Columbian civilization) god of abundance and prosperity in the mythology and folklore of the people from the Peruvian and Bolivian Altiplano Its chief importance in popular culture is as the main figure of the an ...
. It sprawls along many streets and parks in central La Paz
La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
and smaller events are held in many neighborhoods around the city. People attend the event from all over the city and even travel from other cities inside Bolivia to buy miniature versions of goods they would like to give to somebody else. These goods can be blessed by any one of the men and (less frequently) women acting as shaman. It is believed that if somebody gives a miniature version, the recipient will get the real object in the course of the following year. Examples of goods that can be bought are household items, food, computers, construction materials, cell phones, houses, cars, university diplomas and even figures of domestic workers (whom the recipient might hope to employ).
At midday on 24 January, the Catholic Church joins in the celebration by blessing the gifts at the main cathedral in La Paz.[
This spring festival also celebrates the "'abundance'" or fecundity of humanity.
In March 2011 ]Elizabeth Salguero
Elizabeth Cristina Salguero Carrillo (born 12 December 1964) is a Bolivian diplomat, journalist, politician, and women's rights activist who served as minister of cultures from 2011 to 2012. A member of the Movement for Socialism, she previo ...
, Minister of Cultures, nominated Alasitas along with two other Bolivian festivals to UNESCO for World Heritage recognition as part of the cultural and intangible heritage of humanity.
In the year 2016 the Feast of Alasita and miniatures of the Altiplano of Puno
Puno (Aymara and qu, Punu) is a city in southeastern Peru, located on the shore of Lake Titicaca. It is the capital city of the Puno Region and the Puno Province with a population of approximately 140,839 (2015 estimate). The city was establish ...
was declared Cultural Heritage of the Nation of Peru, This declaration supports that the alasitas fairs and the ritual use of propitiatory miniatures are part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Peru
Intangibles or intangible may refer to:
* Intangible asset, an asset class used in accounting
* Intellectual capital, the difference in value between tangible assets (physical and financial) and market value
* Intellectual property, a legal concep ...
.
See also
*Ekeko
The Ekeko is the Tiwanakan (pre Columbian civilization) god of abundance and prosperity in the mythology and folklore of the people from the Peruvian and Bolivian Altiplano Its chief importance in popular culture is as the main figure of the an ...
References
External links
Feria de las Alasitas
bolivian.com {{in lang, es
Religious festivals in Bolivia
Events in La Paz
Folk festivals in Bolivia
Cultural festivals in Bolivia
Summer events in Bolivia
Religious festivals in Peru
Festivals in Peru
Puno