Bolivia's ‘Great Power’ celebration brings 87,000 dancers to streets

Tens of thousands of dancers filled the streets of La Paz on Saturday (August 1) for the folkloric parade honouring the Lord Jesus of Gran Poder (the Great power), one of Bolivia's largest cultural celebrations. 

This year's edition brought together 74 dance fraternities and approximately 87,000 dancers after being postponed twice due to social unrest and road blockades, according to event organizers. 

The procession began at dawn and continued into the early hours of Sunday, featuring prominent traditional dances including the prestigious Morenada, characterized by elaborate costumes and oversized masks representing colonial-era African slaves, and the athletic Caporales, derived from Afro-Bolivian heritage with cascading bells on boots. Other featured dances included Tinku, a ritualistic warrior dance simulating pre-Columbian combat, Llamerada, honouring Altiplano llama herders, and Kullaguada, representing Andean textile weavers. 

The festival, recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2019, blends Andean Catholicism with Indigenous traditions and draws participants from Bolivia, Peru and Chile. Bolivian authorities estimate the celebration generates around millions in economic activity, benefiting sectors from costume making to tourism, according to official figures.

Camera and Production: Sergio Limachi and Santiago Limachi, Production: Monica Machicao, Editing: Hugo Monnet/Reuters