Carnaval de Oruro

The bolivian carnival in the city of Oruro is the second biggest party in South America after Rio de Janeiro. it was all about the beer, the water balloons and the foam sprays. and if you were a "gringo", that is a foreigner, it almost felt like the locals who have their 500 year old resentment towards the western invaders finally found a way to retaliate by completely smashing us with water rifles and covering us head to feet in foam. my friend Stella got foamed in her eyes and had her camera stolen. but they say that in Santa Cruz (biggest city in Bolivia with another big fiesta) they shoot you with paint balls, and Rio is anyway notorious for its crime rates.
we anyway had our party going, with the help of some addictive substances and plastic ponchos to protect us from the attack.
The carniva was a beauty! the procession kept going for 48 hours straight. as there got more empty beer cans on the ground there were more feet dancing and more throats singing. the first night we lasted until 4 a.m . dancing our way through. the second night it was pooring down rain, all the majestic feathers and mini skirts got soaked, but the show went on and the spirits stayed high.
The dancer participate in the carnival volunteerily and buy all the costumes themselves. prices vary between 50 - 200 $. minimum wage in Bolivia is 65 $. the costumes are very simbolic and represent a mix between catholic and local pagan believes.
Next year in Rio...