(14 Jun 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
La Paz, Bolivia – 14 June 2025
1. Various of performers in downtown avenue during the Lord of Great Power festival
2. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Miroslava Romero, Great Power dancer:
++PARTLY COVERED BY SHOT 1++
"Bolivia is in mourning, as you can see, but we are dancing out of faith and devotion to the Lord of Great Power, asking for peace for Bolivia."
3. ‘Morenos’ dancers and women parading
4. Morenos dancers dressed in violet, women
5. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Brenda Lunes, La Paz resident:
++PARTLY COVERED BY SHOTS 6 AND 7++
"While there is a procession (of dancers) happening now, they are entering in mourning—it’s truly a shame. I think there should already be elections."
6. ‘Morenos’ dancing in red and yellow
7. Cholas (Andean Indigenous women) dressed in yellow and blue, dancing and marching
8. Various of Eloy Salmon Fraternity dancers
9. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Jorge Rodríguez, dancer, Eloy Salmon Fraternity:
++STARTS ON PREVIOUS SHOT, PARTLY COVERED BY SHOT 9++
"Unfortunately, the economic situation has had a big impact. There are only about half as many of us in this fraternity now. Everything is really expensive. The ‘morenada’ was already costly to dance, but now it’s much worse. Still, we always have faith and devotion to the Tatita (Jesus) of Great Power, because He always watches over us, guides us—we have to pay Him our respects."
10. Women dancing
STORYLINE:
The religious festival of the Lord of Great Power is one of Bolivia’s most important cultural celebrations, offering Bolivians a rare moment to set aside their ongoing political turmoil and immerse themselves in the world of the nation’s rich folklore.
But this Saturday, the celebration was overshadowed by mourning and silence following days of street clashes that had shaken the Andean country.
Many of the dance troupes—morenos and traditional female dancers—performed wearing black ribbons.
"Bolivia is in mourning, as you can see, but we are dancing out of faith and devotion to the Lord of Great Power, asking for peace for Bolivia," said dancer Miroslava Romero.
For many, the festival became an opportunity to pray for peace, unity, and the recovery of a faltering economy.
"While there is a procession (of dancers) happening now, they are entering in mourning—it’s truly a shame. I think there should already be elections," said Brenda Lunes as she watched the fraternities pass by.
This Aymara Indigenous festival, dedicated to a miraculous painting of Jesus Christ, could not escape the grip of the country’s worst economic crisis in four decades, nor the increasingly tense political struggle ahead of deeply polarized presidential elections.
"Unfortunately, the economic situation has had a big impact. There are only about half as many of us in this fraternity now. Everything is really expensive," said dancer Jorge Rodríguez.
The dancers’ parade unfolded with its characteristic exuberance, yet a somber tone set in as news broke that a sixth person had died from injuries sustained three days earlier during protests in the mining city of Llallagua, the most violent flashpoint in the recent unrest, according to police.
In recent days, supporters of former president Evo Morales clashed with police and residents, leaving six dead and rattling the nation.
The violence erupted after Morales, Bolivia’s first Indigenous president (2006–2019), was disqualified by a constitutional ruling and blocked from registering his candidacy.
AP Video shot by Carlos Guerrero
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