BOLIVIA: Bolivians pay tribute to Urkupina Virgin in Cochabamba

Thousands of dancers pay colorful homage to Virgin of Urkupina in rural Bolivia. Thousands of faithful descended on a small Bolivian town on Wednesday (August 15) to pay homage to the Virgin of Urkupina. Bolivian President Evo Morales and his Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera joined lines of worshippers at the altar of the Virgin while folk dancers and revellers continued the traditional party that started on Tuesday in Quillacollo, just ten miles outside of Cochabamba. Veneration for the Virgin is concentrated in Quillacollo, but has spread to other parts of Bolivia. Along a river in the Urkupina part of La Paz, husband and wife worshippers Roberto and Cristina Carrizales chipped at a stone to ask the Virgin for prosperity. "We carry the stone faithfully, all the time. We get what we ask for. If we carry it with all our faith we get what we ask for. We've been carrying this stone for three years," Roberto said. "What I want I get. If you come with all your faith you get what you ask for. Now I'm looking for a house. I hope I get it. The Virgin will want me to get my wish," his wife added. The celebration started earlier in the week with processions of hundreds of dancers from over 60 different folklore groups winding their way through the streets of Quillacollo.

ITN Source | August 20, 2007

Tags:. .groups. .joined. .hope. .continued. .celebration