Bolivian Thoughts opinion: It is undeniable how colorful, joyful and magnificent is Bolivian Folklore! So, there is no wonder that the temptation to display it in Peru and Chile is great, that by doing so they even damage their own folklore, as if they had none…
Current government is pure demagogue, they portrait themselves as true Bolivians, who wanted to preserve our traditions, let alone our folklore … however, this autocracy is more involved in remaining in power than defending our heritage!
Pagina Siete reports:
Folklorists ask government to take action over a Chilean spot
The audiovisual material that promotes the Carnival of Arica shows dancers dancing caporales, diablada, morenada and tobas in Chilean stages.
Folklorists ask the Ministry of Culture and the Foreign Ministry to take action after the transmission of a promotional spot of the Carnival of Arica in which Bolivian dances are shown.
“It causes discomfort and outrage to see this spot. I believe that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture must take action in the face of this usurpation of our cultural identity,” said Jacinto Quispaya, president of the Oruro Folklore Association (ACFO).
“A wake-up call for our ambassadors and consuls,” added the representative of the folklorists. He pointed out that the authorities of the State must assume the role of defending the interests of the country and the cultural heritage.
The spot, uploaded to social networks three weeks ago by the municipality of the Chilean city has 5,000 views on the YouTube video platform.
Faced with this situation, the president of the Artistic and Cultural Fraternity the Diablada de Oruro, Patricia La Fuente, who was presented yesterday with about 90 dancers on the stage of the Dakar, lamented the lack of clear policies to promote and position abroad the dances of the Carnival and the Bolivian culture in general.
There must be “awareness to take folklore to other countries,” he argued, in time to indicate that to achieve that, beyond starting from the conscience of Bolivians, there must be government support to the sector, in preference to artisans, who see their devalued workforce, which also generates this situation.
In the spot you can see dancers from caporales, morenada, diablada and tobas performing their choreographies in different landscapes of the northern city of Chile.
“From Arica, an open door to Latin America, the largest Andean festival in Chile is celebrated. Three days of music, dance and integration where our ancestral peoples and neighboring nations come together to celebrate another year of Carnival,” explains a voice-over on the spot.
The comments on YouTube are diverse, but most highlight the Bolivian ownership of the dances shown.
“I see imitation of Bolivian dances”, “I am very happy that you like Bolivian dances. We invite you to Oruro, capital of folklore” or “How nice that you like Bolivian dances” are some of the comments.
In this regard, Quispaya assured that the ACFO will send a letter to the ministries of Culture and Foreign Affairs, so that they assume a defense of what happens in Arica, by the way of promoting their Carnival.
Constant claims
– Peru. Last year Bolivia called on Peru for the use of its dances in a promotional spot for the feast of the Virgen de la Candelaria in Puno, Peru. Before, in 2014, the same claim was made to Unesco.
– Chile. In 2015 the Government announced that it would raise a diplomatic claim to Chile for the use of national symbols to promote itself as “Best cultural destination 2015”. On that occasion, the controversy was also presented by a video that shows how the neighboring country used dances to promote themselves.
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