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The Morenada is an Andean folk dance whose origins is from Bolivia. This dance is practiced mainly in
Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
as well as in
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
and in recent years with Bolivian immigration in Chile, Argentina and other countries. Morenada is one of the most representative dances of Bolivian culture. This importance stands out for the dissemination of dance and music in the patron and civic festivals in different regions of the country. The morenada was declared Cultural Heritage of Bolivia in 2011, through Law No. 135, for its recognized importance at national and national level international. In turn, this dance is performed during the Carnaval de Oruro, in honor of the Virgen del Socavón, declared a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. It can also be performed appreciate mainly in the Fiesta del Gran Poder of the city of
La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...
also declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the same institution and in all the folkloric entrances that are held in most of the towns, localities, and in many of the neighborhoods of each of the cities of Bolivia ( in the city of La Paz there are at least 246 annual folkloric entries, in each of which the morenada is danced) . In Peru, la morenada is a typical dance in the Peruvian highlands, in the Puno
region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
, and is part of the Feast of the Virgin of La Candelaria, Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. It is also practiced and disseminated in the departments of Tacna and Moquegua due to the presence of Aymara population. In
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
, the morenada is practiced mainly in the ''Carnaval Internacional con la Fuerza del Sol'' in
Arica Arica ( ; ) is a commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the ca ...
and cultural organizations, the authorities and the Chilean population recognize and affirm that the morenada is a Bolivian dance of Bolivian origin. In
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
the morenada is danced in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
, mostly by the Bolivian Immigrant Community. The Argentine population states that the morenada is a Bolivian dance.


Theories about the origin of the dance

Dance whose origin dates back to the colonial era and is inspired by the slave trade, from the transfer of black people brought by the Spanish conquerors to work as workers in the silver mines in the
Viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru (), officially known as the Kingdom of Peru (), was a Monarchy of Spain, Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in ...
, recently initiated by the Aymara dressed up as black people and representing characters like the caporal and the black troop. The "morenos" dance evokes the days of the colony. He was born precisely in the brotherhoods of slaves from Africa who mocked the dances of the white lords. Then, the dance of the "morenos", changes its name in a historical process of acceptance of it, towards all social classes in Oruro, Bolivia. Such is the case of the "Comparsa de Morenos de los Veleros" born in 1913 and "Comparsa de los Morenos" of 1924 founded by Aymara migrant families and that come from the ancient dancers of the "comparsa de morenos" of the mid-century XIX, finally adopts the name of Morenada in 1950 and 1954, respectively.


African slavery in Potosí theory

The most commonly shared theory says that the dance was inspired by the sufferings of the African slaves brought to Bolivia in order to work in the Silver Mines of
Potosí Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Potosí Department, Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the list of highest cities in the world, highest cities in the wo ...
. The enormous tongue of the dark masks is meant to represent the physical state of these mines workers and the rattling of the Matracas are frequently associated with the rattling of the slaves' chains. However, there is no evidence that these African slaves actually worked in the mines, although there is much evidence that they worked in the Casa de la Moneda (mint) in the production of
coin A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...
s and in
domestic service A domestic worker is a person who works within a residence and performs a variety of household services for an individual, from providing cleaning and household maintenance, or cooking, laundry and ironing, or care for children and elderly ...
.


Winemaking in Oruro theory

A second theory relates the Morenada to the African slaves who settled in the Oruro region for wine production. This theory holds that African slaves made wine in Oruro with grapes collected and transferred from the
La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...
valley to be marketed in the mining centers of Oruro. The dance morenada would originate by imitating the treading of the grapes in the Oruro wineries and the barrel-shaped costumes would represent the barrel that contains the wine. At first sight this makes the theory seem extremely unprovable, but the first chants in the Morenada allude to the African slaves who worked in winemaking. In addition, if one goes far enough back in history, one can discover that there were Afro-Bolivians working in vineyards - in other regions, such as Chuquisaca. Nowadays there might not be any Afro-Bolivians left where there are wineyards, but when the dance was created, there might have been.


Cave paintings in La Paz theory

The third theory relates the Morenada to the Aymara people from the
La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...
. Places such as Achacachi claim to be the place of origin of the " Fish Dance", as the Morenada in this region also is called. Some murals about 200–300 years old were found in the region, showing Morenada dancers and there still is a strong tradition of making elaborately embroidered Morenada costumes.


African population of the Puno highlands

In the colonial era of the Viceroyalty of Peru, there is already a black population register in the Puno highlands, as documented in 1602 Ludovico Bertonio, an Italian Jesuit based in Juli, Puno. "To these blacks, the Andean population called them: Ch'ara or yanaruna.58 And to the pronounced geta they had, they said: Lakha llint'a. At the beginning of the 17th century, according to Gonzales Holguín and Bertonio, the Africans were I alluded to them interchangeably as blacks or brunettes. Another hypothesis comes from the Department of Puno in Peru, on the shores of Lake Titicaca (Puno). At the beginning of the 20th century, the presence of brunettes in devotion to the Virgen de la Candelaria is described in newspapers of the time:


Gallery

Image:Morenada @ La Paz "Gran Poder 2011".jpg, Morenada mask showing exaggerated features to represent the physical state. File:Desfile de la morenada. Carnaval de oruro 2012.JPG, Morenada parade at the Oruro Carnival, 2012 File:Morenada_Bellavista_Puno.jpg, Morenada Bellavista parade at the Puno Candelaria, 2013 File:Morenos_en_La_Morenada,_Puno-Peru2.jpg, Morenada Laykakota parade at the Puno Candelaria, 2011


References

{{Music in Spanish Culture of Bolivia Bolivian dances Peruvian dances Culture of Peru Indigenous dances of South America