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ORURO, Bolivia-A small-time rancher who raises llamas and alpacas, Zenobio Alvarez is also a tuba player for Bonanza, one of the 40-odd musical groups to play at Bolivia's national band festival on Saturday. The 65-year-old Aymara Indian man lives alone with his animals. His children all moved to Chile, and his wife went there too to take care of the grandchildren."Sometimes I come here (to the city) to play in the band; that way I don't get bored," Alvarez said while shining the gold parts of his huge, white tuba.Oruro's annual band festival is part of the run-up to Carnival. The mining city is famous for its costumes and elaborate masks, which make the pre-Lenten celebration one of Latin America's most vibrant street festivals.About 2,500 musicians broke out their trumpets, French horns, cymbals and giant drums to wow Oruro on Saturday, a week before Carnival officially begins.They played everything from the national anthem to an Aymara "Waca Waca," which is driven by a heavy drum beat that picks up speed and spins into a frenzy.But the local soccer club's rallying song was what most delighted the crowd of several thousand spectators, who surrounded the concrete bleachers where the bands played."Oruro and all of Bolivia came into being with music. I think we are all dancers and musicians from the time we're born, or even from the womb," said Luisa Uyuni Argandona,54....To read more go to:
As in the days of Noah....
