When is the Oruro Carnival held?

The Oruro Carnival happens every year around February, or sometimes early March, and it lines up nicely with the Catholic liturgical calendar. The big 20-hour parade, called the Entrada, is held on the Saturday right before Ash Wednesday.

UNESCO recognises it as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and the whole thing turns into this huge public display of religious syncretism. You see Catholic reverence for the Virgin of the Socavón mixed with older Andean indigenous understandings. The clearest, most talked-about moment is the Diablada, the Dance of the Devils, with its heavy horned masks and carefully planned choreography.