There is neither panic nor any terror scream when the troops of the hell take for assault, with twirls and scatterbrained movements, the streets of the city. But these "evil princes" -of swaying horns and hideous eyeteeth escaping of their mouths- do not generate neither a tiny piece of fear nor a little dose of terror... and it is for that reason that people applaud and encourage them and in some cases, even want to join to the rhythmic pilgrimage of the devils of Oruro.

The troops advance to the compass of the music. There are devils of brilliant clothes and coquettish "diablitas" of shrunk skirts that sway the hips one and a thousand times, as if they were trying to tempt to San Miguel archangel, who is walking lost among many dancing demons that for those things of the very old legends, will surrender homage to the miraculous Virgin of El Socavón.

Penitent devils in Oruro, the folkloric capital city of Bolivia, that surrenders in February to the frenzy of its singular carnival that mixes the devotion for the Virgin of El Socavón -patron saint that blesses the daily activities in the dark depths of the mines- with diverse pagan expressions.

The Carnival of Oruro is an endless rosary of dances and faith. Thousands of faithful people carry out a journey through the streets of the city -founded in 1606- before arriving at the Sanctuary of El Socavón. Dances of remote origins like the Diablada, the Morenada, the Tobas, the Llamerada and the Phujllay, among other, are revived by the fifty folkloric groups that participate in the party.

Oruro, with its 3,706 m.a.s.l., it is not only the city of the carnival. This corner of the highland -home of the miners who worship the Virgin of El Socavón and El Tío (The Uncle), the mythical absolute owner of the wealth of the underground- offers a series of discreet charms that make it attractive and welcoming, in spite of the freezing cold.