Bolivia celebrates ‘Day of the Morenada,’ claims dance as its own
La Paz, Sep 7 (EFE).- Bolivia commemorated Wednesday with dances and social media messages the “National Day of the Morenada” to claim this folk dance is “100 percent Bolivian” and was “appropriated” by neighboring countries.
“The Morenada is 100 percent Bolivian! Let the noisemakers sound throughout the country to tell the world once again that Morenada is from Bolivia. On the National Day of the Morenada, with great pride and firmness we claim this beautiful dance as heritage of our culture and folklore,” Bolivian President Luis Arce wrote on Twitter.
One of the central events took place at the Ministry of Culture in La Paz, where a dozen officials dressed in the characteristic costumes of the morenada danced this dance to the rhythm of the joyful sounds played by a military band.
Authorities such as the Vice Ministers of Interculturality, Juan Carlos Cordero, and of Decolonization, Pelagio Condori, among others, participated in the event.
Cordero said that in 2021 the “Plurinational Matracazo” was celebrated, a day of dancing the morenada as a “protest and vindication” of the origin of the dance in the face of the “misappropriation of our cultural heritage by other countries.”
“Culture transcends borders, culture has no walls, no one is prohibiting them from dancing elsewhere, it has been taken to other places, however, they must recognize their origins,” said the deputy minister.
He also stressed the importance of valuing the work done by the artisans who make the costumes for these folk dances.
According to Cordero, this day also marks the beginning of the “month of the morenada” in which the ministry will carry out a series of activities to highlight this dance.
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