Tinku

Tinku is a folkloric dance that evolved from a ceremonial ritual practiced in the northern area of the department of Potosi, home to some of Bolivia's most important mines. The Quechua word tinku means encuentro in Spanish, or meeting in English, referring to annual "meetings" between communities where men as well as women and children would fight, either one-on-one or in groups until the loser's blood was spilled in order to revitalize the Pachamama, or mother earth. The folkloric dance that has evolved from this tradition is popularly practiced and performed around Bolivia, especially in the cities liek Cochabamba and La Paz/El Alto where former miners and campesinos have migrated. Here my friend Maria Rene and her companeros and companeras from the Universidad Municipal San Simon get ready to dance Tinku in a celebration in a small town right outside of the city Cochabamba last October.