Série - FotoSlovo 2025 - Category « Documentaire / Reportage »

Every May and coinciding with the Festival of the Cross, communities around Macha in Bolivia gather in the city and, to celebrate the Tinku, an ancient Andenean tradition to honours the Pachamama (Mother Earth) in hopes of a fruitful harvest the following year.

Before going into the city of Macha, the communities perform the Wilancha, an animal sacrifice ceremony this, while also drinking chicha.

Once in Macha, the men and women of the Ayllus enter the plaza dancing and singing and they carry the Cross to the the church to be blessed.

Soon after, the celebrations turn into violent street fights in order to show bravery and strength. The “rings” encircling the fighters are formed by people, their relatives and the police who also act as referees, able to stop a fight in an effort to avoid deaths.

In a matter of seconds, an all-against-all brawl can start, with kicks, punches and stones being thrown in an effort to defeat the adversaries. The police intervenes with tear gas.