The Alasitas Fair in La Paz: thousands of miniatures and a big fair

Blogoculaire
May 1
7 min read

Updated: 1 day ago

What is the Alasitas Fair?

The Feria de las Alasitas is a traditional Bolivian celebration that has been celebrated in La Paz every year for more than a century. People buy miniature objects (icons and amulets) that represent their wishes for the year to come. The god of this celebration is the Ekeko, the god of abundance and prosperity, thanks to whom these miniatures/wishes can become reality.

Inaugurated every year at noon on 24 January and lasting approximately one month, it was recognised in 2017 by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, as a living expression of Andean beliefs and traditions.

Originally held in La Paz, and organised for many years in the city's Parque Urbano Central, it has spread to other cities in Bolivia (Urkupiña, in Cochabamba) and in Latin America as a result of Bolivian emigration (Puno, Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo).

If you find yourself in La Paz on 24 January or in the following weeks, be sure to visit it: it's worth strolling around and looking at the lovely miniature objects and the imagination of the craftsmen, or buying a miniature in the hope that your wishes will come true.

The article and photos are based on the feria in La Paz, which I was lucky enough to attend in early February 2025.

What items can be found at the Fair?

At the Alasitas fair, there are 3 categories of objects, which are supposed to bring prosperity and abundance, and illustrate what one wishes to achieve in the year:

-Icons, miniature representations of the desired object and as close as possible to the Andean concept of illas.

Examples: a miniature diploma, a television screen, a car, a house...

This category evolves and is enriched every year with new objects, according to fashion, innovations, etc.

- Amulet, which represent more indirectly what you want to obtain.

Examples: an owl for intelligence, a frog for fertility, a pig for wealth, a bull for strength, a cockerel / hen for love...

This category of objects changes little over time.

-The Ekeko itself is often found in Bolivian homes, is offered miniatures is given drinks and cigarettes, and offered coca leaves and other objects during ch'alla ceremonies... and he crosses borders thanks to Bolivian emigration and globalisation, finding equivalents in other culture

Here are the main categories of miniature ‘icon’ type objects that can be found there:

Food (bread and items of the family basket) such as cereals, oil, sugar, tea, etc. some of national or international brands (Kellogg's...).

(Fake) banknotes: Bolivianos (or Bolivian pesos, a term still used to designate the local currency despite the fact that it changed its name a long time ago) but also dollars and euros (sarcastic humour sequence: surprisingly, no Argentinian peso, whose value decreases every minute...). )

Houses

As these objects reflect the evolution of life, since the early 2000s, several miniature cholets , neo-Andeanist-style buildings democratised in particular by the architect Freddy Mamani, appeared.

These buildings are located in the city of El Alto (neighbouring La Paz, in the hills) and are owned by the Aymara bourgeoisie, inspired by Aymara and Tiwanaku weavings.

They are multi-storey and usually have shops, reception rooms and shopping arcades on the lower floors (the dwelling is conceived not only as a place to live but also as a source of income), with the upper floors used as living quarters.

The term cholet comes from the contraction of chalet and cholo (originally referring to a mestizo of European-indigenous origin from which it later derived its feminine diminutive, cholita).

Cars and means of transport (buses, combis), often in the colours of Bolivian bus companies (e.g. Trans Copacabana, one of the best national bus companies).

And even (I didn't get a chance to see them) cable car cabins following its deployment in 2014 of the cable car to link La Paz to El Alto, and now counting 10 lines, 36 stations and carrying up to 600,000 people a day!

Miniature clothes (little hats, little shoes... like clothes for Ken and Barbie), including carnival costumes like Diablada or Morenada masks.

Diplomas and professional qualifications, title deeds or other documents
Examples: marriage certificate, birth certificate, house or car title deeds, driving licence, etc.

Given the migratory flows, Green Cards and Spanish Residence Cards seem to be flourishing.

As well as driving licences (after the fiasco of me passing the French driving test just before travelling, this is obviously the 1st miniature I've bought in Alasitas!)

Shops : reminiscent of Mexican handicrafts, with shop windows depicting skulls in scenes from the daily life of different occupations (dentist, hairdresser, doctor, musician, etc.), with tons of details

High-tech objects such as televisions, laptops, smartphones, etc.

It is worth noting that there are several craftsmen who make their own objects in lead, heritage of the German lead soldiers, who make a wide range of objects, such as laptops, mobile phones, etc. Every year they innovate for the Alasitas Fair, innovation being an integral part of the fair, which offers new objects every year.

Ekeko, the god of abundance, is honoured during the Fair

This hunchbacked, paunchy figure, with short legs and arms and native dress, probably originates from Tunupa, an Andean deity considered to be the god of volcanoes and lightning. It is laden with traditional and modern objects, representing the consumer goods and desires of the Aymara people living in the city.

His sarcastic attitude, illustrated by a beaming smile, moustache and open mouth, suggests that he is open to exchange with his devotees, who would like to acquire the real size of the miniatures entrusted to him - and + specifically willing to smoke the cigarettes offered to him and brought to his mouth. He is generally honoured on Tuesdays and Fridays, which are considered evil days.

24 January: inauguration and key day of the Alasitas Fair

Originally celebrated on 20 October (anniversary of the founding of the city of La Paz in 1548), in 1781 the Spanish moved the date to 24 January, coinciding with the celebration of Our Lady of La Paz, patron saint of the city of La Paz, to pay homage to this saint, thanks to whom (according to the Spanish, eh?) the Spanish had defeated the indigenous Tupac Katari and his men after their uprising against the Spanish oppressors during the Siege of the city of La Paz.

Since then, every 24th of January at noon, miniatures of the desired objects for the year are bought especially in the main square (Plaza Murillo) of La Paz, but also in several churches and squares of the city (San Pedro, San Francisco), as well as in the Parque Urbano Central (where a giant sculpture of the Ekeko is enthroned and where the festivities continue for the following month).

After the purchases, two types of ceremonies (one pre-Columbian ‘pagan’ and the other Catholic) are performed on the miniatures, so that they grow, reproduce and become fertile:

- The Ch'alla, an ancestral indigenous Andean ceremony performed by the Yatiris (Andean shamans) during which the miniatures are sprinkled with alcohol, flower petals or other substances, incense is lit and prayers are said in a mixture of Aymara and Spanish, in order to make the miniatures as ‘fertile’ as possible. These ch'allas take place in the city squares in exchange for a payment (from 1 to 5 euros) to the yatiri in charge. This ceremony can also be addressed to the Ekeko, who is offered alcohol, food and cigarettes.

- The Catholic blessing, which takes place in the churches by sprinkling holy water on the purchased goods. After the blessing in the church, symbolic scenes of debt payment are also enacted with miniature counterfeit banknotes.

The origins of the Alasitas Fair?

Before this fair, there were Illas, miniature animals (llamas, cows, etc.) linked to fertility, which were regularly found in pre-Inca cultures (from 1800 BC). They were used for ceremonies and offerings (sometimes funerary) and were buried at the foot of wakas (sacred places, mainly mountains or lakes), like seeds, so that they would reach their ‘real size’.

Even today, Alasitas are not seen as representations of objects, but as the objects themselves. Thanks to ceremonies (ch'allas) and blessings, as well as the confetti, streamers, mixtures and flowers that are thrown at them as part of the ceremonies, they reach their ‘adult’ size, becoming the coveted object itself.

As for the term Alasitas, there are several hypotheses about its origin:

- In Aymara, alasita means ‘buy me’ and is therefore linked to a commercial transaction.

- Alaasitha means ‘let grow’ and is linked to fertility

What is there to eat?

The Alasitas Fair also has several food courts, where you can enjoy :

Miniature dishes: gold medal for the mini hot dog stand that the kids loved so much!
Chocleso (contraction of Choclo = corn and queso = cheese, corn with cheese) - well, I admit I haven't tried it!

Of course, you can also try the more classic Bolivian specialities that you will find all over the country, such as (tried and tested) :

chicharrón de cerdo (small pieces of pork shoulder with lots of fat, fried in their own fat)
salteña: the Bolivian version of the empanada, with sweet dough but filled with meat, vegetables and hot broth - which makes it difficult to eat without smearing (a bit like Chinese Xiao Long Bao ravioli).

Anecdotally, Bolivians joke that if the series Squid Game had been filmed in Bolivia, one of the tests would have been to eat salteña without staining.... which means I would have been eliminated instantly!

But there were also some meat dishes that we wouldn't necessarily describe as the most appetising.... (I personally didn't try them on the trip!!!)...such as for example :

cuy (guinea pig, a very common and famous meat in the Andes of Bolivia and Peru)
anticuchos: skewers of beef heart, also very popular in Peru

and all the usual Bolivian dishes and specialities...