2010 Elay Puej Dance Festival

The 20th Elay Puej Dance Festival, which celebrates the indigenous and cultural dance forms typical of Bolivia's eastern tropics, took place on Saturday, August 28th between 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. along the 2nd ring, starting near the La Salle school (1 block down from the Cristo statue).



Over 1500 children and young people participated in representing and reviving dances such as the taquirari, chovena, brincao, chaqueñas, kaluyo and typical carnaval dances in a colorful display of costumes and music.

The Elay Puej Dance Festival was founded by professor Héctor Molina. 15 dance troupes (10 youth and 5 children's troupes) were trained by some of Bolivia's best choreographers for this cultural display, which takes on new meaning this year as Santa Cruz celebrates the bicentennial of its first cry for freedom from Spain. The municipal government contributed Bs. 80 thousand to ensure this event was successful.

For anyone interested in learning more about the tropical and chaco cultures of Santa Cruz, this was a great opportunity for some beautiful memories and spectacular photos.