FIESTA DE LA TIRANA FROM CHILE!

   Celebration of the Tirana is a celebration of religious character realised annually in the town of the Tirana, commune Almonte Well, in the Region of Tarapacá, Chile. The celebration is realised each 16th of July, in honor to the Virgin of the Carmen. This is the greater religious celebration of the Great North of Chile and the second most popular one of Chile after the Celebration of the Rosary of Andacollo, meeting in this town of no more than 560 inhabitants between 200,000 and 250,000 visitors during the week of celebrations.

Origin

   According to the legend, Diego de Almagro in his route towards the discovery of Chile from Cuzco took in his retinue to a incaico prince captive call Huillac Huma and that was the last priest of the cult to Inti. Next to him, her beautiful called daughter Ñusta went.
   When the army was near the present town of Goad, many of the prisoners Incas fled towards Pampas of the Tamarugal, among them, Ñusta Huillac and its father. Refugees in the forests of tamarugos, Ñusta Huillac organized a rebellion to restore the power of its nation, being arrived to be feared so much for its enemies named who it like the “Tirana of the Tamarugal”.

   A day Portuguese Basque call arrived an expeditionary young person from Almeida that was lost its route towards the mythical “Mine of the Sun”. The sling between the beautiful queen and the Portuguese was immediate. When its relation was open pie, both were condemned until death. Almeida, as a form of which their love is eternal, convinces to Ñusta Huillac so that it is baptized thus and after the death, would appear again in further on and would live united for always. Both are shortages in the ceremony and are assassinated by the native ones.
   In 1540, it passed through the town of “the Tirana” the friar Antonio Rendón, finding a cross, and as it forms of homenajear to these young people, a chapel under the name of “Our Lady of the Carmen of the Tirana” is constructed in the place.

Celebration of the Tirana

   The Celebration of the girl is an Andean festival related to the tie Pachamama the Virgin of Copacabana, since the works farmers. His origin like celebration is miner created by the workers aymarás, Peruvian Bolivians and who worked in the mines of copper and silver in Huantajaya, Santa Rosa and Collahuasi and arrived at San Lorenzo de Tarapacá like workers of the saltpeter. In century XIX the celebration was redefined with the salitrero height and it was celebrated the 16th of July in Pampas and the 28th of July in Iquique. By the end of century XIX, after the War of the Pacific, the celebration was celebrated in diverse dates: 6th of August for the Bolivians, 28th of July for Peruvian and the 16th  of July for the Chileans.

The diverse groups of dancers who went to solemnize the celebrations of the Carmen of the Tirana, returned the day before yesterday of Almonte Well, in a convoy of 19 cars. Just arrived they say that the concurrence that attended the celebration passed it pleasantly, then, aside from the religious ceremonies that ilustrísimo celebrated Mr. Obispo, the devotee ones and the profane ones are past true days of wide field enjoying to their [...] the preparations for the next festivals of the 28 July, follow Pampas in his point. In the office Rosary of Huara a great dance is prepared for which already they have been distributed more than 100 invitations. Equal manifestations are also prepared in other offices of the environs of Huara. It seems, then, that next the 28 of July will be celebrated noisily by Peruvian and Chilean, in amiable partnership, that doubtlessly will contribute to erase the harshness of the past, honoring this common date to all Latin America.

Pepe Hillo. Newspaper the National, Friday 24th of July of 1903

Towards 1910, like part of the chilenización of Tarapacá, a unique day the 16 of July is included this new festival in the Chilean calendar evoking to the Virgin of the Carmen employer of the Army of Chile.  Peruvian and Bolivian brotherhoods was moved of the celebration as of 1911, granting to the "Chinese dance", the oldest one of the Chilean dances of the Tirana (founded on 1908), the right to remove to the Virgin during the procession. As a celebration,  until 1917,   were separated of the authorities of the church. He was the then bishop Expensive Jose Maria who approached the dances the catholic rite.

   The construction of the church of the Virgin of the Carmen in the place Arica de Iquique in 1933, initiative of the Clarisa brothers, Alexander and Luis Gamboni, transferred the celebrations of the desert to the coast giving origin to the Celebration of “the Small Tirana”, which is realised immediately after the Celebration of the Tirana (called “the small Tirana").



Dances

Some of most important are:

• Antawaras: Are dances realised in end and with arms standing up raised, originated in the incaicas ceremonies of cult to the Sun, which explains the invocativo character of the arms towards the sky. The man dances with clothes uniforms decorated, a hat of color felt generally cream and poncho thin scenery with spangles and wool of colors. The women use chicken farmers, decorated blouse, low hat of felt and shoes.

• Chinese: Brought from the sanctuary of Andacollo, they are of Hispanic origin. It owns a dance of expansion, characterized by its brincos and their exercises of balance. The Chinese dress suits color coffee to car me especially embroidered it, next to moored pieces of leather to the waist. Music is based on instruments aerophones monocorde and a tamboril. Although traidicionalmente it is a masculine dance, at present exist some incorporated women, nowadays the society religios “Chinese Dance” is oldest in the festival.

• Chunchos: Mixed dance of Bolivian origin, the dancers describe circles, with long steps and jumps. These take to a wood lance in the denominated hand “chonta” connected to a tense cable that allows to percutir with the wood being generated characteristic a smooth sound. It is accompanied with whistles, drums (big drums) and box and in the last years have been aggregates percussion instruments and bronzes. The dresses, although are of uniform colors, are ornamented with colorful pens and in some cases a plume in the head behaves.

• Gypsys: As it says his name to it, the dance evokes the traditions of the gypsy groups, with colorful clothes and where they emphasize the use of handkerchiefs (in the case of the men, it is used extended behind shoulders). The women accompany music with the use by panderetas. For being of nonChristian origin, they do not dance in the place in front of the church but to a flank of her.

• Indians: Dances originated under influence of the American cinema. The dances imitate the representations of North American natives (like apaches, and sioux). The clothes is sent to touched lengths of pens and cintillos and the use of lances to mark the compass of music. At night great bonfires around which are realised dance.

• Kayahuallas: Also of Andean pre-Hispanic origin, one resembles to trote. The dancers standing up realise passages with raised knee and end in mimetic and choral dances. The man uses trousers of a single color adorned with brightness and a pechera with an X decorated in this one. In addition, they carry a decorated umbrella. The women, in as much, use apron and decorated chicken farmers plus a felt hat and shirts. The dance is original of Bolivia, was the first brotherhood that insipiro its rite in one dances folk Bolivian around 1973, being the first proviniente brotherhood you take care of of it of Arica.

• Kullacas: In quechua, “older sister”. Inca goes back to the ceremonial dances of the Virgins of the Sun of the Empire. This feminine dance consists of diverse women who turn around a great twig. Each dancing takes to a tape of color together with the least upper bound of the twig, reason why throughout the dance, the different tapes are braided in the post.

• Colored people: This dance very characteristic of the religious celebrations of the North of Chile represents the slaves of the original towns of the North of Chile (propiamnte miners) which were forced to work for the colonists. In both dances a matraca is used simulating the sonar of the chains of these or after celebration or withdrawal. As two are come off correintes:

Of step or pitucos: This is a solemn, slow dance and a little funeral, in which dance to the rate of a march with the straight chest and the head in stop, the dancers realise crossings from a row to another one to the rate of the big drums or drums and boxes, these dances can be mixed or of a single sort, the typical suits of this dance is a straight suit of two or three bellboys in case of the men, who can be of any color (preferably dark) and in the case of the women is a suit of two pieces made up of a skirt until the knees and a jacket similar to the one of the man but with another cut, both use a tape crossed to the chest and a rose in the arm.

Of Jump: It shows this us the slaves jumping and celebrating its liberation, the rate that is used in this dance is denominated like two by three (2x3) in which is in one fourth two times and in the other half of fourth three more expresses are included, the suits of this brotherhood are of strong colors (generally white or tonalities of this) having patalón, blouse or shirt, wraps or belt and in some cases jackets or small layers that arrive until the waist.

 the Celebration

   The celebration they attend originating faithfuls of diverse parts of Chile, Peru and Bolivia.   When arriving at the town, the pilgrims sings with joy, diverse songs, like the following one intoned by faithfuls of the north of Chile:

Natural, déjenos fields to happen,
because your nortinos come to dance.
Abránse the streets, dénnos the way,
because we already arrived at our destiny

   When arriving at the town, the dancing religious brotherhoods initiate their tributes, of a one through a greeting in the same place known like “the Calvary”. Thus, the religious protocol of the celebration continues in the temple, with the traditional songs and dances, greetings and processions. In the temple first it is the greeting to the Greater Altar of the virgin. In individual form or small groups, the pilgrims realise diverse sacrifices to fulfill their offers or requests, being the most popular the one to arrive at the sanctuary crawling or made kneel.
   When the clock marks the 00:00 of day 16th of July, fireworks explode and the celebration reaches its maximum point in music, dance and songs to celebrate the birthday of the Virgin. Gallery of Photos is what is called “the Eve”. In the place, a misa with all the population of the place is celebrated singing the dawn.

   After to finish to the misa of Eve the dancers you begin its goodbyes, in which it is sung and it danced to the Virgin for the last time until the other year, after to take leave of the image of the Virgin the dancers they leave from return made the cross of the Calvary take leave of the image of Jesus and give the last gratefulness to the brotherhood, after this part became soothes of the brotherhood dancing and singing “trote”.

Lack little to go to me,
of this town so loved.
I am going away to go!
Leaving sad hearts.