Alasitas

Origins and history

The custom reaches back to pre-Columbian Aymara rituals known as Guyatt, where communities prayed for bountiful crops and traded basic goods. In Tiwanaku culture around late December, people worshipped deities with miniature offerings of what they desired. When Spanish founders moved La Paz to the Choqueyapu River, indigenous locals brought small stone figures and exchanged them using stone coins alongside Catholic masses. Following the 1781 siege of La Paz, governor Sebastián Segurola shifted the observance to 24 January to honour Our Lady of Peace. During this era, devotion to Ekeko was revived, and figures previously carved from stone or modelled in clay gradually came to be produced in plaster.

The market of miniatures

The festival name comes from an Aymara phrase meaning 'buy from me'. During the month-long gathering, stalls fill major thoroughfares and parks across central La Paz, alongside smaller neighborhood markets. Craftsmen create miniature models representing almost every material wish. Shoppers purchase tiny houses, cars, construction supplies, laptops, mobile phones, food parcels, university degrees, and even small figures of domestic staff. These tiny gifts are bought not for oneself, but to give away to friends and relatives, carrying the belief that the recipient will obtain the true object within the next twelve months.

Rituals and blessings

Ritual blessings are central to the festival. After buying their miniatures, participants take them to shamans working throughout the fairgrounds to have the items consecrated. At midday on 24 January, the Catholic Church formally joins the observance, holding blessing ceremonies for the miniatures at the central cathedral of La Paz. This blending of indigenous Aymara beliefs with Catholic tradition also extends across Bolivia, where alasitas practices accompany the feasts of the Virgin of Copacabana and the Virgin of Urkupiña. In Peru, the tradition is celebrated across the Altiplano of Puno.

How Alasitas is kept

Crowds gather across La Paz and other regional centers starting on 24 January. People browse stalls to purchase miniature replicas of items they desire for loved ones, ranging from vehicles and homes to diplomas. Buyers take these tiny pieces to shamans on the street for traditional blessings, and visit the main cathedral at midday where Catholic clergy bless the items. Recipients keep these gifted miniatures throughout the year in the belief that the physical objects will soon arrive.

When and where

The main fair begins on 24 January each year and runs for approximately one month. It was originally moved to this date in 1781 from October as an act of thanksgiving to Our Lady of Peace following the siege of La Paz.

The largest celebration takes place across the streets and public parks of central La Paz, Bolivia, with smaller fairs held in surrounding neighborhoods. Alasitas traditions also take place in other Bolivian towns and across the Altiplano region of Puno in Peru.

What Alasitas means

At its core, the festival honours Ekeko, the Aymara deity associated with abundance and prosperity. The miniature offerings embody hopes for the future, representing the material, academic and domestic needs of a household. By gifting these items, people share goodwill, believing that the symbolic miniature will manifest as a real blessing over the course of the following year.

Alasitas dates: 2026, 2027, 2028

Questions people ask about Alasitas

See also

NowruzThe Iranian new year at the March equinox, kept with fire, greenery and picnicsHanamiA Japanese spring custom of gathering under blooming cherry trees to eat, drink, and celebrate the fleeting beauty of thImbolcA Gaelic festival heralding spring and honoring Saint Brigid with woven rush crossesRama NavamiA Hindu spring festival marking the birth of Rama with prayer, fasting and processions

Good reading and sources

• BBC NEWS | In pictures: Bolivia's popular fairs, IntroductionBBC, Article
• BBC NEWS | In pictures: Bolivia's popular fairs, IntroductionBBC, Article

• Alasitas on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-04.