Alasitas!

(The other language on the sign is Aymara)

Alasitas is a fair --encampment might be a better term! It's hundreds of corrugated metal and plastic and tarp-covered stalls that is set up for several weeks (it starts Jan 21 every year and just closed on Sunday, the official close of Carnaval). Alasitas is a celebration of Ekeko, god of abundance. At Alasitas you buy a miniature version of what you hope to have in the coming year, and the belief is that Ekeko will grant it.

This is Ekeko...it's all about him.

The "fairgrounds" is only about a 10 minute walk from the house so I visited several times over the last month to see what there was to see.

There's stall after stall after stall of miniature items to buy—tiny briefcases of money are very popular, along with passports, college degrees, grocery baskets, houses, babies, cars.

Lucas with mini dream homes and cars.

Alexia and Foster go for the cold hard cash.
Elliot with samples of the many varieties plaster of paris banks savings banks...

and some of the ones we came home with (!?!)

There's also stalls of toys, especially Barbie clothes, games, kitchen utensils, plants, and some really random things, like plaster of paris banks. There’s lots of ancient and very unsafe looking rides, carnival games and of course food. Something for everyone! As long as you go after 3pm, that is. I know well that nothing here starts before 10am, and then rarely on time, but even when I tried going to do some shopping at Alasitas from 12-1 (before the kids got home from school), nothing at was ever open…This is very much a place to do things in the afternoon! A bit different from Jonesborough where everything shuts down at 5pm...

We let the kids lose a few Bolivianos on ring tosses and dice games, but their favorite attraction was the man with a cageful of trained parakeets. For 2 Bs (about 30 cents) you can pick out a bird and the parakeet sits on your hand, gives you a “kiss” on the cheek, then picks a little folded paper out of a drawer with your fortune. Elliotts was especially impressed with his fortune which said: "You have a lot to offer, you will get a solid education and because of that everyone who knows you will respect you."

The gringos didn't buy any food at the fair, but we studied it!
These colorful (and sanitary!) drinks are sold all the time on the streets in La Paz.
A view of Alasitas from the road...with the typical way of carrying things here in the awayo.

The crowd on the last day was crazy.

And here's Susana smiling mug to bid you farewell from Alasitas...