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Alasitas festival: Alasitas and the god Ekeko
A frenzy of buying and exchanging goods that represent people's hopes and desires for the year ahead marked the opening of the Alasitas festival in La Paz, Bolivia. The 'festival of abundance' has its roots in the ancient plea to the gods for plentiful harvests, but there's one small difference.
At Alasitas everything the heart desires is bought in miniature form. It's then blessed by priests and offered up to the poncho-clad Andean god of abundance, Ekeko. Followers believe that if they give him a cigarette he's even more likely to grant their wishes, which range from material gadgets such as laptops and phones, to hopes for a baby or new job.
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