Shaman Gino Raúl Grünewald Condori stands on the street corner of a working-class neighborhood. His hands are in the air. He’s making an offering to Pachamama, also known as Mother Earth.

Herbs and coca leaves are laid out on a colorful blanket on the ground. Condori throws incense on the flames of a small fire and pours alcohol and wine on the four cardinal points, each time asking for Mother Earth’s blessing and guidance.

This is a ceremony to mark the beginning of carnival season for the Tobas Andino Sajama Guerreros folk dance troupe. Thirty-three-year-old Diego Maldonado is one of the leaders. He’s been dancing since he was 10.

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Diego Maldonado performs at the Dino ceremony. This is a ceremony to mark the beginning of carnival, a festive season that celebrates Indigenous traditions, for the Tobas Andino Sajama Guerreros folk dance troupe. Michael Fox/The World</figcaption></figure>

“For those of us who are Aymara, who have been dancing for a long time, and who learned this from our grandparents and ancestors, this is really important,” he said. “We learned this from the cradle. We watched our parents and our grandparents practicing these traditions before us. It’s necessary, and it’s important.”

The Aymara are the second-largest Indigenous group in Chile. Their central homeland is in the highlands of Bolivia, but they’ve lived in what is now Chile and Southern Peru since pre-Columbian times. As of 2015, they made up almost a third of the population of the province of Arica.

Carnival in Arica is largely a celebration of Aymara Indigenous identity.

“This carnival is like a revival of Bolivian heritage,” said Paulo Noya Matos. His family is from Bolivia, but he grew up in Arica. “It celebrates and validates Andean Culture. It transcends borders and makes you feel part of Andean territory.”

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Paulo Noya Matos, an Arica resident, performs in a Tarqueada dance group, celebrating Aymara Indigenous identity.Michael Fox/The World</figcaption></figure>

Noya Matos performs in a Tarqueada dance group. They march with thick, long wooden flutes. They say their song calls for the rains this time of the year — planting time in the region.

Nearly 80 different dance troops will perform over the next three days. They’re performing one of more than a dozen different traditional dances. Each has a different style, look, music and significance. But they’re all tied to Mother Earth and celebrate people’s connection to their Indigenous roots.

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Tarqueada musicians perform with thick, long wooden flutes. They say the songs they perform calls for the rains this time of the year — planting time in the regionMichael Fox/The World</figcaption></figure>

That is no small feat in a country that pushed Chilean nationalism and assimilation throughout the 20th century.

Noya Matos said that there was a lot of discrimination against Peruvian, Bolivian and Aymara cultures. He said he faced discrimination growing up for being of Bolivian descent.

But times are changing.

Lilibeth Diaz and Judith Mamani dance the Morenada, a typical folk dance originally from the Bolivian cities of La Paz and Oruro. They typically wear huge smiles and extravagant yellow Cholita dresses. 

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Lilibeth Diaz and Judith Mamani dance the Morenada, a typical folk dance originally from the Bolivian cities of La Paz and Oruro. Michael Fox/The World</figcaption></figure>

“We dance with our hearts. We sing with everything we have, because these are our roots,” Mamani said. “We sing. We dance and give everything we have in this carnival, because we carry it in our blood.”

Afro-Chilean dance and culture have also taken center stage in the carnival. Black communities have a long history in Arica. Spanish colonizers forced African descendants to work the land here for hundreds of years. 

All of these groups are standing up for their identities and celebrating their ancestry.

“This carnival is a mixture of cultures where we all embrace with one healthy objective. To maintain our culture viva — alive,” Fredy Amaneces said. He’s originally from Peru, but he’s lived here in Chile for 25 years. “We will continue to show future generations that this will not die. That this will continue.”

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Fredy Amaneces is one of the leaders of the Tinkus Ruphay Masis Cultural dance group. They’ve been dancing Tinku, a powerful and lively dance from the Bolivian city of Potosi, and are known to wear purple, with large, colorful headdresses.
Michael Fox/The World</figcaption></figure>

Amaneces is one of the leaders of the <a href="https://www.i