Fiesta de La Tirana in Tarapacá Region, Chile

The Fiesta de La Tirana is a religious celebration held annually in the town of La Tirana, commune of Pozo Almonte, in the Tarapacá Region, Chile. The celebration takes place every July 16, in honor of the Virgen del Carmen.

The festival of La Tirana, which is celebrated annually in the Tarapacá Region, is one of the most important in the north of the country. Of colonial origins, the festivity in honor of the Virgin found in the town of the same name has strong Andean influences, presenting dance brotherhoods similar to those of the neighboring Bolivian highlands, such as Diabladas or Morenadas.

The festivity acquired a new character at the end of the 19th century, on the occasion of the War of the Pacific and the incorporation of Tarapaque territory into Chile. The strong migration of laborers from the central zone of the country to the nitrate territories gave it a more massive dimension, to the extent that it became a reference point for the religiosity of the nitrate workers, faced with a territory that was completely different from their territory of tradition.

Today the festival of La Tirana summons a crowd of faithful who come not only from the region, but also from distant areas and even from Bolivia and Peru to pay the "mandas" made to the Virgin during the year.