However, many indigenous rites were preserved by the inhabitants, giving rise to a religious syncretism of Catholicism and Wari Culture.

The highlight of the festival is the three-day-and-three-night parade of 48 groups of folk dancers over a four-kilometer route to the sanctuary of the tunnel.

The first is about the Spanish conquest and the other revolves around the classical battle between good and evil, with the Archangel Michael ultimately triumphing over the Devil and the Seven Deadly Sins.

The bands themselves have a national festival on the Monday before Carnival weekend, that is aired on Bolivian television and is attended by the President of Bolivia and government authorities.

An international jury of public figures chaired by writer Juan Goitisilo and convened by UNESCO proclaimed the Carnival one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on May 18, 2001.

Other members of the jury included the President of the Republic of Mali, Alpha Oumar Konare, the Kabaka of Uganda, His Majesty Ronald Muwenda Mutebi il, Princess Basma Bint Talal of Jordan, the Bolivian singer Zulma Yugar and Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes.

Oruro's historical importance, as well as its cultural and religious influence, make its carnival a natural setting for demonstrating the multiculturalism of Bolivia and especially its variety of folk dances.