Popular Devotion and Citizenship in Bolivia ― Folkloric Confraternities and the Habits of Democracy at the Festival of the Virgin of Urkupi鎙

With a wealth of citizen organizations representing the interests of their constituents, Bolivians are known for their vivid engagement with government and democracy. At the same time, Bolivian civic involvement has never quite conformed to the predictions of prevailing democratic theory. This book approaches the idiosyncrasies of Bolivian democracy through an ethnographic portrayal of an association of folkloric groups that participate in one of the largest patron saint festivals in the Andes region. It describes how, in the course of staging an annual pilgrimage of several thousand dancers, the members of this association hone their habits of democratic organization, albeit in ways that resonate with specific notions of prestige associated with Andean saint worship.

Tobias Reu received his PhD in Cultural Anthropology from New York University. Inspired by narrative theory and the anthropology of citizenship, his work focuses on the question how religious practice predisposes believers to participate in society and politics. Dr. Reu has conducted research in Central America and in the Andes.