Andean-Amazonic New Year in Bolivia Date in the current year: June 21, 2024

Andean-Amazonic New Year in Bolivia Andean-Amazonic New Year is a national holiday in Bolivia. It's an ancient celebration of the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere.

Andean-Amazonic New Year (Spanish Año Nuevo Andino Amazónico) is a unique celebration of the Aymara people, an indigenous people living in the Andes and the Altiplano region in the South America. About 2 million of the Aymaras live on the territory of Bolivia, Chile and Peru.

Evo Morales, an Aymara politician, became the President of Bolivia in 2005. He became the first representative of the indigenous peoples to assume power since the colonization of Bolivia by the Spanish in the 16th century. Under his initiative Andean-Amazonic New Year (Willkakuti, Aymara name for Return of the Sun, or the winter solstice) was declared a national holiday. This step caused a wave of opposition from the right-wing Christian political fractions.

The Aymara people use their own calendar. According to the calendar, the Aymara nation was exactly 5,000 years old when the first Spanish conquistadors set foot on the South American continent in 1492. According to the calendar, June 21, 2015 will be the beginning of 5523.

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andean-amazonic new year, holidays in bolivia, national holiday, aymara people, aymara calendar, willkakuti