Organizers of the Lord Jesus of the Great Power Festival, which fuses Andean and Catholic cultures, have chosen the queen to head the annual event which will mobilize 74,000 dancers and more than 4,000 musicians in the Bolivian city of La Paz.
Wearing the red skirt, white-fringed shawl and hat of the "la morenada" dance, Steffany Arriaza Cabezas took first place among 73 participants in voting that concluded early Saturday. She will lead festivities on June 21.
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Organizers of the Lord Jesus of the Great Power Festival, which fuses Andean and Catholic cultures, have chosen the queen to head the annual event which will mobilize 74,000 dancers and more than 4,000 musicians in the Bolivian city of La Paz.
Each participant enters the catwalk performing the dance she represents. The judges take into account the dress and choreography, and the contestants have to answer questions.
A women competes in the Queen of Great Power contest, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The largest religious festival in the Andes choses its queen in a tight contest to head the Festival of the Lord Jesus of the Great Power, mobilizing thousands of dancers and more than 4,000 musicians into the streets of La Paz. (AP PhotoJuan Karita)
A woman helps a contestant with her outfit in preparation for the Queen of Great Power contest, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The largest religious festival in the Andes choses its queen in a tight contest to head the Festival of the Lord Jesus of the Great Power, mobilizing thousands of dancers and more than 4,000 musicians into the streets of La Paz. (AP PhotoJuan Karita)
A contestant competes in the Queen of Great Power contest, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The largest religious festival in the Andes choses its queen in a tight contest to head the Festival of the Lord Jesus of the Great Power, mobilizing thousands of dancers and more than 4,000 musicians into the streets of La Paz. (AP PhotoJuan Karita)
A contestant holds her mask as she waits to compete in the Queen of Great Power contest, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The largest religious festival in the Andes choses its queen in a tight contest to head the Festival of the Lord Jesus of the Great Power, mobilizing thousands of dancers and more than 4,000 musicians into the streets of La Paz. (AP PhotoJuan Karita)
A contestant performs in wooden Pujllay dance shoes known as "ojotas", in a contest to elect the Queen of Great Power, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The largest religious festival in the Andes choses its queen in a tight contest to head the Festival of the Lord Jesus of the Great Power, mobilizing thousands of dancers and more than 4,000 musicians into the streets of La Paz. (AP PhotoJuan Karita)
Contestants embrace after they are eliminated in the first round of the Queen of Great Power contest, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The largest religious festival in the Andes choses its queen in a tight contest to head the Festival of the Lord Jesus of the Great Power, mobilizing thousands of dancers and more than 4,000 musicians into the streets of La Paz. (AP PhotoJuan Karita)
A contestant performs in the contest to elect the Queen of Great Power, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The contest takes place in advance of the Festival of the Lord of the Great Power, in Spanish Festividad del Senor del Gran Poder, a festivity celebrated in June since 1939 centered on a cult to an image of Jesus anonymously painted in the 17th century. (AP PhotoJuan Karita)
A contestant watches the Queen of Great Power contest, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The largest religious festival in the Andes choses its queen in a tight contest to head the Festival of the Lord Jesus of the Great Power, mobilizing thousands of dancers and more than 4,000 musicians into the streets of La Paz. (AP PhotoJuan Karita)
A contestant wears a ring hat as she competes in the Queen of Great Power contest, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The largest religious festival in the Andes choses its queen in a tight contest to head the Festival of the Lord Jesus of the Great Power, mobilizing thousands of dancers and more than 4,000 musicians into the streets of La Paz. (AP PhotoJuan Karita)
A woman competes in the Queen of the Great Power contest, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The largest religious festival in the Andes choses its queen in a tight contest to head the Festival of the Lord Jesus of the Great Power, mobilizing thousands of dancers and more than 4,000 musicians into the streets of La Paz. (AP PhotoJuan Karita)
Contestants acknowledge the audience during the Queen of Great Power contest, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The largest religious festival in the Andes choses its queen in a tight contest to head the Festival of the Lord Jesus of the Great Power, mobilizing thousands of dancers and more than 4,000 musicians into the streets of La Paz. (AP PhotoJuan Karita)
A contestant competes on stage blanketed in confetti in the Queen of Great Power contest, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The largest religious festival in the Andes choses its queen in a tight contest to head the Festival of the Lord Jesus of the Great Power, mobilizing thousands of dancers and more than 4,000 musicians into the streets of La Paz. (AP PhotoJuan Karita)
Arriaza represented "Morenada X of the Great Power," one of the most traditional fraternities in the festival with more than a thousand dancers. The morenada is a folk dance born in the Andes and inspired by the slave trade in the region during the colonial era. Its influence has extended to Peru, Chile and Argentina in recent decades.
Contestants wait for the judges decision on who will be crowned Queen of Great Power, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The largest religious festival in the Andes choses its queen in a tight contest to head the Festival of the Lord Jesus of the Great Power, mobilizing thousands of dancers and more than 4,000 musicians into the streets of La Paz. (AP PhotoJuan Karita)
Each participant enters the catwalk performing the dance she represents. The judges take into account the dress and choreography, and the contestants have to answer questions.
The first place winner receives a kitchen; the second place participant a refrigerator and the third place dancer a microwave oven. The queen will preside over the festival, said Marina Isabel Salazar, president of the Association of Folkloric Groups.
On June 21, the dancers will descend the steep streets of the highland city of La Paz from the Jesus of the Great Power Catholic church, where the festival was born 49 years ago. Over the years, the festival has become a cultural icon for the city.
A women competes in the Queen of the Great Power contest, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The largest religious festival in the Andes choses its queen in a tight contest to head the Festival of the Lord Jesus of the Great Power, mobilizing thousands of dancers and more than 4,000 musicians into the streets of La Paz. (AP PhotoJuan Karita)
A women competes in the Queen of Great Power contest, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The largest religious festival in the Andes choses its queen in a tight contest to head the Festival of the Lord Jesus of the Great Power, mobilizing thousands of dancers and more than 4,000 musicians into the streets of La Paz. (AP PhotoJuan Karita)
A woman helps a contestant with her outfit in preparation for the Queen of Great Power contest, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The largest religious festival in the Andes choses its queen in a tight contest to head the Festival of the Lord Jesus of the Great Power, mobilizing thousands of dancers and more than 4,000 musicians into the streets of La Paz. (AP PhotoJuan Karita)
A contestant competes in the Queen of Great Power contest, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The largest religious festival in the Andes choses its queen in a tight contest to head the Festival of the Lord Jesus of the Great Power, mobilizing thousands of dancers and more than 4,000 musicians into the streets of La Paz. (AP PhotoJuan Karita)
A contestant holds her mask as she waits to compete in the Queen of Great Power contest, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The largest religious festival in the Andes choses its queen in a tight contest to head the Festival of the Lord Jesus of the Great Power, mobilizing thousands of dancers and more than 4,000 musicians into the streets of La Paz. (AP PhotoJuan Karita)
A contestant performs in wooden Pujllay dance shoes known as "ojotas", in a contest to elect the Queen of Great Power, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The largest religious festival in the Andes choses its queen in a tight contest to head the Festival of the Lord Jesus of the Great Power, mobilizing thousands of dancers and more than 4,000 musicians into the streets of La Paz. (AP PhotoJuan Karita)
Contestants embrace after they are eliminated in the first round of the Queen of Great Power contest, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The largest religious festival in the Andes choses its queen in a tight contest to head the Festival of the Lord Jesus of the Great Power, mobilizing thousands of dancers and more than 4,000 musicians into the streets of La Paz. (AP PhotoJuan Karita)
A contestant performs in the contest to elect the Queen of Great Power, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The contest takes place in advance of the Festival of the Lord of the Great Power, in Spanish Festividad del Senor del Gran Poder, a festivity celebrated in June since 1939 centered on a cult to an image of Jesus anonymously painted in the 17th century. (AP PhotoJuan Karita)
A contestant watches the Queen of Great Power contest, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The largest religious festival in the Andes choses its queen in a tight contest to head the Festival of the Lord Jesus of the Great Power, mobilizing thousands of dancers and more than 4,000 musicians into the streets of La Paz. (AP PhotoJuan Karita)
A contestant wears a ring hat as she competes in the Queen of Great Power contest, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The largest religious festival in the Andes choses its queen in a tight contest to head the Festival of the Lord Jesus of the Great Power, mobilizing thousands of dancers and more than 4,000 musicians into the streets of La Paz. (AP PhotoJuan Karita)
A woman competes in the Queen of the Great Power contest, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The largest religious festival in the Andes choses its queen in a tight contest to head the Festival of the Lord Jesus of the Great Power, mobilizing thousands of dancers and more than 4,000 musicians into the streets of La Paz. (AP PhotoJuan Karita)
Contestants acknowledge the audience during the Queen of Great Power contest, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The largest religious festival in the Andes choses its queen in a tight contest to head the Festival of the Lord Jesus of the Great Power, mobilizing thousands of dancers and more than 4,000 musicians into the streets of La Paz. (AP PhotoJuan Karita)
A contestant competes on stage blanketed in confetti in the Queen of Great Power contest, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The largest religious festival in the Andes choses its queen in a tight contest to head the Festival of the Lord Jesus of the Great Power, mobilizing thousands of dancers and more than 4,000 musicians into the streets of La Paz. (AP PhotoJuan Karita)