Article 1 of that law states, “June 29 is declared National Saya Day, a living artistic and cultural expression belonging to the Afro-Bolivian people, in commemoration of the birthday of National Hero of the Chaco War, Mr. Pedro Andaverez Peralta.”

Andaverez was born in 1906 in Coripata, Nor Yungas, 116 kilometers north of La Paz in the department of the same name, and died in 1986.

He was a military hero in the Chaco War (1932-1935) and a cultural promoter throughout his life.

The celebration at the MNA of the National Day of this musical expression based solely on percussion, voices, dance, and the traditional costumes of the dancers, coincides this year with the recent opening of the exhibition “La Mascara Nos Mira” (The Mask Looks at Us), by Afro-Bolivian visual artist and activist Sharon Perez.

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