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Miners in the Huanuni tin mine gather around their subterranean deity Tio Oscar (Uncle Oscar) to chew coca leaves, smoke cigarettes, and drink beer and alcohol on the first day of the five day carnaval holiday 160 meters below ground. The tio is a deity revered by the miners as the guardian of the underground minerals and they pay their respects to him to insure safety while working in the mine. This is the only day of the year that the miners are allowed to drink inside the government-owned mine, and no work was done on this holiday shift.

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STNMTZ_20080131_17385.tif
Copyright
©2008 George Steinmetz
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4368x2912 / 36.4MB
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Altiplano
Miners in the Huanuni tin mine gather around their subterranean deity Tio Oscar (Uncle Oscar) to chew coca leaves, smoke cigarettes, and drink beer and alcohol on the first day of the five day carnaval holiday 160 meters below ground. The tio is a deity revered by the miners as the guardian of the underground minerals and they pay their respects to him to insure safety while working in the mine. This is the only day of the year that the miners are allowed to drink inside the government-owned mine, and no work was done on this holiday shift.

All images ©George Steinmetz. Please contact us for usage.