STORY: After the kiss of the carnival queen, Pepino joyfully started performing traditional dances, officially kicking off the countdown to the carnival.

The annual ritual surrounding Pepino's, cucumber in Spanish, resurrection marks the beginning of this festivity season in the Andean nation and was declared a Cultural Patrimony of La Paz in 2015.

While much smaller than Rio's famed, flamboyant carnival, the festivities in Bolivia are replete with colour, dance and music and attract thousands of tourists to witness the unique fusion of indigenous traditions, whimsy and colonial Catholicism.