Día de las Ñatitas, Bolivia’s skull festival, is celebrated most famously in La Paz.
The festival takes place each year on November 8, especially at La Paz’s General Cemetery. Devotees bring human skulls—called ñatitas—to be decorated with flowers, hats, sunglasses, cigarettes, and other offerings. Many believers regard the skulls as protective beings who can help with health, money, love, or other requests.
Ñatitas is an Andean tradition associated especially with Aymara communities. Its modern practice reflects religious blending: Indigenous ideas about ancestors and reciprocal care coexist with Catholic elements such as cemetery visits, prayers, and blessings. The festival follows Bolivia’s Todos Santos observances but is distinct from Mexico’s Día de los Muertos.
The name ñatita is often explained as an affectionate reference to a small or flattened nose. Although the practice is widely observed in La Paz, it is not an official Catholic rite, and church authorities have sometimes rejected or criticized the veneration of human remains.