Around 3,000 folk
festivals are carried out in Peru every year.
Most of them are dedicated to a patron saint
within the Christian calendar imposed during
the Spanish Vice-regency. The celebrations
go hand-in-hand with a busy program of
activities that include mass, processions,
pilgrimages, dancing, folk dances, arts and
crafts shows, agricultural fairs and other
shows that blend spirituality and vitality.
Below we have tried to make a selection of
the most meaningful festivals in Peru,
chosen for their tourist popularity,
geographic reach and unique character. Let
us know about your interests and we will
design a tailor made program, that suit your
expectations.
FESTIVAL OF THE MARINERA
-
JANUARY 20 Trujillo (La Libertad)
The
marinera is one of the most elegant
dances in Peru. The dance involves a
great deal of flirting between a
couple, who each twitch a
handkerchief in their right hand
while keeping the beat during what
is fairly complex coreography.
Trujillo holds the country´s most
important marinera competition, that
draws couples from all over the
country. During the festival, the
city also hosts processions
involving floats and the whole town
takes on a festive air. The people
of Trujillo gather at the main
square to dance and celebrate.
VIRGEN OF THE CANDELARIA - FEBRUARY
1-14 Puno
Dancers
fill the streets of Puno, nestled on
the shores of Lake Titikaka, for
several days in February. They
perform old dances in colorful
costumes. For 18 days the highland
city becomes the Folk Capital of the
Americas. The festival gathers more
than 200 groups of musicians and
dancers to celebrate the Mamapacha
Candelaria. The virgin is led
through the city in a colorful
procession. The dance of the demons
or diablada is the main dance of the
festival.
Lord of the Eartquakes -
Second half of march - 1st week of
april Cusco:
Ever since 1650, when the faithful
claim that an oil painting of Christ
on the
Cross
held off a devasting earthquake that
was rattling the city of Cusco, the
locals have been honoring the image
of Taitacha Temblores, the Lord of
the Earthquakes. The image used
today was donated by King Charles V
and despite centuries of smoke from
candles and incense, no one has
dared to restore the blackened
painting, that given the Christ a
somber aspect and a dark countenance.
The Lord of the Earthquakes is taken
out in procession through the
streets of the city just as the
Incas used to parade the mummies of
their high priests and high rulers.
This celebration is of particular
interest because it allows onlookers
to get a glimpse of the fusion of
Andean religions and Christianity.
FESTIVAL OF THE PERUVIAN HORSE -Third week
in April - Lima
The
Spanish horse, bred with the Arab
stallion and reared in a desert
environment, which formed ist gait,
gave rise to the Peruvian Paso horse.
Over 450 years of selective
breeding have gone into developing
the characteristics that have made
the Peruvian Paso Horse one of the
world´s most beautiful and elegant
breeds.With its four-beat lateral
gait, the Peruvian horse gives its
rider the smoothest ride in the
world. The most important contest
takes place in Mamacona, a tourist
resort at a walking distance from
the Pachacamac ruins (30 km south of
Lima). There is also a wonderful
exhibition of these horses.
PILGRIMAGE TO THE SNOW PEAKS OF
QOYLLURITY- First
week of June.
Cusco - Quispicanchi.Qoyllur
Rit'i means star of the snows. It's a
festival that combines masses in a Catholic
church with a solemn moonlit trek up to a
dangerous glacier, to pay homage to the Apus,
the mountain gods of the Incas. Many are
asking him for earthly blessings, houses,
jobs, cure of an illness. Many want redress
in some personal grievance; Christ is a god
of Justice in the Andean version of
Christianity. The main ceremony is held at
the foot of Mount Ausangate, at 4,600 meters
(15,090 ft), lands with holy water
from the Ausangate.where
temperatures often plunge below freezing.
The ritual bring thousands of pilgrims It
takes place on the moveable feast of Trinity
Sunday, through the following Tuesday,
usually in late May or early June. More than
10,000 pilgrims climb to the snowline,
accompanied by all sorts of dancers in full
costume. The ukukus or bears, dress in wool
masks and shaggy tunics,
are the
guardians of the Lord and the Apu
mountain spirits, they maintain
order during religious ceremonies.
On their way back down to their
communities, pilgrims haul massive
blocks of ice on their backs for the
simbolic irrigation of their.
THE
CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION – JUNE - Cusco:
The festival of Corpus
Christi has been celebrated all over
Peru since colonial times, but
reaches a high point in Cusco.
Fifteen saints and virgins from
various districts are borne in a
procession to the Cathedral where
they "greet" the body of Christ
embodied in the Sacred Host, kept in
a fabulous gold goblet weighing 26
kilos and standing 1.2 meters
high.All the figures are dress with
elegant clothes, as well as gold and
silver jewellery and are always
accompanied by music bands, dancers
and fireworks. The Corpus Christi is
held between May and June, 60 days
after Easter. In the main square
people raise very big altars adorned
with mirrors, flags, flowers, tree
branches, some images, etc.In
ancient times those altars were more
numerous and showy, adorned with
silver frontals, Cusquenian school
paintings, statues, etc. Near the
main square many merchants place
their typical food stands for
attendants to the "entrance", where
the traditional "Chiri Uchu" or
"Cold Chili" is
served; some other stands also serve
pork "chicharrones", "anticuchos"
(skewered cow-heart), etc. and of
course, industrial amounts of beer
and chicha. After the
entrance of images into the
Cathedral, people will eat and
drink at the main square.
Festival of the sun – the
INTIRAYMI
-JUNE 24 - Cusco:
Every year on the 24th of June
Cusco celebrates the festival of
Inti Raymi, the winter solstice,
in the southern hemisphere. Inti
Raymi was the most majestic and
greatest festival of the Inca
empire to honor the sun god.
Today, the Inti Raymi evokes the
splendid Inca ritual of yore,
being carefully scripted by
Cusco professors, archaeologists
and historians.
For
more than half a century the
festival takes place at the
fortress of
Sacsayhuaman (2 km outside Cusco).
There, step by step, thousands of
actors proudly bring the past alive,
giving thanks to sun god. The Inti
Raymi starts in the square in front
of the Qorikancha,also known as the
Santo Domingo.
The sapan Inka honors, with an
eloquently strong voice, the
blessings of the Sun and this most
sacred day. After this initiation
the procession moves with imperial
dignity to the Sacsayhuaman. At the
top the Inca is carried on a royal
litter. At the fortress the high
priest performed the llama sacrifice
offering a black and white llama.
With a sharp ceremonial golden knife
called " Tumi" he had to open the
animal's chest. With his hands
pulled out its throbbing heart,
lungs and viscera, so that observing
those elements he could predict the
future. Later, the animal and its
parts were completely
incinerated.After the sacrifice,
the
High Priest had to produce the "Sacred
Fire". Staying in front of the Sun
he had to get its rays in a concave
gold medallion that contained some
soft or oily material in order to
produce the fire that had to be kept
during next year in the Qorikancha
and Aqllawasi. Once that all ritual
stages of the Inti Raymi were
finished, all the attendants were
located in the southwestern Plaza's
sector named "Kusipata" (Plaza del
Regocijo) where after being
nourished, people were entertained
with music, dances and abundant
chicha.
THE INDEPENDENCE DAY OF PERU -
JULY 28-29 - Perù
On July 28
and 29 all Peru celebrates the
independence of its country. On the
night of July 27, Peruvians often
stage serenatas to the strains of
folk and Creole music in plazas (main
squares) and public parks. On the
following day, before the famous
military parade is held in downtown
Lima, the Te Deum ceremony attended
by the president, is celebrated in
the Lima Cathedral.
The Feria del Hogar,
the biggest commercial fair and the
Feria de La Molina, a well-known
international music festival, open
during these days. Famous national
and foreign artists are invited to
participate. In various parts of the
country, Peruvian also hold
agricultural and livestock fairs.
(Cajamarca, Piura,
Monsefu)
LORD OF THE MIRACLES PROCESIÓN (SEÑOR DE LOS MILAGROS):
.
OCTOBER 18-28 - Lima
On October 18, 19 and 28, one the
most multitudinary processions
worldwide takes place. The
procession dates back to colonial
times, when a slave drew the image
of a black Christ on the walls of a
wretched hut in the plantation of
Pachacamilla, near Lima. The famous
image has remained intact in spite
of time, earthquakes and other
cataclysms. As a result worship of
the image rose to new heights, until
it became the largest procession in
South America.
During
the whole month the litter is taken
in a trailer to distant places
throughout the city followed by ten
of thousands pilgrims dress in
purple tunics. Around this time of
year, the streets fill with vendors
of a wide variety of typical dishes
a sweets, such as the famous Turron
de Doña Pepa. In October to
commemorate the Lord of Miracles
(Señor de los Milagros) Lima hosts
the well-known bullfight season in
which the best toreros in the world
participate. It takes place in the
centuries-old Plaza de Acho bullring.
