Festivities in Winter
Inti Raymi : the Resurrection of the Sun
Held during the winter solstice, the Inti Raymi or Fiesta del Sol (Sun Celebration) was the most important festivity of the ancient Peru. If there is an event you can't miss during your visit to Peru, this for sure is it. Spectacular and millenary, the celebration of the God Sun -the highest god of the Incas-, aimed at stopping it from further moving away from the Earth, but also for sunlight to keep supporting life in the planet… read more
The Virgen del Carmen festivity -known locally as Mamacha Carmen- is a perfect example of the syncretism between Spanish Catholicism and Inca culture. Thousands of devotees celebrate all day and night long in many towns in the Cusco department, though the most well-know festivity takes place in Paucartambo, a 4-hour ride from Cusco… read more
The Haywariquy or Offering Ceremony takes place in the Korikancha esplanade on the eve of July 28th. Celebrated every year by the Incas, the ceremony's aim was to honour Pachamama (Mother Earth, in Quechua) with the offering of various goods, as well as to invoke better times for the empire. The current representation is an amazing nocturnal show featuring ritual dances, music, artificial fires and luminous effects.
Fiestas Patrias (Peru's Independence Day)
The declaration of independence by José de San Martín (July 28th, 1821) is commemorated with Criollo and folkloric music shows in public squares and parks. A religious ceremony, the Te Deum, is celebrated in Lima's Cathedral on the 29th, as well as a military parade. Lima and other coastal cities feature cockfighting and bullfighting events.
In the Ccollurqui county, province of Cotabambas, Department of Apurímac, Independence day is celebrated with an ancient ritual called Yawar Fiesta, or Blood Celebration (Yawar means blood in Quechua)… read more
Santa Rosa de Lima -Patron Saint of the Americas and the Philippines
Saint Rose of Lima was the name given to a seventeenth-century inhabitant of Lima. Isabel Flores de Oliva felt a great religious vocation and dedicated herself to being a laywoman, without belonging to any religious order in particular. She was to spend her life caring for the sick and her penitence undertaken to resist sin, as well as her good nature earned her fame even while she was alive… read more
Back to Peruvian Festivities.