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Fiestas & Festivals in Peru
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Reyes Magos (Ollantaytambo) (06 January) |
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A beautiful festival held in the picturesque town of
Ollantaytambo each year. The Reyes Magos (or Magi in English) are more
commonly referred to as Three Wise Kings (generally known as Caspar,
Melchior and Balthasar). This festival, held on 06 January (Epiphany),
is a Christian celebration which commemorates the visit by the Three
Wise Men bearing presents of gold, frankincense and myrrh shortly after
Jesus' birth.
>>
More Photos:
Reyes Magos 2006 /
Reyes Magos 2007 |
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Carnival (Cusco & the Scared
Valley) Date Variable (7 weeks before Easter) |
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Carnival
in a week-long religious festival usually held some time in February.
The date is moveable and depends on Easter. Festivities commence in
Pisac on the Sunday 7 weeks before Easter Sunday and continue throughout
the following week in the nearby communities.
The
carnival at Pisac is a very colourful affair with many dance groups from
Pisac and the surrounding communities competing for prizes and community
honour.
>> More
Photos:
Carnival (Pisac) 2007 /
Carnival
(Cuyo Grande) 2007 /
Carnival (Pisac Ruins) 2007 /
Carnival (Amaru) 2007 /
Carnival (Taray) 2007 |
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Senor de los Temblores (Cusco) (6 days before Easter
Sunday) |
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This
important festival takes place on the Monday before Easter Sunday.
>> More
Photos:
Senor de los Temblores 2007 |
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Easter (Cusco) |
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Easter is a Christian holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead three days after his crucifixion on Good Friday and marking the
end of the Lent. Easter is a moveable event and depends on the equinoxes and the
moon phases (the first Sunday after the full moon which follows the
Spring equinox in the northern hemisphere!)
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Year |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
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Date |
08 April |
23 March |
12 April |
04 April |
>> More
Photos:
Easter (Cusco) 2007 |
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Santisima Cruz de Senor Choquekillca (Ollantaytambo) |
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Held on
the Sunday before Qoyllur R'iti in the town of Ollantaytambo (actually
50 days after Easter Sunday). El Senor de Choquekillca is the town's
patron saint. The fiesta includes many dances, processions, church
masses, fireworks, a cockfight and also a bullfight. The fiesta is
spread over 4 days.
>> More Details
>>
More Photos: |
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Qoyllur
R'iti (Ausangate) (A few days before Corpus Christi) |
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Qoyllur Rit'i in Quechua means 'Snow Star'; a name
reminiscent of the festival's pre-Columbian origins, and often said to be a
pre-Inca fertility rite. Qoyllur Riti is raw culture: an intense, noisy,
extremely cold, unsanitary, and often confusing festival held at the
base on a mountain glacier. It attracts devout pilgrims from all over
the Cusco region and hosts thousands of dancers. The festival is being
slowly spoilt by commercialism and tourism and is not suitable for the
typical visitor to Peru.
>>
More Details
>>
More Photos:
Qoyllur
R'iti 2003 /
Qoyllur Riti
2004 /
Qoyllur Riti 2007 |
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Corpus
Christi (Cusco) |
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Held on a
Thursday 60 days after Easter Sunday. Corpus Christi in Latin literally
means the "Body of Christ" and is a Christian festival held in honour of
the Holy Eucharist (the sacramental re-enactment of what Jesus did at
his Last Supper in giving his disciples bread, saying "This is my body,"
and the cup, saying "This is my blood.").
>>
More Details
>> More Photos:
Corpus Christi (Cusco) 2006 |
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Inti Raymi
(Cusco) (24 June) |
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The 'Inca Sun Festival' of June 24th is the Big One for tourists. It is staged at the massive ruins of Sacsayhuaman,
above the city. This event is really more a pageant than a fiesta,
with hundreds of locals playing the parts of Inca priests, nobles, virgins of
the sun and soldiers. The coveted role of the Inca Pachacuti is awarded
following lengthy auditions. Guaranteeing a seat at the event in Sacsayhuaman
can be an expensive affair but you can get a good idea of the festivities for
free since the procession starts at the Temple of the Sun and winds its way to
the Plaza de Armas throughout the morning.
>>
More Details
>> More
Photos:
Inti
Raymi 2003 |
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Virgen de Carmen
(Paucartambo) (16 July) |
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Paucartambo
is a picturesque but quiet place situated in a valley above the eastern jungles,
115 km from Cusco. It is best known for its yearly festival of the Virgen del
Carmen, a very colourful local fiesta with the best traditional dances, and the
most varied and exotic masks and costumes to be seen anywhere in the Cusco
region.
>>
More Details
>> More
Photos:
Virgen de Carmen 2007
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Independence Day
(Cusco) (28 July) |
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Yawar Fiesta
(Cotabambas) (28 July) |
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Virgen Asunta (Qoya) (15 August) |
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The town
of Qoya is located between Pisac and Calca in the Sacred Valley of the
Incas >> More
Photos:
Virgen Asunta 2007 |
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Virgen Asunta (Calca) (15 August) |
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The town
of Calca is located between Pisac and Calca in the Sacred Valley of the
Incas >> More
Photos:
Virgen Asunta 2007
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Virgen de Natividad (Chinchero) (08 September) |
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The Virgen
de Natividad is celebrated in many small villages throughout Peru on the
8th September. In the Cusco region one of the largest festivals is held
in Chinchero. >>
More Photos:
Virgen de Natividad 2004 |
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All Saints / All Souls Day (01 & 02 November) |
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>> More
Photos |
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Santuranticuy (Cusco) (Christmas Eve 24 December) |
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Santuranticuy is a traditional fair held in the main Plaza de Armas in
Cusco every Christmas Eve (24 December).
>> More Photos:
Santuranticuy 2005 /
Santuranticuy 2006 |
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