Events and festivals
In Peru, about 3000 typical "fiestas" (festivals) are celebrated every
year. Among all the festivals we could differentiate it for many things like
their Andean origen, Colonial origen, the fusion of Andeans festivals and
Christian events, actual events like sport events, gastronomical, music
congress, architecture, etc.
The most representative events and festivals are
Inti Raymi
The Inti Raymi ("Festival of the Sun") was a
religious ceremony of the Inca Empire in honor of the god Inti, one of the most
venerated deities in Inca religion. It was the celebration of the Winter
Solstice - the shortest day of the year in terms of the time between sunrise
and sunset and the Inca New Year.
The ceremony starts earlier at the Koricancha (the Temple of
the Sun, in the city of Cusco) and at the Plaza de Armas (the Haucaypata, in
Inca times). Around noon the participants go to Sacsahuaman, together with the
thousands of national and international tourists that came especially to see
this impressive ceremony that involve music, colorful costumes (most notable
the woven aya huma mask) two llamas sacrificed and the sharing of food.
Corpus Christi
The celebration of Corpus Christi used to be celebrated in
the whole country, but is most impressive in Cusco. Fifteen saints and virgins,
organized in several processions, arrive from different places to the cathedral
of Cusco where to came to “greet” the body of Christ, sixty days after Eastern
Sunday. During the day you can hear the sounds of the María Angola, the biggest
Church Bell of Peru. The night before the main day, twelve tipical dishes are
prepared and consumed, including cuy chiriuchu, beer, chichi (tipical local
beer) and bread.
The procession on the main day takes places at around
11:00am. The Plaza de Armas will be crowded with people that come to see the
saints. After the procession, the saints go back to the cathedral and the
representatives of the local communities come together and discuss local
problems.
Corpus Christi is a very colourful and traditional ceremony.
For the foreign visitors an excellent opportunity to taste Peruvian traditional
culture real close.
All Saints Day
All Saints’ Day (Día de Todos los Santos) and All Souls’ Day
(Día de los Difuntos, also known as Día de los Muertos -Day of the Dead-) fall
on November 1 and 2 respectively. Peruvians typically attend mass before
heading to the cemetery, where family members leave gifts such as flowers or
food items at the graves of departed relations.
The worship of the dead was a common and respected custom
during pre-Hispanic times in Peru, and part of that tradition, combined with
Christian elements, still lives on today.
Family feasts are common, typically revolving around lechón
(roast suckling pig), "Angeles" (a pack of small bread rolls, candied
sweet potato or coconut and other sweets wrapped in finely-decorated bags) and
tanta wawa, a traditional Peruvian bread baked to resemble a doll or infant. In
some regions, family members symbolically share food and drink with the
deceased, often eating and drinking at the graveside.
The Lord of the Miracles
This procession, which gathers together the largest number
of believers in South America, dates back to colonial times, when a slave,
brought over from Angola, drew the image of a black Christ on the walls of a
wretched hut in the plantation of Pachacamilla, near Lima. The image stayed on
the wall despite several attempts to erase it.
This was to spark widespread devotion for the image, which
survived intact on the wall despite an earthquake in 1746 which leveled all
surrounding buildings. As a result of this event, worship of the image rose to
new heights, until it became what is today the most widely venerated image in
the city of Lima. The heart of the celebration is one of the largest
processions to take place every year in the Americas, where tens of thousands
of the faithful dress in purple tunics, singing hymns and praying as they
accompany the image.
The litter which bears the painting weighs two tons and is
borne on the shoulders of believers who set out on the traditional 24-hour
procession from the church of Las Nazarenas, crossing downtown Lima until it
reaches the church of La Merced in Barrios Altos. Around this time of year, the
streets fill with vendors of a wide variety of typical dishes and sweets, such
as the famous Turrón de Doña Pepa. In October to commemorate the Lord of
Miracles (Señor de los Milagros), Lima hosts the well-known bullfight season
which carries the same name and is held in the centuries-old Plaza de Acho
bullring. The season features some major bullfighters (toreros) from Spain and
Latin America.
Independence Day
Peru’s Independence Day celebration, known as the Fiestas
Patrias, take place over two days, both of which are national holidays in Peru.
Throughout July, the Peruvian flag is flown outside both public and private
buildings.
July 28 is the actual day of independence. The day begins
with a 21 cannon salute in Lima, followed by a Te Deum mass by the Archbishop
of Lima. The President of Peru attends the mass, after which he gives his
official address to the nation.
The sense of national pride is certainly not limited to the
Peruvian capital. Across the country, from the smallest villages to the
nation’s major cities, the streets and main squares come alive with parades,
fairs and a general spirit of celebration. The party atmosphere really takes
hold as night falls, with no shortage of fireworks and beer.
Dance
The Huayno 
It is considered the quintessential Andean dance. Its pre-Columbian origins were blended early in the assimilation of Western influences, so having multiple regional variants.
The dance is performed in pairs to perform turns and movements from small jumps and stomping setting the pace.
Chicha or Cumbia Peruana
A new musical remarkable diffusion rate is chicha, which has now penetrated hard in much of Latin America. Although it also welcomes elements of rock and other contemporary rhythms, the two musical genres that are the basis for the creation of chicha or Peruvian cumbia are Huayno and Colombian cumbia.
The main characteristic of this genre, is the permanent fusion of new rhythms, both modern and traditional, as well as using a variety of tools for its execution, especially electronics.
La Marinera
This dance is a derivative of zamacueca and mozamala.
Its development is a very dynamic with graceful movements and a complex choreography of coordinated and synchronized sequences. Each partner keeps time with a handkerchief in one hand, which is also part of the courting ritual, despite a physical contact never occurs.
The Huaylarsh
It is a rhythm and dance of celebration and joy associated with harvest time in the central highlands. His energy and vibrancy is manifested in the jumps and agility demonstrations of male dancers, while the fine footwork from their partners.
During the choreography group dancers break into pairs to show their skill in a light-hearted competition. In his typical instrumentation involved orchestras or bands include harps, violins, saxophones, clarinets, trumpets and drums
Music
Thanks to recent archaeological discoveries of musical
instruments, it is known that in Peru the music goes back at least 10,000 years
old. This ancient tradition quenas, panpipes, pututos (trumpets made from sea
shells) and a variety of wind instruments whose manufacture materials such as
cane, clay, bone, horn and precious metals were used as well as various
instruments percussion.
The music of Peru is an amalgamation of sounds and styles
drawing on Peru's Andean, Spanish, and African roots. Andean influences can
perhaps be best heard in wind instruments and the shape of the melodies, while
the African influences can be heard in the rhythm and percussion instruments,
and European influences can be heard in the harmonies and stringed instruments.
Pre-Columbian Andean music was played on drums and wind instruments, not unlike
the European pipe and tabor tradition.
Through contact with the West has built lots of instruments,
the same that have been creatively adapted to the rhythmic and tonal needs of
each region of the country. The most obvious is the many changes that have
occurred in the harp, violin and guitar in the Peruvian highlands.
The encounter of the Andean west has given rise in Peru to
over 1,300 musical genres. But two of them have crossed the regional scope and
have become symbols of Peruvian identity Huayno and seafood.
Today continue the assimilation of new instruments such as
synthesizers, electric guitars, drums and harmonicas creating new genres like
chicha or Peruvian cumbia, Peruvian allowing music open to new influences to
expand both nationally and internationally, beyond the land reserved for the
vernacular.
This capacity for musical fusion and innovation vividly
expresses the integrating force and dynamic character of Peruvian culture.
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