Wednesday, Aug. 15th: On Wednesday we took a trip to the village of Calca, which is about 45 minutes outside of Cuzco by bus, to see the festivities and the procession of the virgin. One day every year each local town celebrates their patron saint, and we were lucky enough to make it to Calca for their celebration (the actual party last more like 4 days). BY the time we arrived to Calca the celebración was already in full swing. We first stopped by the church to catch the end of the mass and see the start of the procession. The procession includes the figure of the virgin as well as what seemed like thousands of local dancers and musicians representing communities from all over the valley. Most of the dancers were young people and children that made their way through the church and through the city streets ending in the central plaza. Dances included las danzas de los negros, los borrachos, las diablitas, and muchas más. We were both blown away by the energy, color, music and joy of the celebration. It was truly and once in a life time experience that very few outside of the community ever get to see. We are very grateful to our profesora Libia for making this day one to remember forever. We have some great video and photos that we are going to try and upload soon.
Srta. Gallegos and Srta. Long
Katie Gallegos and Colleen Long, Spanish teachers at Chicago's Walter Payton College Prep and 2012 Fund for Teachers Fellows. ArchivesCategories
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