If you are
researching or have
booked a Peru tour to discover
the delights of the country, make sure you include the Paucartambo Festival. This festival is a celebration of worship of the Virgin
of Carmen, the patron saint of the small town of Paucartambo and is held
in July each year.
The
town explodes for 3
days in July.With
thousands of visitors coming from all over Peru the main thrust of the spectacular
Paucartambo festival takes place from July 15th to July 17th and making the world watch the town hosting one of the most fascinating and exciting
fiestas in all of South America. The Collpa Chuncho is a good place to visit.
On July 15th, the
festival begins with the entrance of all the sixteen different dance groups
wearing costumes and masks into the principal town church in accordance with
their respective customs and traditions.
Meanwhile from
the rear entrance the most important dancers, Capaq Negro and Capaq Qolla, come
into the building singing a salute to the Virgin.
During the
festival, the whole population
of the town gathers in a spiritual mass that carries on along the main street,
holding candles,
flowers, and other offerings. In the evening hours you will observe glorious display of fireworks in the main
square.
July 16th is the primary day of the festival and in morning, the entire town returns to the main square after
attending mass to receive gifts of fruit,
handicrafts, and toys made for them by the majordomos of each dance group.
In the afternoon,
the beautifully decorated Virgin is escorted by the Collpa Chuncho,
and then removed from her
resting place next to the main alter of the church and is then carried through the crowded squares and streets of Paucartambo to the head of all the
dance groups.
The next day is a
ceremony reminiscent of the ancestral cult of the dead. Through the townspeople lined up along the
streets each dance group parades
to the cemetery and sings to remind themselves of their listeners of their own
mortality and their ancestors.
For the
fiesta's grand finale the
main square then fills again once the Virgin has been put safely to rest.
