The Festival of the Sun and Peru's Incan Cultural Capital of Cuzco

Who would think that after five-hundred years since the Spanish conquest of the former Incan capital of Cuzco, one would find themselves front and center of the largest and most celebrated Incan holiday in the world. Known by the Quechua peoples as Inti Raymi.  That’s right, I just happened to arrive to Cuzco in the middle of the nine-day winter solstice festival dedicated to the Sun God.  For foreigners, Inti Raymi translates to the Festival of the Sun, which commemorates the Southern Hemisphere’s shortest day of the year, and marks the New Year for the indigenous people here.

Incan demonize the Spanish priest during the Inti Raymi Festival

Cuzco celebrates its Incan heritage proudly

According to tradition, Incans would fast for three days prior, only consuming white maize and an herb known as chucam, which was meant to purify one’s body.  All of these rituals, and the fact the Inca worshipped the sun were seen as sacrilegious by the Spanish.  The Spanish crown and Catholic Church banned this sacred holiday in 1535. There would not be another public celebration of the holiday until 1944, when the tradition was approved by the government and allowed once more.

Most activities take place in the original Incan square known as Huacapata, until the Spanish renamed it Plaza de Armas.  Despite the name change, the plaza retains an Incan origin with a golden statue of the ninth Incan ruler Pachacuti, who is greatly responsible for expanding the Incan empire at its height.  However, the last Incan rebel ruler,  Tupac Amaru, deserves a statue too.  The rebellious outlaw was captured by the Spanish, family tortured and publicly executed. Then he, himself was quartered by four horses.  This rebel outlaw would be reincarnated four-hundred years later as the America rapper Tupac.  Coincidence... I think not!

 

The golden statue of the Inca Ruler Patchacuti

After checking into my hotel, I arrived in Cuzco’s main square of Plaza de Armas and was smacked with stimulation overload.  The boom of percussions and the sharp sounds of the Zampona (Peruvian flutes) echo through the plaza like a concert hall.  It was a nonstop procession of colorful musicians and dancers in full costume, representing different groups and styles of Incan culture.  The cobblestone streets overflowed with people of all ages and nations, as the parades continued throughout the day and into the night.  It’s comparable to Mardi Gras in the US without the debauchery of Bourbon Street.

Dignitaries from all over Peru were in full force to honor the occasion.  Even the newly elected Peruvian president, “El Gringo” (Pedro Pablo Kuczynski) made a public appearance, walking and waving to the crowds in the main square.

 

Peruvian President, "El Gringo" came through

The festival changed location on the final day to the Incan remains of the city's citadel on the northern outskirts of the city.  Thousands of people walked about an hour north along the cobblestone streets to the sacred fortress of Saksaywaman.  The size of the fortress stones are enormous and baffle the mind in how well crafted and positioned they are by a people that had no beasts of burden.  Even the Spanish spoke of the superior skills in their construction.  The Inca used no mortar, each stone was so carefully carved, not even a piece of paper could fit in-between these monstrous stones. 

 

thousands made their way to the citadel of Saksaywaman

colossal crafted stone walls of the Incan fortress

The ceremony began with a bellowing cry from conch shells.  Tens of thousands of people looking down from the surrounding hills, stone, and earthen walls toward the large grassy plaza below.  Hundreds of dancers and musicians paraded in. From the steep vantage point, they looked like ants in colorful attire.  Finally, the Sapa (ruler) performed the necessary rituals, including the sacrifice of llamas, to honor the Sun.   At that point, the festival was officially over, and just as we all came, we all left on foot, but the party continued well into the night, back in Cuzco.  

final ceremony

CUZCO'S HISTORIC SAN BLAS NEIGHBORHOOD 

Cusco is the cultural center of Peru and the neighborhood of San Blas is the most interesting and picturesque place to find that culture blended with Peru's Spanish past.  Although, the buildings are Spanish, most all have a pre-Colombian foundation.  The neighborhood was home to many Incan temples, but the Spanish and Catholic Church's policy meant they would be destroyed and rebuild as churches.  It was an undeniable message by the Spanish that a more powerful god was now in charge.

However, deceptively, many of the Incan stonemasons forced to construct these foreign churches, secretly chiseled images and symbols reflecting their indigenous beliefs, so that when forced to pray in front of Christian saints and the son of Jesus or Mary, they could also pay homage to their Incan deities. 

For example, some of the most important Incan symbols were cleverly etched into the façade of churches.  These were the snake, puma, and condor.  Each animal represents the three realms of the Incan universe.  The snake represents the underworld.  Puma represents earth and the condor represents the heavens.  Inside the cathedrals, it is not uncommon to see Jesus’s crown as a sun halo, which represented the most important of the Incan gods; the Sun.  The descendants today have morphed these two religions like they have everything else in their culture.  

SHOPPING, EATING, AND PARTYING IN SAN BLAS

San Blas

at night 

crowds on the main square

sun setting from the hills over San Blas

San Blas is as commercial and touristy as it is historic. Everywhere you walk, one will find high quality made textiles and handicrafts made locally and sold to travelers from all over the world who flock in like shoppers at the mall during Christmas.  If you are looking for another great place not far from San Blas and centrally located for goods or local bites, then look no further than San Pedro Market less than ten minutes from the main plaza.  And just ten minutes past San Pedro, and far less touristy, is the black market of Baratillo.  There you will find nearly anything and everything you need, but mostly second hand items at for ridiculously cheap prices.  They even have a live animal market.  From dogs, to cats, to birds, to guinea pigs, people hawking them right off the train tracks..  

shopping in San Blas

the black market 

puppy mills on the train track

I highly recommend San Blas for staying as well, just because you will be surrounded by the history and culture of two continents, which is characterized in the physical structures, food, and clothing.  You will find restaurants catering to many of the diverse backgrounds of the various places the tourists arrive from.  Whether it’s Peruvian, Japanese, Italian, American, French, Israeli, Korean, Chifa (Chinese Peruvian), or an Irish Pub, you will find it all in San Blas.  There are some beautiful hotels, guest houses, and hostels everywhere. And countless cafes and bars peppered along the steep eastern slopes, high above the main plaza.  And the night life is far more lively than what I experienced in Lima.  Compact,  but big in options.  Just because of the sheer number of tourists that come through on their way to Machu Picchu, the bars fill up and remain lively even during the week.  I was able to catch a remarkable live set by the Peruvian Funk band Amaru Pumac Kuntur.  Highly recommend Youtube'ing them fools.

 

Guinea Pig... not my favorite pig

Peruvian Funk at its best... Amaru Pumac Kuntur

Overall, Cuzco delivers convincingly.  By far, my favorite city in Peru. It is the perfect place to get acclimated with the altitude if you’re going to do any hiking.  It sits at 3,400 meters so be prepared.  I stayed longer than planned just because there was so much going on in and around the Sacred Valley.  And after trekking the various trails, Cuzco welcomes you back as a perfect place to recover.