Inti Raymi Parte Dos

Inti Raymi, the Festival of the Sun, has been going on nonstop since I got here.  When I would go to the square in the morning, there would be a parade of dancers.  I would leave for hours and come back and there were more groups dancing and marching.  I have been told that there are over 1200 groups of dancers and I believe it.  Apparently every school and government department participates.  If they don't dance, they simply march.  My favorite was the department of engineering.  They wore suits and hardhats.  I was also told that costume rental shops make all of their money in the month of June.

 

 

 

The Inti Raymi festival lasts for ten days and there were always thousands of people in the street watching the parades.  I asked my teacher how there could be so many people there and she said: oh, no one really works in June.

The final day is June 24 which is a national holiday and everything is closed.  There is a cast of over 800 actors who perform the various Inca roles as well as dance.  It starts at 9 in the morning at the Inca temple of Coricancha.  Of course the Spanish built a church on the ruins.  I was told to be at Coricancha at 8 if I wanted to see but I didn't listen.  I got there after 9 and there were rows of people ten deep all around the plaza.  I could barely see anything.

Coricancha

 Then the parade moved to the main square.  I got there nearly and hour before the Incas got there and had to stand in my spot or I would lose it.  By the time the parade arrived, it was ten deep behind me and I couldn't leave if I wanted to.  When the parade finished in the main square, it moved to the Sacsayhuaman, the large Inca ruins on the hills above Cusco.  The thousands of spectators walked up the hill.

 
The natives sat on the hillsides while the tourist bought outrageously expensive tickets to the main event in a grassy area the size of a football field.  At the far end of the Inca ruin is, of course, el Cristo Blanco, the White Christ which overlooks the city and is visible every night.

Then the costumed characters marched in while the religious leaders chanted and symbolically sacrificed a goat's heart.  After two hours of chanting and dancing, there was a final procession as the Inca waved to the crowds.  And apparently there is a Mrs. Inca as well.

 

I do have to say that this was pretty spectacular although I have seen enough Inca dancing to drums and recorders to last me for quite a while.  And now that things have quieted down in Cusco, I can walk around and visit some of the sites.