This festival in honor of Puno’s patron saint is one of the year’s most spectacular festivals of Peru and South America. Considered the folkloric capital of the country, Puno offers a vibrant display of costume, music, and dance in honor of the Mamacha Carmen. Folkloric dance competitions and parades create a spectacle involving more than 40,000 dancers and 5,000 dancers as well as tens of thousands of more indirectly involved embroiderers, boot makers, sponsors, and others.

Dancing Through History

Puno has almost 300 different classified dances with distinct music, dress, and choreography and charged with symbolism and significance. Different neighborhoods of the city and communities of the countryside train well in advance to represent their area and dances, investing heavily in elaborate folkloric costumes that pertain to each dance. To watch them perform is as if you were watching the millennial history of Puno dance past you.

Dances like the Phusa Morenos or Siku Morenos emerged from the black slave community of Puno after the conquest. They are danced in costumes of the devil, angel and Afro-Peruvian. These dances led to the famous Morenada (Black Dance) and Diablada (Devil’s Dance). Other dances, like the happy mestizo dance known as the Pandilla Puneña date back to the post-colonial Republican era. With the women clad in braids, bowler hats, many-petticoated skirts, shawls, and little boots they represent the typical Andean women.

Its pre-Columbian dances of Aymara and Quechua roots include the Los Maris or Cahuiris, in honor of the gods of lightning and thunder of the same name, the Llullmitha with its long dragging dresses and representation of the sown fields, the alternating male and female circles of the Markheta, and the Inca Huallatha. Ancient dances like the Llamerada and Llameritos were some of the oldest, danced by the shepherds and llama drivers of the Andean altiplano.

Programmed Events of Virgen of Candelaria 2012

Jan 26^th the Queen of Folklore will be elected and crowned. On Feb 1^st the actual statue of the Virgen of Candelaria will be transferred in procession from the San Juan Bautista Sanctuary where it normally resides to Puno’s Cathedral. The procession in honor of the Mamacha Carmen is on February 2^nd, when the dancers from the countryside descend upon Puno with their instruments and vibrant costumes (studded with gems for the Morenada, with feather caps, or as Condors and Llamas.

The Indigenous Dance Contest, with dances performed in native and typical dress, will be on Feb 5^th at 7:00am at the Enrique Torres Belón Stadium. Afterwards, they will take to the streets and continue dancing in parade. The “Urban Festival” on the Octava showcases Colonial and Republican Era (‘Mestizo’) dances, mostly performed in bullfighters’ dress. This is when the barrios of Puno present their own troupes. The competition will take place on Feb 12^th at 7:00am in the Enrique Torres Belón Stadium. On the following day the dancers all participate in the Folkloric Parade to the Virgen of Candelaria. After dancing before the Virgen they will continue on to the cemetery. Feb 14^th is the concert of the musical bands, and Feb 15^th is the Parade of the Sicuris and Zampoñas. The festival finishes with separate parties and dances of the groups in their respective neighborhoods on February 16^th through 18^th, although prizes will not be awarded until March 25^th.

Remember that for this festival PUNO FILLS UP FAST! Try and make your plans as far in advance as possible to make sure to get the most of your trip. Pirwa Travel Service can help with transport, excursions and tours (after all, you can’t go to Puno without visiting the world’s highest navigable lake, Lake Titicaca, and its famous Floating Islands of Uros!), and Pirwa Puno Backpackers can provide comfy and cheap lodging within walking distance of the main square and the harbor.

La Diablada

Backpackers: Hurry to Puno if you don’t want to miss the La Diablada Festival! It takes place throughout the first week of November… Make it there in time and be rewarded by watching the devil lead his own parade to the beat of traditional Andean highland music as elaborately costumed, painted and masked locals surround him with danglins red crucifixes. It’s definitely all about the spectacle here; traditionally, dancers make their own masks, although certain artisan mask-makers have gained prestige in Puno.

The Diablada Puneña was born of the Aymara-speaking Lupakas’ interpretation of 16^th century Spanish Autos Sacramentales which the Jesuits used for proselytizing, although its roots also lie in the pre-Columbian Anchanchu cult and the Myth of the Supaya. The festival’s origins can thus be traced to the syncretism of pre-Columbian beliefs involving the deities of Lake Titicaca and Spanish Catholicism. It is also rumored to be dedicated to the departure of evil Spanish Conquistadores two hundred years ago…

Tourist Week, Puno’s Anniversay & the Rising of Manco Capac

As the Peruvian “Capital of Folklore”, Puno will show off its hundreds of dances during parades and contests this week, as well as indulge in food and handicraft fairs.

The city will celebrate its anniversay on November 4^th, and among the festivities of street bands and dances the jubilation will culminate on the following day, Nov 5^th, with a reenactment of the rising of the founder of the Inca Empire, Manco Cápac, and his wife, Mama Ocllo, from the waters of Lake Titicaca. Lake Titicaca is the point where the Incas traced the mythical origin of their founder. They exit the lake in traditional reed boats with more than a hundred rafters in tow. The reenactment enlists the talents of more than 200 artists. There will also be a staging of the Spanish founding of the city,with a focus on the turmoil and exploitation of the infamous Laikakota gold mine on Puno’s outskirts.

How to Get to Puno & Where to Stay

Most people take the bus, as the nearest airport is actually in Juliaca. If your bus arrives between the hours of 7:00am and 7:00pm, you’re transport from the bus station to Pirwa Puno is free! For those who didn’t plan ahead, we still have availability for this week.

When not exploring the natural and cultural diversity of the world’s highest lake, massive Lake Titicaca with its famous Floating Islands of Uros, relax at Pirwa Puno. Conveniently located only a couple blocks from Puno’s Main Square and offering both private rooms and mixed dormitories, we can accomodate all sorts of travelers! Best of all, Jenny and Carlos are always ready to help you with information about getting around Puno, what to see and how to do it.

Pucará´s Throat Slasher Ceremony

Despite the fascinating nature of the spectacle, it´s hard to find information online about Pucará´s Jatun Ñakaq Festival, otherwise known as the Throat-Slasher Festival or El Gran Degollador (The Great Decapitator). But if you´re in Puno between the 16th and 18th of June, maybe you´ll be lucky enough to witness it firsthand!

Much as the Inti Raymi festival is based around a theatrical ritual reenactment of ancient rites, locals in Pucará present an extraordinary scene as they reenact an ancient rite in a theatrical production involving hundreds of young actors directed by Ñaupa Riqchari (Let the Past Awake) Cultural Group. It takes place at the Kalasaya Ceremonial Center and Archeological Site in the Pucará District of Lampa Province in Puno.

You´ll notice that the pyramid site is decorated with carved stone trophy head borders- human sacrifices occurred in the ceremonial patio as offerings to the supreme god of the Pucará Civilization, the Decapitator. Long before the reign of the Inca, human sacrifices had a great value in society, although they were only resorted to in severe cases like drought. Today, locals congregate from Puno´s Quechua-speaking zone to enjoy the 4 hour theatrical show, which reaches its apex with a simulted human sacrifice.

Afterwards, all the blood cleaned up, there´ll be general partying and native dances will be on display. One of the most well-known is the beautiful Puli Puli, whose large smooth steps and leaps represent the stages of Quinua cultivation from sowing through flowering to harvest. Another typical dance is the Ayarachi (Soul Which Cries), a dance rising from the violent transitional period of the Spanish Conquest, when the Imperial City of Cusco tragically fell to Pizarro´s troops.

What To Bring Home

You´ll see them on rooftops all over the Andean High Plateau: the Pucará Bulls described by Puno writer Enrique Cuentas Ormachea as “an expression of baroque art and, at the same time, a manifestation of the magical religious spirit of the Qolla peasant.” An estimated 80% of locals are potters in addition to subsistence farmers, and the bulls are the most prized ceramics from Puno.

I couldn´t pick just one….and so we end with a herd of bulls….

Originally a ritual flask filled with chicha and cattle blood and drunk by the head priest during the cattle-branding ceremony, you´ll find guardian bulls adorning rooftops and providing luck for their residents.

After Pucará: Exploring the Rest of Puno

The Plan: Walk along the Ecotouristic Inca Seafront Bay (Malecón Ecoturístico Bahía de los Incas), a pedestrian path showcasing views of Lake Titicaca and pre-Inca solar clocks, or hitching posts of the sun known as sukankas or intihuatanas. Once at the harbor, stop into the Yaraví Ship Naval Museum, located inside the oldest single-propeller iron ship in the world, built in Britain, crossed the Andes in pieces on mule-back and then reassembled again in the Lake. When you´re ready to hit the waters of the lake itself, board a motorboat and stop by the traditional Quechua-speaking Islands of Amantani and Taquile, whose colorful weavings are considered the best in Peru and were proclaimed by UNESCO as “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” and the Floating Islands of Uros, whose Aymara-speaking Uros tribe (known as kot-suña, people of the lake) depend on the lake´s tortora reeds for housing, sustenance, and transport in addition to using them to build and maintain the islands themselves.

Just a 15 minute walk away from Lake Titicaca Harbor you´ll find Pirwa Hostel in Puno, managed by husband and wife team Jenny and Carlos.  It´s also located only a couple blocks from the city center. For the same low prices available at Pirwa Hostels and B&Bs throughout Peru, you´ll have access to comfortable beds in cheery rooms, 24hr hot water, wifi throughout, reference maps and information as well as an in-house travel desk where you can get detailed answers to your questions and arrange tours or transport.  While you´re out exploring Puno you can be sure that your possessions are secure and that someone from reception will be waiting for you- no matter the hour.

from 24 January until February 13, 2011, dates on which various acts developed both religious and folklore, with which once again confirm that the devotion to the Virgin of the Candelaria , the capital of Peruvian Folklore.

Year after year the people of Puno, located in southern Peru and sheltered by the legendary Lake Titicaca, is divided into two groups: one part consisting of a number of dancers that are moved at morenadas , diabladas, sicuris, etc. and a crowd that enjoys the beauty as viewers. The show is known as “Festival Virgen de la Candelaria” is the largest and most important of the Andean country and one of the most significant in South America along with the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and the Carnival of Oruro in Bolivia.

In February, the Quechua, Aymara and mestizo join to dancing and drinking in musical troupes and pay homage to the miraculous Virgin of the Candelaria, patron of the lagoon city.

This place is ideal for taking pictures of colorful dresses, movements of the dancers, everything a tourist wants to see at a party.

The typical dishes are an important part of the party, your palate also has a chance.

Reserve now : Pirwa Hostel Puno



Our little Pirwa Baby made a lot of progresses in the last couple of days. We want to make sure to provide you with the most convenient option to make your reservation for our PIRWA BACKPACKERS PUNO.

Today is the first day:

Find our PIRWA BABY online! Make your reservation through Hostelbookers or Hostelworld!

Hostelworld:

http://www.hostelworld.com/availability.php/Pirwa-Backpackers-Hostel-Puno/Puno/18604

Hostelbookers:

http://www.hostelbookers.com/property/index.cfm?fuseaction=accommodation.search&isdynamic=1&strsearchby=destination&straccommodationtype=hostels&intdestinationid=3743&strdestination=puno&strdestinationparent=&intnights=2&intpeople=1&dtearrival=23%2f04%2f2010&fromPropertyNameSearch=0&intpropertyid=56805

Don’t miss out on the Titicaca Experience!