CULTURAS PERU S.R.L.
Tandapata 354-A
Cusco - Perú
Phone & Fax:
+51 84 243629
info@culturasperu.com
www.culturasperu.com
|
| ABOUT PERU |
Many great civilizations that
left their mark in architecture, ceramics, textiles
and carvings make Peru a fascinating and diverse
country. These ancient cultures remain alive in
the people of today through their traditions, language,
music and dances.
The diverse and dramatic geography that combines
the natural regions of the coast, the highlands,
reaching areas above 6768 m/ 22 004 ft and the rainforest
region with its ecological mega-diversity makes
Peru an exceptional and unique place. Here you can
find 84 of the worldwide recognized 104 Ecosystems.
If you want to visit Cusco, the navel of the Inca
world with its access to the fascinating ruins of
Machupicchu, hike one of the many Trails over the
extensive street system the Incas have left, explore
abandoned archeological sites in remote areas, visit
the highest navigable lake in the world: Lake Titicaca
or discover the mysteries of the dense rainforest
region, Peru has something to gather to everyones
taste.
Choose your own adventure and life the experience
of a lifetime in Peru. |
CLIMATE
|
Each of Peru’s geographical
zones has its own climate.
The Coast:
Summer: December-April
with temperatures from 25-35 C°, warm and dry.
These are the best months for swimming.
Winter:
May-November when temperatures drop a bit and it
is cloudy in the Lima area. The northern beaches
are sunny all year long.
The Andes:
Dry Season: April-October, warm and
dry during the day with temperatures around 20-25
C°, cold and dry at night, often below freezing.
Rainy Season: November-April, dry
and clear most mornings, some rainfall in the afternoon,
with a small temperature drop (18 C°) and not
much difference at night (15 C°).
The
Rainforest:
Dry Season: April-October
with temperatures up to 35 C°. Cold fronts from
the South Atlantic (friajes) are characteristic
of the dry season and temperatures may drop to 15
C° during the day and 13 C° at night.
Rainy Season; November-April with heavy
rainfalls at any time, humid and hot. During the
wet season, it only rains for a few hours at a time,
which is not enough to spoil your trip, but enough
to make some roads virtually impassable.
Peru can be visited all year long eventhough its
high season is from Mai to November, which is the
best time for hiking the Inca Trail or trekking
and climbing elsewhere in the country. At this time
the days are generally clear and sunny, though nights
can be very cold at high altitude. |
| ANIMAL
& PLANT LIFE
|
The Pacific Ocean
is one of the richest in the world with whales,
dolphins, penguins and sea lions.
The
Coast is one of the world’s most
arid regions. A sand strip only irrigated by the
Andean streams that flush down enough nutrients
to create some oases where different bird species
such as ducks, hummingbirds and falcons nest during
the entire year. In the coastal areas we find fruit
trees, bushes and grass.
The Andes,
with its dramatic geography offers a wide variety
of beautiful snow covered mountains, waterfalls,
lakes, canyons, plateaus, valleys and also cloud
forest. In the highlands, the vegetation tends to
be bushy, with native trees and shrubs such as willow,
walnut, chachacomas, molles and retamas, though
high up in the mountains, it is very sparse, with
only Andean grass or ichu. In some areas we find
the highest tropical forests in the world: The Polylepis
(queuñas) forests are inhabited by pumas,
foxes, deer, llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, chinchillas,
condors, eagles, ducks and hummingbirds.
The Rainforest covers the biggest
extension of Peruvian territory, with its ecological
diversity considered one of the last lungs of the
world. The flora and fauna is composed of thousands
of tree types, medicinal plants and animals including:
jaguar, sloths, anteaters, monkeys, giant river
otters, caimans, snakes, piranhas, an incredible
variety of birds and thousands of insects that astonish
biologists from all over the world. |
| POPULATION
|
| Of a population of more than
27 million (July 2005 est.), as many as 9 million
live in the greater Lima area. The highest density
is in the coastal areas (55% of the total). Close
to 45% of Peru’s population are Native Americans,
some descendents of the Incas and Quechuas who established
a great civilization in the XV century. Practically
37% of the population are mestizos, of mixed Spanish
and Andean roots. 15% are direct descendents of
the Spanish and the rest are Japanese, Chinese and
Afro-American. 75% of the population lives in urban
areas. |
| LANGUAGE
& RELIGION
|
| Spanish and Quechua are the
official languages of the country but Aymara and
other dialects are also spoken. 90% of Peruvians
are Catholics and the rest are Protestants and other
religious followings. |
| CULTURE
|
The
ancient Peruvians left us one of the richest cultures
in all of South America. The Spanish later brought
their language, religion and new laws, superseding
the Inca civilization. Nowadays we have a strange
fusion of Inca mixed with Spanish culture. The Andean
culture remains strong through language, music,
dance and tradition.
The Quechua and Aymara people that live very high
up in the mountains often do not speak Spanish and
maintain many of their original customs and traditions.
The coastal inhabitants tend to live a modern life
style compared with the highlands and jungle areas. |
| FESTIVITY CALENDAR: |
6. January 
|
Bajada
de Reyes
(The visit of the Magi) |
(Cusco - Ollantaytambo) |
| The festivities
coincide with the installment of the new sponsor
or varayoc. The authority is symbolically handed
over with a silver-tipped staff. In the procession
there are 2 images carried: The Christ Child and
San Isidro the farmer. In the afternoon there is
a bullfight. |
| 1.-10. February
|
La Virgen
de la Candelaria
(The Virgin of the Candelaria) |
(Puno) |
| One of the most
important celebrations in Peruvian religious and
musical folklore in honor of the holy Virgin of
the Candelaria with the Central Day on February
2nd. Some 60 groups, from around the department
of Puno parade and perform dances with showy costumes,
a dazzling show of hilarity, beauty, enthusiasm
and color. |
| February
|
Festivales
Carnavalescos
(Carnaval) |
(Acora, Cusco) |
Acora:
This Aymara Native Dance Contest is held in Acora,
on the shores of Lake Titicaca, some 35 kms south
of the city of Puno. Acora has a strong cultural
tradition and its dances display a marked agricultural
feeling, with references to love and rejoicing,
and stressing the intimate relationship between
the land, animals and natural phenomena.
Cusco: Festivities during the month
of February also called Pukllay or Game in Quechua.
The Carnival starts with the characteristic Thursday
of the Godfathers, where the joy is manifested through
games with flowers, paint and water with the participation
of locals and foreigners. |
| March-April
|
Semana
Santa
(Holy Week) |
(Ayacucho,Cusco) |
Ayacucho:
Ayacuchos celebration of this festivity, in March
or April (according to the dates of the religious
calendar), attains a splendor that is unsurpassed.
Few towns in the world celebrate Holy Week with
the pomp and contemplation displayed in this important
Andean City. During one week there are lots of processions.
One of the most stirring celebrations takes place
on the Wednesday before Easter. In the evening,
the main square becomes a huge stage.
Cusco:
During one week death and resurrection of the body
of Jesus Christ are remembered in Christian believing
which is the most important religion in Peru. Everyday
there is some particular activity like fasting,
not eating any red meat, the preparation of the
12 dishes and different processions remembering
live and work of Jesus. This festivity is a clear
example of the religion imposed by the Spanish.
|
| 2.-3. May
|
Cruz Velakuy
(Velacuy Cross) |
(Cusco) |
| In the house of
the “Mayordomos”, or feast day sponsors,
the people venerate crosses adorned with colorful
ribbons, mirrors and flowers. During the nights,
they pray and keep watch in front of the crosses
and in the morning carry them in procession to the
church to be blessed, accompanied by bands of musicians.
In addition to its language, Spain brought to America
the cross. Ever since crosses have sprung up like
weeds throughout the country. Resting against the
walls of Cusco churches, atop the mountains, along
the roads, or at the entrance of towns, crosses
watch over the passage of faith. |
| May-June
|
El
Señor de Qoyllur Riti
(the Lord of Qoyllur Riti) |
(Cusco) |
| Qoyllur Riti (or
snow star) is one of the most important manifestations
of Andean religiosity, highly influenced by the
Indian worship of the Apus (hills, mountains and
snow-capped peaks) and the spirits living in them,
the Wamani. In 4 hours walking, passing by nine
crosses and apacheta shrines, where the pilgrims
pray and sing, they reach the sanctuary of Qoyllur
Riti at the great esplanade of Sinakhara, at 4600
mts. Here the crowd stops to wash in the glacial
runoff. This is a bath of purification, a prerequisite
for entering a spiritual dimension in which the
energy of the deities joins with those of nature
and man. |
| May-June
|
Festividad
Corpus Christi |
(Cusco) |
| The Spanish chroniclers
recount that one of the most horrible scenes was
the parading of the mummies of the Inca nobility.
The Incas believed death didn’t take them
from this world; death led to another, special sort
of life. The dead kept their lands, homes, servants
and women and were often carried from their palaces
to visit other forebears. In the city of Cusco,
parades of mummified ancestors have given way to
parades of sacred effigies, especially in the Corpus
Christi feast celebrated in May or June. In this
event, numerous sacred images make their rounds
of the city streets, accompanied by their brotherhoods,
being carried to the Cathedral of Cusco where they
are blessed during one week before they travel back
to their churches. |
| 24. June
|
Inti Raymi
(Sun Festival) |
(Cusco) |
| “It was the
solemn Passover of the Sun”, wrote Garcilaso
de la Vega in his Royal Commentaries. In the 1940s,
a group of Cusco intellectuals decided to bring
back the Inca feast, based on Garcilaso’s
account. The contemporary dramatization takes place
at the Sacsayhuman fortress overlooking the city.
Actors recruited from the university, secondary
schools and the armed forces bring the principal
characters to life: the Inca, the high priest or
Willac Umu, the chasqui messengers, aqllas (chosen
women) and others. With a great display of music,
costumes that are presumably Inca, song and dance,
the Inca ruler ascends his usnu or dais. He initiates
the ceremonies that culminate in a salute to the
four corners (suyos) of the Inca world. The sacrificial
killing of a black llama is a significant part of
the ceremony. |
| 15.-21. July
|
Festividad de
la Mamacha Carmen
(the virgin del Carmen) |
(Paucartambo) |
| This religious
and folk celebration honors the Virgin del Carmen
in Paucartambo. The Town is also famous for its
proximity to Tres Cruces, a spot 30 kms away at
an altitude of 4000 mts, where the sunrise is a
dazzling, almost magical sight. Thousands come to
Paucartambo each year, caught up in a mysterious
energy and motivated by a powerful devotion. Masses
and processions alternate with dance troupe performances.
The most distinctive dancers are the Saqras (devils),
the Huaca Huacas (satirizing bull fights), the Auquis
(parodying Chileans), the Siqllas (mocking the justice
system) and the Contradanza (revealing French influence). |
| 28. July
|
Yawar
Fiesta |
(Cusco-Cotabambas) |
| Cotabambas, a town
in the department of Apurimac, holds this ritual
bullfight on Peru’s independence holidays
(July 28 and 29) as a representation of the fight
from the Incas against the Spanish conquerors. As
opposed to the Spanish style bullfights, a condor
(representing the Incas) is the central figure in
this traditional ritual. The bird is tied to the
back of the bull (representing the Spanish), which
is enraged by the bird’s pecking. Brave celebrants
jump spontaneously into the bullring to risk waving
the cape in front of the enraged animal. In the
end, the celebrants free the condor. |
| 28. July
|
Fiestas
Patrias
(Independence Holidays) |
(All the country) |
| On July 28, 1821,
Peru proclaimed its independence from Spain and
ever since has commemorated the day with various
ceremonies and festivities throughout the country.
The celebrations include evening gatherings in the
open air and other popular festivities in the squares
and streets of cities and towns. Each locality has
its traditions, including bullfights, musical bands,
sports events and other activities. The greatest
attraction of this holiday, however, is the parades.
The most important military parade marches down
one of Lima’s main avenues. |
| 1. August
|
Pago a
la Pachamama
(Payment to mother earth) |
(Highlands of Peru) |
| This festivity
is realized all over the highlands of Peru on August
1st. It is an ancestral festivity where locals thank
“Pachamama” or mother earth for everything
received during the year (good crops etc.) paying
their respect with little gifts like wine, symbols,
coca leaves etc. |
| 14. September
|
El Señor
de Huanca
(the lord of Huanca) |
(Cusco) |
| The lord of Huanca
was painted on a rock, around which the main altar
was built. According to the story, in 1675, an Indian
named Diego Quispe fled from the abuses he suffered
in the Yasos mine. He hid out in a cave, which was
illuminated by the presence of Christ. After hearing
the occurrence, the priests of Our Lady of Mercy
in Cusco, sent an artist from the famous Cusco School
to paint an image of the Lord at the site where
he had appeared. Since then, every September 14,
numerous devotees arrive, some from as far away
as Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina and Chile to be
blessed by the parish priest at the sanctuary, in
hopes that their dreams will come true. |
| 31. October
|
Día
de la Música Criolla
(Festivity of the Criollan Music) |
(All the country) |
| Every 31st of October
the Criollan Music is remembered, mainly in the
north of Peru where it’s originated. In all
the Music Clubs, Bars and Peñas you can find
live music plaid with guitars and Cajones (Boxes)
accompanied by special meals and drinks. |
| 1.-2. November
|
Todos
Santos
(All Saints Day) |
(Cusco) |
| This festivity
starts with the day of the living on November 1st
where live is worshipped meeting up with family
and friends having a nice meal. On November 2nd
is the day of the dead where passed away family
members and friends are remembered. Everybody visits
the cemetery and little gifts, the favorite meals
and drinks are brought to share with the loved ones
on their day. The famous dish is lechon (roasted
pork). |
| 24. December
|
Santurantikuy |
(Cusco) |
| The works of the
artisans from Cusco have become known around the
world and have defined a distinct style and mark
in Peru’s popular art, fundamentally the art
of Cusco. For Christmas, these unknown artists make
ready the best of their patient creations and carry
them in a sort of pilgrimage to the city of Cusco.
There, on December 24, on woollen blankets spread
on the ground, they stack their miniatures in disorderly
heaps that are magical mountains of delight for
the children. |
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