Dancers from one of the 10 impromptu parades Billy and I saw while in Cusco on Sunday.
This parade was to celebrate the patron saint of San Blas, which is a small neighborhood of Cusco. The dancers, which are all dressed in ornate costumes and lots of color, danced through the streets of San Blas stopping traffic and pedestrians as they passed by.
As mentioned in my previous post, there was a peaceful protest in the Plaza de Armas of Cusco on Sunday.
Campesinos (people from the countryside) ventured into Cusco for the day to protest the building of a new dam in their region. They were protesting the Peruvian government and, more specifically, President Alan Garcia for their decision to build this dam which would take land from the people in Canchis.
Despite being only in Cusco for one day, the strike and protesting has been going on for the past two weeks.
(An old post that never got published while I was in Cusco)
As the work team from Dearborn and North Carolina headed off to Machu Picchu today, Billy and I ventured out of Urubamba (where we are working at the Casa Girasoles home) and into Cusco for a slow and relaxing day.
Before I continue, it is important to know that the month of June is a big party month in the city and surrounding area of Cusco. Cusco, which means navel, in Quechua, is rich in Inca history since it was at the center of the Incan Empire, which stretched from southern Peru through northern Ecuador.
In Incan politics, the empire was ruled by the emperor, who according to Incan religion, was a direct descendant of their god, Inti, the Sun, and was also worshiped as a divine being. At the height of the Incan empire, the emperor’s name was Pachacútec. Pachacútec and and Incans worshiped their gods of the Sun, Moon, Rainbow, Mountains, Mother Earth, etc.
To celebrate Incan tradition and their rich heritage, every year on June 24th, the Cusqueñas (people from Cusco) hold huge festivals in and around the city. The biggest of these festivals is called Inti Raymi, which is supposed to take place Thursday.
The festival is supposed to take place this Thursday, but possible protests and a region-dehabilitating strike might take place on the same day. For the past two weeks people in the surrounding areas of Cusco have been on strike and protesting the Peruvian government and President Alan Garcia’s decision to build a dam in the area of Canchis. By building this dam, the Peruvian government would be reclaiming land from it’s people and taking a loan from the Japanese government to pay for construction. The Peruvian campesinos (people from the country) that live in the area of Canchis are not particularly thrilled to be losing their land and water supply, and therefore have been protesting the decision – including protesting in the Plaza de Armas of Cusco today.
In addition to the very large peaceful protest that occured in the Plaza de Armas, Billy and I also saw 10 different parades taking place in Cusco today. Not only were there at least 10 different parades, they were all over the city. Each parade stopped traffic and pedestrians that were in its way and followed their own path. One of the particularly memorable parades had men and little boys dressed up as bears/gorillas (it was hard to tell which animal it was) dancing around women who had on very colorful dresses. We’re not quite sure what they represented, but it was quite entertaining!
Here’s a photo of Billy and me at the Llanganuco National Park when we took a group of high school students from Southwood Presbyterian in Huntsville, Alabama. It was unbelievably cold and windy up there, as can be seen by my hair!
The lake, which is 30 meters deep, is located in the valley between Peru’s tallest mountain, Huascarán, and others in the Cordillera Blanca.
Last Friday night I finally made it to the Casa Girasoles Kusi home, which is located approximately 9 hours northeast of Lima. I’m currently here with a team from Huntsville, Alabama – a work team I translated for last summer too. I was happy to see some familiar faces as they exited customs, and have enjoyed getting to know the new members.
Friday we made the long, but absolutely beautiful trek from Lima to Kusi. Billy and I were lucky to have seats in the first row so we were able to look out the front bus windows at the majestic Andes mountains as we followed the winding road. To reach Kusi from Lima, we traveled north on the Panamerican Highway (the same highway that travels from Alaska to Chile) along the Pacific Ocean, and then turned east and climbed high into the mountains, finally reaching an altitude where we could see snow. Words simply cannot describe this trip.
Nor can words describe the time I’ve spent here in Kusi. In Peru, there are two national languages, Spanish and Quechua. Spanish was brought over in the 1400s by the Spaniards, while Quechua is one of the many indigenous languages. The name Kusi comes from the Quechua word for joy, which is appropriately used to describe this home.
The past few days it has been great to see the same boys from previous years. With all the sites, I feel I have the strongest connection with the formerly abandoned boys of Kusi. Many of them call me hermanita (sister), la fefa (the boss of the groups, with the Andean accent), among many other names. I immediately felt back at home in the house parents, Rosa and Angel’s house and with the now 43 formerly abandoned boys.
I’ll be here in Kusi until Friday, where I’ll take the Alabama group to Lima for a few days, and then return to this wonderful place.
