Fiestas Patrias: Celebrating the National Holidays in Peru
The National Holidays
Independence Days (two, not one) in Peru are no small matter, thus National Holidays, Fiestas Patrias, is one of the year´s largest celebrations. Streets and buildings are festooned with red and white streamers in preparation, and it all begins on the eve of July 28th with folkloric and Creole serenades in the plazas and parks. San Martín declared independence in Lima on the 28th, so that day Lima will rise to a 21 gun salute and flag-raising ceremonies as the recently elected president Ollanta Humala assumes his duties and addresses the nation. On the 29th the Archbishop will lead a Te Deum mass in the Basilica Cathedral in Lima´s Plaza Mayor and the famous military parade will take place.
A lot of Peruvians use the weeklong vacation to travel within the country or throw festive parties. Throughout Peru there´ll be fairs, bullfights, fireworks, music and folklore shows, street parties, and lots of feasting on traditional regional dishes, all of it to honor national heroes like the Liberators José San Martín and Simón Bolívar and other patriots.
Join in the Celebration!
To get into the holiday spirit, fasten on
your Peruvian flag pin, toss about some red and white streamers, lay out your spread of traditional delicious regional dishes such as ceviche, causa, roast guinea pig, stuffed chili peppers, alpaca, or goat stew. You have two drink choices for toasting: The National Drink of Peru, sweet sweet Pisco Sour, or Liberator´s Punch, which Congress in Lima has been toasting independence with ever since the Lima City Council downed it to celebrate their first swearing of independence. Being the most important step, I´ve included the recipes below because, in the end, you don´t really need to choose just one, do you?
Ponche de los Libertadores: Mix together the following: 1oz Pisco, 1oz White Rum, 1oz Golden Rum, 1 oz Algarrobina (Carob Syrup), 1½oz Stout Beer, 1½oz evaporated milk, and 2oz cane syrup, warm it up, and then blend together with 1 egg. Serve hot, garnished with cinammon
Pisco Sour: Blend 7.5oz Pisco, 2.5oz Key Lime Juice and 2.5oz Sugar Syrup (or 3 parts pisco to 1 part lime juice and 1 part sugar syrup) with enough ice to double the volume. Add in 1 egg white and blend some more before serving with a drop of Angostura bitter in each glass.
There are tons of activities to choose from depending on your area:
Cuzco never misses an opportunity to play with explosives, so there´ll be fireworks for days along with street parties filled with local revelers as well as domestic and international travelers, and plenty of drink. The best Cuzco bars and clubs are grouped right next to each other along the Plaza de Armas and its main streets, facilitating the good old-fashioned pub crawl. Pirwa Hostels in Cuzco won´t be competing with the street parties, but we´ll be helping you get started a day early with a Fiestas Patrias Party on July 27th at Pirwa Colonial in Plaza San Francisco! On the 28th and 29th we´ll take it to the streets.
If you´re in Lima you probably started on the 24th, National Pisco Day and then rode the wave of revelry through to National Holidays. You have the main military parade and other folkloric parades, which will be full of musicians, dancers, and vendors hawking traditional treats, and Ollanta Humala´s first presidential speech, which shouldn´t fail to bring strong reactions on both sides! Try and catch a traditional bullfight, Peruvian Paso Horse Show, or Marienera Limeña dance competition.
In Arequipa you can 
expect parades to rival Lima´s, with vibrantly costumed dancers and musicians and large exuberant floats. The music and dancing goes through the night, but do take some time to see an Arequipa-style bullfight, which is as it sounds: two bulls fighting!
Throughout the Peruvian North will be the largest livestock and agricultural fairs, which will also include bullfighting, cockfighting and the Peruvian Paso horse shows. If you haven´t seen their distinct circular side-step, make sure to take the opportunity now. Also, catch a Marinera Norteña dance show….in Trujillo, Marinera and Peruvian Paso shows combine as the female dances normally and the male dances on horseback, letting the horse provide the legwork!: