Pirwa – Page 27 – Pirwa Hostels BLOG

The Scissor Dance Festival & Atapanacuy

November 12, 2015 Pirwa

Every December, from the 25^th through 27^th, Huancavelica celebrates one of its major claims to fame- the Peruvian Scissor Dance (Danza de las Tijeras or Galas), which UNESCO declared part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the World. This unique and acrobatic dance with roots honoring the pre-Columbian deities of the natural world was once danced by the holy men, the “Tusuq Laylas”, whom the Spaniards ran off into the hills, declaring them devil`s spawn. They were allowed to return only on the condition that from that point forward their dance would honor the Catholic religion.

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Celebrating Christmas Eve in Lima, Peru

November 11, 2015 Pirwa

Throughout Peru, Christmas Eve (Noche Buena) is most important, with a festive atmosphere in the streets, while Christmas day the cities appear deserted as most choose to spend the day with family and businesses stay closed. This dichotomy holds true in Lima, where on Christmas Eve, roving street vendors and pop-up street fairs suddenly appear from nowhere in great numbers, eager to showcase the year’s must-have toys and decorations.

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Celebrate Christmas in Bolivia Like a Local

November 10, 2015 Pirwa

Christmas is one of the year’s most important holidays in Bolivia, although in contrast to some other countries, Christmas Eve is more important than Christmas Day. While you’ll find the plazas and squares decorated with lights and large trees, most homes limit their decorations to the family’s nativity scene.

You’ll find that the streets are quite festive and crowded on Christmas Eve, with lots of people carrying freshly roasted turkeys home and shopping for last-minute gifts, firecrackers, and decorations from the street vendors and pop-up markets. You’ll also see people carrying their canastón, gift baskets of food staples, Christmas treats, and sparkling cider.

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Sandboarding, Food Fairs & Parades During Ica, Peru’s Tourist Week

November 9, 2015 Pirwa

The coastal desert region of Ica is home to huge sand dunes and tranquil oases, the mysterious Nazca Lines, ancient pyramids and cemeteries, fertile valleys where Peruvian piscos and wines are made, oases, afro-Peruvian music, and unrelenting sun. SETICA, Ica’s Semana Turistica (Tourist Week) enthusiastically celebrates the attractions, culture, and cuisine of the region’s eponymous capital city. This year, festivities will take place during the final week of November. Although the Miss Turismo Ica competition takes place earlier and in fact just took place this Saturday, the biggest events will fall on that week. They include the Open International Sandboarding Contest at Huacachina Oasis, Marinera dance contests and Peruvian Paso horse shows. Parades highlight Ica’s folkloric dress, traditional dances, and live music, while wine and art competitions showcase other aspects of local culture.

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Santurantikuy in Cusco this Christmas Eve

November 7, 2015 Pirwa

Santurantikuy: Then & Now

On December 24th each year, Peru’s largest folk art fair, Santurantikuy, hits the main square of Cusco in a tradition dating back to the colonial period. The name is Quechua for Saints’ Sale, which is what it originally was: an art fair providing wise men, holy family, virgins and saints for home nativities. The fair’s most prevalent product was the Niño Manuelito in many manifestations. (The Niño Manuelito is the child Christ, and the most traditional incarnation is that of a young child seated in a wooden chair with a raised foot showing a wound into which buyers insert a thorn which remains in the wound until a wish is granted.)

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