This August, Arequipa will celebrate its 475th founding anniversary with a month-long series of festivities. The activities already began this last week with a literary contest known as “A Story for Arequipa”, and will conclude on August 30th with a food fair, arts & crafts show, and talent show. The wide-ranging program includes concerts, parades, talks, theatrical works, sports competitions, festivals, and more.
The province and town of Paucartambo is located in the Cusco Region of Peru, 3 hours by car from Cusco city proper (4-5 hours by bus). It’s considered the regional folkloric capital, thanks to the famous Virgen del Carmen Festival, which put Paucartambo on the map. Those who are traveling along the Cusco – Paucartambo road will find that the route, as well as Paucartambo itself, has plenty to offer in terms of scenic natural landscapes and pre-Incan, Incan, and Spanish colonial remains.
The 28th annual Gran Corso Wong, Great Wong Parade, will take place this Sunday, July 19th. The event has become a local tradition and one of the main events of Lima’s Fiestas Patrias (Independence Days) celebrations. Although the official dates of Fiestas Patrias aren’t until the 28th and 29th of this month, Lima will kick off the celebrations this weekend.
The fourth annual Chachapoyafest is set to offer a look into the culture of the Peruvian Amazonas region and the way in which it interacts with the rest of the world through art. Locals and international visitors alike join together for workshops, theater, film, concerts, roundtables, exhibitions, and the creation of communal art from multimedia extravaganzas to large-scale murals. It’s billed as a meeting between the artists and the community.
The Andean town of Pisac is not more than a short car ride from Cusco, and its Sunday market is perhaps the best market in Peru. Locals from surrounding towns arrive in their traditional clothing. They bring their wares, hoping as well to find something interesting to acquire as well. All around the main square, the hundreds of booths sell everything from musical instruments to alpaca sweaters.