Chincha to Celebrate the Verano Negro Festival this February

Each February and March, the Verano Negro Festival takes place in Chincha, the community considered the country’s cradle of Afro-Peruvian culture. The Black Summer Festival, as it is translated, is the most important tourism event in the Ica region. It allows visitors to sample Afro-Peruvian cuisine, and watch traditional dances, poetry contests, and parades.

The inauguration takes place in the main square, with the presence of the Miss Verano Negro Festival candidates and a parade of typical African clothing. The first large event of the festival is the Great Serenade, during which popular artists perform in Chincha’s main square, the Plaza de Armas, followed by a fireworks show.

Another of the attractions of Black Summer is the Food Festival in the Plaza de Armas. There, visitors can enjoy an array of traditional dishes, the most well-known of which is a pork and dehydrated potato stew known as carapulcra and served alongside sopa seca, a chicken and noodle side. Other local dishes one should try are garbanzo carapulcra, tamales, chicharrones (fried pork pieces), and black beans from the famed Mamainé restaurant. Top it off with black bean pudding (frejol colado), sweet potato desert (camotillo), and cane syrup candies (chancaquitas).

There are a number of competitions during the festivities. The festival is punctuated with various décimas, a poetry contest pitting poet against poet and showcasing humorous or flirtatious verse. The most important of these is the National Décimas Contest.

During the National Festejo and Zapateo Contest, you’ll see the best dancers interpreting the celebratory coastal Festejo dance and showing off their footwork. Finally, there’s the National Cajoneros Contest; musicians gather in the main square o show off their skills with this unique Peruvian instrument, which resembles a box. The latter is follow by the popular Ritmo, Color & Sabor open-air dance.

Other popular musical events include the Afro Chinchana musical show, the Gran Peña, and the Yunza Negra (where participants dance around a tree laden with gifts, striking the tree with an axe until it falls).

The final day is marked by the Great Parade, where floats and brightly costumed dancers make their way through the city’s main streets.