The Alasitas Festival in Puno, Peru Starts Today!

The Alasitas Festival began today in Puno with the traditional Ekeko parade along the city’s central streets. The Ekeko, who represents abundance and has pre-Incan Aymara roots, made his way to Parque a la Madre to general applause, kicking off a week of celebrations marked above all by the production and sale of miniature goods which believers from all over the altiplano (high Andean plains) hope will convert their desires into reality.

More than 1200 artisans from the Puno region and neighboring Bolivia (all of the area surrounding Lake Titicaca) are participating this year, and at least 70 thousand national and international visitors are expected to take part. Teenagers might buy diminutive diplomas, passports, and drivers’ licenses, while adults opt for a house, appliances, cars, and money. An astounding range of miniatures cater to every dream- aspiring politicians can even buy mini-credentials signed by the National Elections Committee.

Before, the miniatures were acquired by barter, although nowadays it’s almost always a monetary purchase. In earlier decades, rituals were practiced with the miniatures, during with offerings were made and incense burned in honor of the Ekeko, although these practices grow less common as time goes by.

Although the Ekeko originated in the Tiwanaku kingdom, along the Bolivian shores of Lake Titicaca, the deity was later adopted by the Inca when they conquered the region. Originally, the Ekeko was a naked hunchback made of stone, with indigenous features. Today is the festival’s main day, and as it coincides with the Cruz de Bellavista celebration, there was a theatrical presentation of the Ekeko and Cross together. Many of those who share both pre-Columbian and Catholic beliefs take their miniatures to mass and along the procession of the cross, so that their talismans can be blessed.

Celebrations will continue until next Thursday, May 8th, and will provide intrepid travelers with multiple opportunities to experience the food and folkloric customs of Lake Titicaca’s surrounding regions. Expect to see food vendors and traditional musicians and dancers around the main square during these days.