The Official Program for the 2015 Virgin of Candelaria Festival in Puno, Peru
One of the most spectacular annual festivals in Peru, and in South America in general, is the Virgin of Candelaria Festival each February in Puno, which honors the city’s patron saint. In a stunning display of faith and devotion, the city embarks on a vibrant display of costume, music, and dance, showing off some of the hundreds of different classified dances which have earned the city a reputation as the Folkloric Capital of Peru. More than 40 thousand dancers, 5 thousand musicians, and an astonishing 25 thousand indirect participants (from embroiderers to artisans specializing in masks, boots, bells and others necessary artisan goods) take part to entertain the more than a hundred thousand visitors that the city receives at this time. Celebrations last for weeks, but here we’ve compiled the details on the main days of the 2015 festival:
Sunday, Feb 1st: Indigenous Dance Contest
7am-5pm at the Estadio Enrique Torres Belon & along city streets
Thousands of spectators gather in the stadium
in the early hours of the day to watch as folkloric dancers from all of the surrounding rural countryside of Puno compete. They dress in exuberant outfits that represent their place of origin and its tradition, and dance their indigenous dances to the music of Andean instruments such as the zampoña panpipes.
They showcase the pre-Columbian Incan and Aymara-based dance and music traditions of Lake Titicaca and the Peruvian altiplano. Among the many pre-Columbian dances with Aymara and Quechua roots that one can expect to see are the Cahuiris, which honors of the god of thunder, and the Llullmitha, where dancers in dragging dresses engage in moves representing the sowing of fields. Afterwards, they parade through the streets, dancing and playing music into the late hours of the night.
Monday, Feb 2nd: Mass & Procession in the Main Square
This is the most important day for believers who venerate the Virgin of Candelaria. Mass is held in the early morning, and in the afternoon the Virgin is processed through the principal streets of the city, along carpets of flowers, followed by devotees, dancers, and musicians. At dusk she arrives at her original sanctuary.
Sunday, Feb 8th: Mestizo Dance Contest
7am-4pm at Estadio Enrique Torres Belon & along city streets
This day’s events are similar to those of the Indigenous Dance Contest, but focuses on dances dating back to the colonial and republican period.
Many are danced in flashy, spangled 
bullfighters’ outfits, but notable exceptions include the intricate costumes of the famous diablada (devil’s dance) and the morenada (black dance), which has roots in the black slave community. Another popular and evocative dance is the Republican Pandilla Puneña, where dancers perform dressed as the archetypal Andean woman, in voluminous petticoats, bowler hats, shawls, high-head boots, and braids. The dancers and musicians tend to come from the different neighborhoods of Puno city proper and the immediate surroundings.
Monday, Feb 9th: Great Parade & Veneration
8am through to the first hours of the following day
Este es el dia de mayor realce por su duración y significancia, las agrupaciones de danzas mestizas que un día anterior participaron en el estadio se vuelcan ordenadamente a las calles de la ciudad y pasan danzando por una ruta de 3 a 4 kilómetros, previamente establecida, durante la cual realizan un acto de veneración llegando al santuario donde la imagen de la virgen espera a los devotos danzantes y estos llevan ofrendas florales, unos se arrodillan y otros oran entre lágrimas.
Arriving in Puno
You can arrive in Puno by bus from Lima in 22 hours, from Arequipa in 6 hours, from Cusco in 8 hours, and from La Paz, Bolivia in 3 hours. You can also take a 1 ½ hour flight from Lima to Juliaca, and then a 45-minute bus to Puno.
Remember that Pirwa Travel can assist you with any travel needs you might have, from transportation to excursions on Lake Titicaca. And, the door is always open at Pirwa Puno Hostel!