Las fiestas de Inti Raymi

Theoretically, Inti Raymi occurs only on June 24th (originally June 21st) as the Incans celebrated their god, Inti (sol, sun) on the winter solstice.  However, Cusqueñans don´t seem to believe in celebrating for just a day.  As I previously posted, all of June seemed to have something or other occuring at the plaza.  However, little did I know what I was in for this past week until I returned from Pisaq to a Plaza de Armas filled with people, parades and random gigantic floats.  Since then, there has been a parade daily that lasts through most of daylight, lots of random fireworks going off and tons of people milling about the area.

Of course, all of these things looked like fun and it was difficult not to feel the air of excitement eminating from the city.  So, when I saw that there was a chance to dance in on the big parade the night before Inti Raymi, of course I went for it.  We spent Monday and Tuesday night rehearsing for it, which was frekain hilarious.  It was even funnier when we practiced at the plaza because all these locals were watching us and kinda laughing.  We also were not taking it too seriously so there were just good times all around. 

Wednesday definitely turned out to be an interesting day.  First, I had to buy a pair of jotas (sandals made out of car tires... yes really!) to go with the costumes.  However, when I was trying to get to the mercado, there was a parade going on and I ended up detouring through the streets with few tourists in order to get to where I needed to be. It was definitely an interesting area to be at.  There was a street with just stuff being sold on the street and sidewalk.  To top it off, there was a 5 year old who totally just whipped out his dangalang and peed on the street by where he stood.  I had to ask around for the jotas but everyone pointed me to actual shoes.  When I told them I needed jotas, they looked at me quizically but pointed to a certain direction until I finally found it.  I tried on the size 5s, which turned out a little too big.  But when I asked the kid for 4s, he thought I meant price and countered with 4.50.  So I ended up getting a pair (in the right size) for 4.50 soles.  :) 

At about 6:30, we all met to get our traditional peruvian clothing on.  It was a skirt and sandals on a winter night!  I was so afraid of freezing to death since the parade lasts til 2am and I didn´t know when we were going to go on!  However, the teachers took care of that.  When we got to our places, they handed out shots of ron y cocacola as well as bottles of cervezas for the duration of our walk before the plaza.  It was hilarious that we actually were allowed, if not had to, drink while walking in the parade!  To top it off, my Dutch friends had totally been pre-gaming and therefore were totally drunk for most of it.  This was more fun cuz they had an Amauta chant in Dutch and in general, would just randomly chant-sing-yell something or other.  When we got to the plaza, we were ordered to basically chug the beers so that we could perform.  There were so many people and they all cheered.  The announcer made a point to mention that we were comprised of people from around the world and everyone seemed to enjoy a lot.

So after that amazing experience, we were pretty much elated and just hugged everybody.  We went out to grab some dinner (it was midnight at that point) and decided that since the rest of Cusco was partying, we were gonna do the same and headed out to one of the discoteca.  Most of my friends would probably be surprised to hear this, but I actually do enjoy dancing.  And somehow, the discotecas here were more fun than whatever I encountered at home.  We ended up dancing until around 3 in the morning. 

So, basically, I had 3 hours of sleep before heading out the next morning to catch the Inti Raymi celebration, which was a steep uphill climb from the main square.  When we got there, there were so many people and all of them were pushing for space.  It got nasty though when some people pushed their way in and didn´t have space to sit because the people behind were yelling for them to sit and started throwing things at them.  This started out a little more innocently with fruit peels, but slowly turned to bottles and even pebbles.  It was definitely a little scary being around those people.

After a while, we just decided to head back down the mountain for a late lunch and I walked back home with my friend so that we could nap.  Nap was very much necessary since my other friend would be heading back this weekend and we needed to celebrate.

Okay, this is a long account already.  But basically last night, we ended up at a nice chill place for some drinks and even tried a hookah (didn´t like the flavor though).  Then we went for more dancing.. though only until 2:30 in the morning.  ;) Okay, that´s it.  I´m so tired and really need a siesta ahora!

Ciao. 

And here comes the weekend...

It has been officially 8 days since I´ve arrived in Peru.  I still trips me out when I think about where I am, but I have gotten accustomed to certain things.  It also helps that I have met a great bunch of people to share new adventures with.  =)  One of our bigger bonding sessions was during our salsa class on Friday evening.  Watching everyone learn to salsa, most especially the guys was fun.  Then the instructors handed us their cards including a club where they teach every night.   So, after eating at an Indian buffet, which made me nostalgic for my appendage and her people., we ended up at Zazu.  For a Friday night, it was pretty dead.  After seeing the empty place, we figured we´d just go in for cervezas and watch the few people dance.  However, since our instructors remembered us, we weren´t getting off easy.  We joined in for their lesson which involved dancing in a circle and switching partners every few beats or so.  Since I was still getting used to the altitude and I had some beer, I was a little winded.  At the end of the lesson, I sat down for a bit before the instuctor came back and asked me to dance.  Little did I know what I was in for.  We danced for an entire song (which was pretty long) and he put me through the paces with twists and turns.  Though I was really tired at the end, it was a lot of fun.  I felt bad thugh cuz after, another guy asked me to dance and I had to turn him down cuz I needed a rest.  Apparently I held my own very well, wich was good to know that Filipino debut dancing paid off. lol. 

the trio @ Zazu for salsa

Over all, that was good times.  Unfortunately, we didn´t end upo sleeping til late and we had planned a hike the next day.  SO when Saturday morning rolled around, we were not in the mood for much movement, particularly me.  After a night of dancing and a beer, climbing steep uphills is a challenge.  But, I was with a group of cool people and luckily we found a guy who offered to take us horseback riding to the places we wanted to visit.  All we had to do was endure the long hike into their ranch by Sacsayhuaman.  :)  As tough as the walk was, the view was gorgeous.  It was also a perfect day to ride because the sly was blue and the sun was shining brightly.

After visiting the Temple of the Sun and monkeys, we headed to see Cristo Blanco and admire the beautiful view of Cusco from above.

Then, we went back down to visit the Temple of the Sun and admired the architecture and design of the Incans, whose walls still stood at the temple.  We also got a preview of the Inti Raymi celebrations as the performers practiced on the lawn and in the Temple. 

ANyway, that´s it for now.  I´m in Pisac and the internet is annoying me, so I´ll end it here.   :)