On August 24, Emanaku and I visited the annual Feria in Chinchero. This year it felt particularly poignant because the government is trying to push through the construction a huge airport right next to Chinchero ~ which would absolutely ruin it and much of the Sacred Valley. They’ve been clearing the land for a few months and ignoring all matters of flight safety (due to the dangerous crosswinds in this area) and the massive cultural annihilation that would take place if they succeed. With this terrible fate hanging over Chinchero and the Sacred Valley, it makes everything here much more precious.
Chinchero is one of the most sacred places on Earth and we really don’t want to see it destroyed. According to the Incas, Chinchero is the Birthplace of the Rainbow.
The pure spirit of Chinchero is on full display at their annual feria that is right next to the sacred lake of Piuray ~ the Lake of AN. We went on a Saturday ~ right in the middle of the three days of the fair. It was our second time at the fair and this year it was much bigger than before, but with way less people in attendance.
The fair has everything ~ numerous rides for the children, authentic Andean music and dances, a multitude of food booths, animal exhibits and competitions, displays of myriad varieties of potatoes and some of the very best weavings from the remote high Andean communities that we’ve ever seen. Plus, lots of local, authentic people, ~ for it’s not an event for the tourists, but for the real people!
We really loved being there and can’t wait to return next year ~ hopefully without an airport in the midst of one of the most breathtaking landscapes in Peru. We are holding strongly to the knowingness that, “This is NOT an acceptable reality!”
We are heartened to hear the story of someone asked an old woman from Chinchero about the proposed airport. She firmly replied that it wouldn’t happen. They asked her why and she said that Pachamama wouldn’t allow it.
Here is a link to a petition that over 93,000 people have signed, including most of the top archeologists in the world. If you would like to add your voice to stop this desecration, please sign it.
On August 24, we went to the annual feria at the fairgrounds outside Chinchero.
There were many artisan’s booths that were selling gorgeous treasures from the high Andean communities that people rarely are able to visit.
The feria also had a profusion of booths selling food, as well as a large area of rides for the children.
There was an animal area with competitions, just like a traditional county fair.
The alpaca crias were adorable! (Behind them are sheep and llamas.)
It was tempting to bring some new alpacas home with us, but somehow we resisted.
There were also lots of sheep, pigs and cows!
Potatoes are very important in this area, so there were huge displays of hundreds of varieties of delicious papas.
Here it is ~ on display at the fair! It was undeniably huge. I don’t know how long it took to weave it, but a regular sized lliclia takes 1 – 2 months. The people of Chinchero are very proud of their gigantic lliclia. I have no idea what they are going to do with it.
This was a popular display complete with doves, sunflowers and an actual waterfall, where you could pay to have your children’s photo taken in front of it.
The weavings for sale were of an exquisite quality that you rarely see in the regular markets. (I really wish that I had bought this beautiful lliclia from these very nice people!)
Women from many villages set up weaving displays in the tall grass. It was sad that so few people attended on the Saturday we were there. There were wonderful treasures, but only local people came. (We heard that many more people came on Sunday.)
The women also set up displays of how they dye the wool from both sheep and alpacas. I really wish that I had bought more from them. (After a few hours, I got very tired and didn’t buy nearly enough. I wanted to support and honor each of these amazing weavers with a purchase, but wasn’t able to ~ which I still regret.)
This woman was a master weaver whose weavings were all in natural colored alpaca fiber. They had incredibly intricate designs and were of a quality that we rarely see. (Because of this, they were also very expensive, but this was well deserved.)
Many of the booths were sweetly decorated with strings of Cantu flowers ~ the flower of Pachamama. They were sooo beautiful. And many of the women from the remote, high communities had multiple braids ~ just like in ancient times.
It was touching to see this old man helping his wife across the fairgrounds.
There were amazing dances all day long. These were much more authentic than the dances one sees in the normal festivals.
Emanaku and I were the only foreigners that we saw at the entire fair that day. And like the Pachamama Ceremony in Moray, it was a shame that more people didn’t come.
All of the dances have an equal number of men and women. A balance of Sun and Moon.
The dances are unbelievably vigorous and complex. Each dance is at least fifteen minutes long and the movements are rarely repeated.
In the midst of this dance, a large ladder on a long pole suddenly appeared!
A youth climbed up the ladder which the other men held up by ropes. It was a bit shaky, but he was happy to make it to the top. And probably quite relieved to safely make it down again.
It takes a lot of energy to perform these very lively dances ~ especially at the high altitude of Chinchero at 13,000 feet or 4000 meters.
The finale of this dance was rather dramatic and unexpected with the women standing on top of the men, while drinking from a ceramic jug, while the men crawled out of the dance area. (We don’t recommend trying this at home!!)
This next dance was from Laguna Piuray ~ the Lake of AN!
Most of the dancers are teenagers who really enjoy dancing. They practice the dances for months and rarely does anyone make a misstep!
There is much interaction between the men and women and quite a bit of flirting takes place.
These more authentic dances are absolutely brilliant and lots of fun to watch.
The women like wearing short skirts with lots of petticoats and lots of twirling!
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