May & June are not just like any other months in Cusco. A number of festivals and parades take place during this time, celebrating a mixture of Inca and Catholic traditions that fill the streets of this beautiful city with loads of colors, music and unique vibes.
This article will talk about the Corpus Christi
World-famous Inti Raymi is certainly the most important event of all, but we will reserve a special post for it. From the beginning of the month there is always something going on. Everyone, from little kids to adults, will have their own moment of glory and a chance to honor the history not only of Cusco city but also of the surrounding villages.
You might for example start a day seeing a number of parades with little men and women from primary school, and later on streets and main squares be crowded with university students – that’s what the program for June 9th looks like. A few days later, older people will take the lead.
The Ceremony
The main one among the Catholic celebrations is without a doubt the Corpus Christi. This year, it falls on Thursday the 22nd. The Spaniards were the ones who injected this festivity during the colonial times. And undoubtedly they found its most fertile ground in Cusco. The celebration is distributed over a few days starting a whole week before the main day. The date is not fixed, but it’s calculated counting 9 weeks after Easter, approximately 60 days. ”Corpus Christi” is the Latin for ”Body of Christ”. Statues and paintings representing the main saints are taken out of the main churches and moved to the main cathedral in the central square to receive the blessings after a long and impressive parade that fills the streets of Cusco transforming it completely.
During this occasion, people gather in the picturesque city centre to share a good meal with their loved ones. You can find all the typical and most delicious dishes from Cusco all over the streets during these days! These include, to mention a few, the ”chiriuchu”, the ”’pan de maiz”, as well as the delicious ”chicha morada”. You will easily get to also try a glass of the unique ”Cusqueña”, the local beer.
You can download the complete presentation and full program of the events in Cusco from the web page of the EMUFEC, the managing institution that supervises the organization and schedule of the folkloric events in Cusco. If you are in town this June, the best thing you can do is go and join the festivity yourself. You will always remember this fantastic wave of exciting and unique expressions of the local culture.