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Every July 15 to 18, the otherwise small, sleepy town of Paucartambo, Peru, becomes a kaleidoscope of color, music, and dance for the Fiesta de la Virgen del Carmen.
La Fiesta de la Virgen del Carmen de Paucartambo represents a much larger celebration that pours into the small town of Paucartambo, Peru, every July to honor the town’s patron saint, the Virgin Mamacha Carmen.
The Ballumbrosio family and other members of the Afro-Peruvian group Tutuma invite visitors to join in this celebration as they provide the soundtrack: guitars, various percussion, a rattling quijada donkey jawbone, and infectious group vocals.
Of the many animals significant to Peruvian traditional culture, one is especially celebrated in the Andes: the alpaca. Smaller than their llama cousins, alpacas are too small to use as pack animals
With their glittering multicolored costumes, ear-splitting whip cracks, expressive masks, and a marching song you’re sure to get stuck in your head, the Fiesta de la Virgen del Carmen procession has been a crowd favorite at the Folklife Festival.
Rufino Turpo shares the life-sustaining role of Pachamama: mother of all living beings, the core of existence, the symbol of fertility.
Since time immemorial, the Peruvian town of Carumas, set deep in the Ticsani valley in the Moquegua Region, has been the center of a great diversity of religious celebrations.