The Inti Raymi festival, the Incan celebration of the Winter Solstice, is broken into 3 main parts.
Part One: Qoricancha
Cusco translates into "belly button" in Quechua because it is the center of the empire. The Qoricancha is the Incan center within Cusco, so it is fitting for the most important festival of the year to begin in this center of the center. Mostly here we saw hundreds of street vendors peddling hats, because our faces were straight up in the sun. We couldn't see much because they were also peddling "barcas" for people to stand on to see above the crowd, and we didn't buy one on principle. The Inca made his first appearance here along with his wife, his "chosen" women, his priests, and the rest of the high classes. They were wearing four colors to represent four sections of the empire, which stretched into parts of Bolivia and Chile. All the Inca performers are students at a university in Cusco and the more important parts are given to those who have the best command of Quechua, the language of the Andean people 2000 years ago and today. The whole ceremony was performed in Quechua. After the Inca was presented, we rushed to the Plaza to beat his parade there.
Part Two: Plaza De Las Armas
Here is our first, very serious game of hurry up and wait. We practically ran the 4 blocks to the Plaza and then were halted at a street because it was blocked off. Turns out it was blocked because the parade processed right by! I got some great videos of the Inca and his wife going by. This was slightly miserable because again, our faces were in the sun. It was fitting for the occasion, but still miserable. Luckily we had our hideous tourist brimmed hats, so we survived. Also, we stood in waiting for about 1.5 hours. After they went by, the Inca continued his ceremony by thanking the Sun and honoring him with dance and speeches. We decided to leave early to go up the hill for the next and last part because of the crowds and the fact that it was a 45 minute hike straight up a hill.
Part 3: Sacsaywamàn
After we hugged and puffed our way to the top, we found a huge crowd already there! These are people who skipped the first two parts to snag a good seat for this part, a strategy which sounds smart, but ended tragically. Stay tuned. Here begins the longest and most miserable wait. We sat on a hill, like on the hill with our feet pointing down the hill not on top of the hill, on rocks and pointy grass with people sitting right next to each other and peddlers walking over and between people. We did that for 2 and a half hours, with no real idea when the ceremony would start. It was supposed to start at 1:30, "but it could start early,,," it started at 2:15. When the procession started down the hill, some people tried to stand to see better. People DID NOT like that, so they yelled "Sientense!" And THREW garbage at them. It was effective for a few minutes, until the procession moved down the hill until almost no one around us could see sitting downs this is where the getting there early strategy went out the window. Everyone stood up and crowded as close to the edge of the cliff as possible. It was questionable at best and it was definitely a free for all where the weak of heart got left behind. Luckily Pat and I are tall and less people had "barcas" here so we had a passable view to watch the rest of the ceremony. The bad part was that our guide was too far away to translate for us, so we were left to inferences. Highlights were the presentation of quipus, which were the Inca's only form of record, and the "sacrifice" of the llama. Pat and I had heard about the sacrifice and were a little anxious about it. They had a pen of llamas in the corner of the clearing. The Inca and his priest went to the pen to select the best for the sacrifice. Then, the priests carried the llama to the altar on the stage and used a traditional blade to cut out the heart. The Inca presented the heart to the sun and then burned it as a sacrifice. We found out later that since the mid-80's it has been a simulation, and that's why they carried the llama instead of walking it. It was very convincing though! I wonder if there is like a special manufacturer of sacrificial llamas complete with removable hearts. I like to believe there is.
After the sacrifice, we walked down the road to town. We also saw a little kid wearing an Indiana Hoosiers hat! I wish that I had something Purdue to give him to counteract the curse, but alas, I didn't.
When we got back to the hostel, our guide bought us free drinks (Pisco Sours again!) and we had BBQ that was traditional to Peru. I don't know what all t was, but it included lamb, chicken, beef, and a mystery sausage. It was all good, and hit the spot after so much walking.
Then we washed up and went with our new Australian friend Wendy to the Choco Museo (Chocolate Museum) to get some hot chocolate. It was amazing, thick and flavorful. I had mine Conquistador Style, with whole cloves and cinnamon sticks. Divine. Then we walked around a bit and now we're going to bed!
