La Candelaria, Puno – The Festival of Festivals.

The Fiesta de la Candelaria is one of the largest festivals in Latin America, second only to the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. The festivities begin in the town of Puno on February 2nd and last for two weeks. During this time there are many activities and continuous dancing in the streets in preparacion for the “Gran Parada”, an amazing parade held towards the end the second week. The “Candelaria” is a festive, cultural, religious celebration which is based on catholic rituals and traditions, as well as symbolic pagan rites from pre-colonial times. In 2014 it was included as an “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’ event by UNESCO.

I confess that I have just copied the above text from the first of three previous posts I have already written about this spectacular festival, Rather than repeat further details in this post I invite you to find out more of the history and traditions of the festivities in these three posts listed below. This present post will simply consist of a series of photos to give you a taste of what the festival is like!

The Previous Posts…………

Festivity of the “Virgin de la Candelaria”, Puno – 1 (The first days!)

Festivity of the “Virgin de la Candalaria”, Puno 2 – “La Gran Parada”

Festivity of the “Virgin de la Candelaria”, Puno – 3 (After the “Gran Parada”)

I love going to the Candelaria but for the three previous years it has been cancelled. For 2021 and 2022 it was cancelled because of COVID. In 2023 it was cancelled following serious civil unrest in Peru, but especially in Puno. The demonstrators took the airport which was closed for weeks and all the roads from the south of Peru to the capital were blocked. Sadly, twenty one people were killed by the armed forces during these difficult times in Puno.

Most people I talked to were totally against the violent demonstrations, and the political agitators who inflamed the situation. The region suffered economically with the blocked roads and most people simply wanted to get on and work. However, Puno is one of the poorer regions of the country, and many people lack the services we take for granted in the big city. Let’s hope that they soon get a larger share of the pie….. but through peaceful means and a government with less corruption.

It was great to pack my bag and return to Puno yet again. I took a flight to Arequipa, then a bus through the night to Puno.

The Evening Before the Big Parade

The dance groups assemble in different areas of the town and make their way towards the Plaza de Armas, the main square in the centre of the town. The dance groups hire bands to accompany their dances and the musicians arrive from all around. I have been to this pre- celebration three times and on each of these occasions there has been torrential rain. I was well prepared with my thick rubber poncho. However, for those less prepared, thin plastic ponchos were on sale for 5 Soles ($US 1.35) on each street corner. Regardless of the rain, the dancing, the music and the energy continued as normal. The show must go on!

If you wish to see any of the photos in the following galleries full size, please click any of the images and then scroll.

The Dances

The next day, the procession of dancers and musicians pass through the streets of Puno. There is a constant stream of different groups and different dances with thousands of participants.

Click and scroll to view photos in the gallery.

It is not easy to dance throughout a whole day. The men’s intricate and bulky costumes are heavy and hot to wear. The ladies dance with uncomfortable shoes or boots. They stop here and there to put sticking plasters on their poor feet. But they still continue with grace and with a smile on their faces.

The Dancers – Portraits.

The Festival is full of colour and movement, but perhaps even more striking are the expressions on the faces of the dancers as they make their way through the streets.

Click and scroll to view photos in gallery.

The Musicians

Behind the dancers come the musicians. There are large brass bands as well as groups of sikuris (pan-pipes) according to the kind of dance they are accompanying. They all have powerful and deafening percussion instruments to mark the rhythm for the dancers.