UJ #17 - Traditional Peru
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APRIL | HOLY WEEK<br />
Gihan Tubbeh / PromPerú<br />
Easter week is one of the catholic religion’s most<br />
important and representative traditions. Despite being<br />
celebrated across the globe, each area of the world has<br />
its own way of partaking in the festivities.<br />
In <strong>Peru</strong>, where 70% of the population is thought to be<br />
Catholic, Easter Week is widely honoured. Nonetheless,<br />
there is a part of the country in which this holiday is<br />
not only celebrated for its significance, but also for the<br />
tradition and fervour that accompany its rituals.<br />
Gihan Tubbeh / PromPerú<br />
In Ayacucho, located in <strong>Peru</strong>’s Sothern Andes, a church<br />
door opens in the pre-dawn darkness, letting out a<br />
brilliant gleam of light. The city’s main plaza is packed<br />
with people – from tourists to believers – all waiting,<br />
watching. The glow moves closer to the street and all of a<br />
sudden, a marvellous plinth over 10 meters high comes<br />
into view, holding a resurrected Jesus illuminated from<br />
head to foot with shining candles.<br />
AYACUCHO IS KNOWN AS THE ‘CITY OF<br />
CHURCHES.’ THERE ARE 33 TEMPLES<br />
IN THE CITY, MANY OF WHICH WERE<br />
BUILT DURING COLONIAL TIMES. THE<br />
FIRST EVER CHURCH IN THIS CITY<br />
WAS THE TEMPLE OF SAN CRISTOBAL,<br />
WHICH DATES BACK TO 1540.<br />
In Ayacucho, Easter Week lasts 10 days, beginning on the<br />
Friday before Palm Sunday. This day is marked by the<br />
procession of the Señor de Agonia, the Virgen Dolorosa,<br />
Saint John, and Veronica.<br />
The plinth of<br />
the Señor de la<br />
Resurrección<br />
illuminating the<br />
dawn sky in<br />
Ayacucho on a<br />
Sunday.<br />
Hundreds of<br />
flower ‘rugs’<br />
adorn the<br />
procession<br />
path.<br />
This fascinating and moving ritual dates back to the time<br />
of the Viceroyalty. The Spanish arrived in <strong>Peru</strong> with many<br />
traditions, including the celebration of the Holy Week.<br />
The conquistadors, inspired by the way this date was<br />
celebrated in Seville, adopted the tradition. Today, the<br />
Holy Week fiesta held in Ayacucho is considered the<br />
second most important celebration of its kind in the<br />
world, after the one held in Seville.<br />
On Palm Sunday, Jesus enters the city as he did<br />
Jerusalem: riding a donkey, and surrounded by his<br />
apostles – 12 men dressed in traditional garments from<br />
the time. Meanwhile, the townspeople praise him with<br />
palm fronds in hand. Dry logs and palms are taken into<br />
the main plaza beforehand, where they will be used to<br />
light a grand fire on the last day of the celebration.<br />
On Wednesday, the moving ‘Procession of the Encounter’<br />
paralyzes the city as Jesus of Nazareth is taken through the<br />
streets until reaching the plinth holding Veronica. Upon<br />
reaching this point, Jesus is inclined, and his face is washed.<br />
Veronica then departs in search of Saint John and Mary.<br />
The Virgin Mary is subsequently brought into the main<br />
plaza where she watches as her son approaches the cross.<br />
All of a sudden, both figures halt, their faces illuminated<br />
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