Inti Raymi  Festivity of  the Sun

Location
The party to the Sun begins at the Coricancha ; after this, the Inka will go to the Main Square and then they celebrate the main ceremony in splanade of  Sacsayhuamán
Date
The 24 of June of every year is the celebration of the winter solstice, in other words the beginning of the New Year of the Sun. the Inti Raymi.

Long time ago when Cusco was inhabited just by the royal family, the priests and the most important people; the religious celebration was made every year in The Main Square of Qosqo..

The “Inti Raymi” or Sun party; was the biggest festivity and the most important one, it was very spectacular and magnificent, that was made in the times of the empire of the Tahuantinsuyo, which the religion was based in worshiping the Sun. The Inti Raymi was made to give worship to “Apu Inti” (God Sun) also known in some areas like “Apu P’unchau” (Day God)
The peasants people of the Inca kept practicing the festivity with out the consent of the Spanish authorities, there was a mulato by the name of Garcilaso de la Vega he compile in detail all the events of this festivity in his royal journals. “Los Comentarios Reales”.

Today the Inti Raymi is organized every year in Sacsayhuaman, the day of  the Inti Tayta 24 of June. This same day is the beginning day of the farmer in Perú.  Inti Raymi is a festivity establish in the calendar of Cusco since 1944 thanks to the enthusiasm Dr. Humberto Vidal Unda.

Now days this representation has a script to fallow, and the festivity is done in the plains of Sacsayhuamán and lately also in the temple of  Coricancha  and in the Main Square of  Cusco, from here the royal people leave to go to the plains of  Sacsayhuamán where they’ve set up all the necessary things to make this festivity possible, there is about 100,000 people that come to see all of this.

The festivity of the Sun
The entrance of the Inka to the Main Square or to the plains of Sacsayhuamán was always fallow by a group of acllas they had to lay flowers down in the ground as they walked, they accompanied by the Pichaq, man that were in charge of making the bad spirits go away. The Inca in all of the acts is in the open and it was always accompanied by the kumillo, or a humpback dwarf that carried the Achiwa, some kind of umbrella made out of feathers that had many colors.
Another part of the celebration in the Inti Raymi, it was considered as the ceremony of the new fire. In this part of the ceremony they had to turn off of the ovens in the city of Cusco , with the purpose of lighting the new fire, it was given to all the ovens in the city of Cusco All of this was because the cooks were experts not only in cooking but also to keep the fire between the ashes.
Apu Qoylluriti
Location
The feast of the lord of Qoyllurity is done in the providence of Quispicanchis, district of Ocongate. Sinankara Mountain.
The ceremony comes alive at the bottom of the snow capped mountain Ausangate at 4,700 meters meters above sea level and with temperatures below 0º
Date
This ceremony comes to life the first week of May.

The locals that live in the district of Ocongate (Quispicanchis) in the department of  Cusco , they begin a ritual in which the exterior image is Christ, but the main purpose is how man comes to be one with nature.

The ritual that is associated with the fertility of the land and the worship of the Apus makes a big part in this festivity for the natives in all of America. The main ceremony is made at the bottom of the snow capped mountain Ausangate, the ritual has priest, locals and believers they all come together in the sanctuary of Sinankara. According to the believes, Jesus as a child, using a costume of a Shepard,he appeared to a native kid, Marianito Mayta, and both of them became friends. When the parents found them dress with royal clothing they went to tell the priest, Pedro de Landa, who tried to capture them but he was not able to, instead of the child there was a rock. Marianito died immediately and the image of the Lord from Qoyllur Rit’i was carved in the rock.

The fest starts in the day of “La Santisima Trinidad” when more than 10,000 followers go up the mountain. The temperature is -4ºC in the trek all of the followers are accompanied by a band, fireworks and the symbolic market of Alacitas (artesian fair in miniature).

There also accompanied by different types of dancers like (chauchos, qollas, pabluchas, and ukukus) they all represent different myth characters. The ukukus are the guardians of the Lord, as well as the Apus and apachetas (small knolls of dirt, which they represent the sins) there also in charge of keeping the order during the ceremony. A group of Queros, locals that belong to the purest community in Perú , all in costumes as pabluchas, they go to the highest part of the mountain 6,362 meters meters above sea level in search of the snow star, that is said to be trapped in the inside of the huge mountain. In the way back these strong local, carried huge blocks of ice in their shoulder in order to irrigate the soil of their lands with sacred water from the Ausangate snow-covered mountain.
Mamacha del Carmen
Location
This feast is done every year in the colonial town of Paucartambo, at an altitude of 3,017 meters meters above sea level and 110 km from the city of Cusco approximately about 4 hours from Cusco.
Date
Between the 15th and 18th of July of every year, thousand of believers and visitors come to celebrate the festivity of Virgen Del Carmen.
Here in Paucartambo, thousands of believers come together to celebrate the festivity of  Virgen del Carmen, also called Mamacha del  Carmen, The Saint for the Mulatos. The reunion starts in the main square of the town, where lots of bands play their instruments, while a chorus sings in quechua behind the band, they dance to the music and it all represents many faces in the history of Perú.
During the day the groups of dancers go around the whole town, everything turns colorful and very musical, the people that came to watch all of this become entangle with all the bands and mixing themselves between the community into a magic celebration.
The whole festivity last five days, and people from many different parts come to see this, there is also many different groups with costumes (Doctorcitos, waca waca, sajras) they all dance accompanied by the “Mamacha” during the tiem she goes around the main square and the town streets. “The Sakras” dancers go around doing some difficult and very risky dance moves through the ceilings of the houses, showing their costumes. At the end of the procession, they have a little war against the devils, in which the believers come out winning.
Finally it all ends with the “kacharpari” of end party.

Three crosses
Coming out of Paucartambo, a straight road ascends to the gates of Acjanaco (3.800 msnm) and the view point of three crosses, a sort of natural balcony facing the Amazon from which one of the most singular dawns of the world can be seen, produced by the optical effects of the sun that seems to glitter above the clouds which cover the tropical jungle.
Lord of Huanca

Location
The sanctuary of the Lord of Huanca is located at 48km from the Cusco city at 3,100 meters meters above sea level in the district of San Salvador, providence of Calca in the department of Cusco
Date
The festivity is celebrated the 14of September, is characterized for the amount of people that come to see this.
Every year, on September 14, thousands of devotees from  Cusco , Perú  and even from places such as Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina and Chile, go to the Santuary of Huanca to receive the blessing of the Lord. From Cusco, it takes about 4-6 hours of walking to get to “el Señor de Huanca”.
Huanca is a beautiful place situated at the bottom of the mountain Pachatusan (the one that holds the world) almost to the border of the Vilcanota River.
It has been written many histories about God chose Huanca as its home to live between us:
First history
When the Spaniards arrive to Cusco, they made the Incas work in hard labor, but the Incas were able to keep there dignity even though they were being conquer.
Diego, an Indian that was punish by the Spaniards decided to escape to Huanca and he pray all day so they wouldn’t find him, only through the power of God, Diego wasn’t found, finally night came and suddenly a light blinded him, it was Jesus Christ bleeding from the wound he had. Diego was astonished by the lords present that he couldn’t move. Almost beside oneself. Adoring his God.
Diego decided to send a painter to Huanca. One of the best painters from the school of art from Cusco was chosen for the privilege in making the painting. Diego Quispe toll the painter exactly what he saw, the painter made the impression of Christ in the rock, while he made the painting, it seem that a divine hand would be working through him.

Second History
The wealthy miner Don Pedro Valero was very sick and many doctors had tried to diagnose his sickness whit out success. In all of this, a foreigner doctor came to the city, he was very well-known, and they got in touch with the doctor for him to see the sick miner.
The mysterious foreigner came to his call, according to the legend Don Pedro was put in a treatment of waters during five days. After the treatment Don Pedro was cured of is sickness and started to give the doctor all his possession but the doctor said. “If you want to do something for me, visit me in my house” Don Pedro went to Huanca went inside the temple, and found out the image of his savior in a rock.
Corpus Christi
Location
Corpus Christi is done in the Main Square of Cusco.
Date
Corpus Christi  comes alive in June, this date is unforgettable.
Few years after the arrival of Pizarro. The people of Cusco begin to celebrate this festivity, in honor of The Holy Sacrament, known in the Catholic World as Corpus Cristo. The Inka Garcilaso had already given news about it in his work “comentarios reales”. 
Fifteen saints and virgins from the different districts come together in The Cathedral o salute the body of Christ, which is kept in a fabulous box made out of solid gold that weighs 26 kilos and 1.20 meters high.
Each church in Cusco, takes their own Saint, accompanied by dancers and a band. 
The Night of the congregation there is a watch, in where the main dish is the famous “chiriuchu”, dish that is made with guinea pig, chicken, this is served with beer, and bread made out of wheat.
The procession in the main day is realized at about 11:00 am. The main square is full of people that come to see the procession of the five virgins like The virgin of Almudena, The virgin of Belen, the beauty, Santa Barbara, the immaculate virgin, all dress with very decorated clothing, also the saints like san Sebastian, San Cristobal, San Jeronimo, San Blas, San Jose and the apostle Santiago in top of a beautiful white horse.
Alter the procession, the saints return to the cathedral to salute alter the seven days go by, then the saints again return to their own churches to stay there the whole year, these are taken by foot to the streets of Cusco in the middle of songs and prayers. For the tourist it is an excellent opportunity to feel the Peruvian Culture

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