December 31, 09 by Sergio Reyna
Jorge Jimenez Sanchez strongly hammers the piece of metal at one end while his wife Marisol Hernandez Castro holds and pushes the small anvil at the other corner. After the last blow, he has the wooden circles revolved around this axis. The truck is finally finished once I adjust the wheels even though I also have to paint the word Cusco above the windshield and that’s it, says he. During Christmas days the living room of his house becomes his workshop. Here I can watch trucks, cars, trains, and airplanes made entirely out of hardwood. Mr Jimenez and his family is just one of the dozens of craftsmen who have attended the 2009 edition of the popular handicraft fair Santurantikuy held on the Qosqo´s main square every december 24th.
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December 12, 09 by Sergio Reyna
¨We are too much like oysters observing the sun through the water,
and thinking that thick water the thinnest of air¨.
Herman Melville´s Moby-Dick
Dozens of children fill the Kusikay Theater here in Qosqo with loud voices and laughs even though impatience parents attempt laboriously to keep them calm and quiet because the presentation is about to begin. Unexpectedly, all the theater´s lights turn off and a muffled silence predominates, only broken at times by the sighs of surprised and frightened kids. An unrestrained roaring spreads through the entire building as hundreds of puppets and flat cut-out figurines appear on the stage. The play resourcefully mingles clown, pantomime and music in order to tell three short but amazing tales.
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June 16, 09 by Sergio Reyna
As I wrote in the previous post, Inti Raymi or Feast of the Sun is the most important feast in Qosqo now as well as it was in Inca time.
Actually, it is one of the most important feasts throughout Perú, but I have not had the chance to attend it so far. Nonetheless, I hope so this year since it is due this 24th of June.
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June 15, 09 by Sergio Reyna
The hills that encircle the city may echo either the blast of a firecracker or the music from a band which you might not be able to see. Or one can unexpectedly run into a parade made of quite a few people or a huge crowd.
It seems there is always a reason to celebrate here in Qosqo. And this is especially true in June where a new anniversary is held. Any day or night could become time for revel with music, dance, and beer or chicha.
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April 11, 09 by Sergio Reyna
I could hear the cathedral’s bells tolling as I was about to spot the Nazarenas square walking down Pumacurco street, just three blocks away from the main square in Qosqo.
Darkness still spread over the city as it was 5:30 am. Dozens of silhouettes were loomed by the morning twilight. Men, women and even kids were heading for the cathedral. Like me, most of them wore shawls and wool caps since it was rather cold out here.
There were women by the façade selling white candles and incense. Most worshipers held light green crosses made of palm branches. A few people bought them at that moment from street vendors. A girl showed me a small cross made of a plant called “chonta”. She told me I might hang it on the back of my door so that evil energy would be defeated. This cross was trimmed with dollars notes, maize, and “huayruro”, a kind of red bean, all of them aimed to bring luck and fortune.
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