Peru is a country that’s big on festivals and celebrations. They have at least 3,000 distinct festivals throughout the year!
There are many indigenous groups in Peru which have many small celebrations in the villages related to harvests and ancient mythological figures. In addition to those, there are festivals surrounding saints, brought about by the introduction of Catholicism by the Spanish.
Let’s party with the Peruvians and learn about food, dancing, and traditions!
January- Trujillo Marinera Festival
Held in Trujillo, Peru every January, the Marinera Festival is centered around dancing. While marinara is an Italian tomato sauce, the marinera is an ancient dance. Its roots go back to the time of the Incas, and it has evolved over the centuries, blending steps with the Spanish fandango and African zamacueca.
The dance involves a complex choreography centered around a couple’s flirting and courtship. Traditional music, played on instruments like the guitar, cajon (box-drum), and bugles, accompanies the dancers who come from all over the country to compete.
The dancing is the major part of the festival. There’s also a parade down the main street to kick off the party, and competitions of the Peruvian paso, a breed of horse known for its smooth gait. Horses weren’t indigenous to Peru, and the paso developed from the horses brought to South America by the Spanish conquistadors.
Both the Marinera and the Peruvian paso are an official part of the culture and heritage of the country.
February- Fiesta de la Candelaria
The largest and most famous festival in Peru, and one of the largest in the whole continent of South America, the Fiesta de la Candelaria celebrates the Virgin of Candelaria, the patron saint of the town of Puno. She represents a blend of Catholic and traditional beliefs, standing for “Pachamama” or mother earth, and fertility and purity.
And what a celebration it is! The festival takes place in February, which is harvest season in Peru since it’s in the southern hemisphere. The party lasts for 18 days and is filled with live music and street food, like pork sandwiches and salty-fried fava beans.
The main attraction is the people dancing in the streets. As many as 40,000 participants, elaborately costumed get into the celebrations.
The dancers are people who come from all over Peru to participate in dancing competitions. The people are split up into teams and choose from 7 traditional dances. The dances range from moves of playful courtship to a Peruvian waltz to a bullfighting dance.
Brightly colored costumes, dancing, and celebrations fill Puno every year on February 2nd, and have since 1960.
June- Inti Raymi
A festival that has taken place since the time of the Incas, the Festival of the Sun celebrates the winter solstice and the start of the new year.
In the Incan culture, Inti was the sun god, the most important deity of their belief system. The celebration took place every year on the winter solstice. The ceremonies were meant to attract the attention of the sun god, Inti, to make sure he’d return for spring and the planting season.
Considered to be a pagan ritual, it was banned by the Spanish and Catholic Church in 1535. The people continued their festivities anyway, holding the ceremonies in secret. It was brought back by Faustino Espinoza Navarro in 1944 and has been a major celebration since.
Smaller Inti Raymi celebrations are even held in far off places like San Francisco and Madrid, Spain. The ceremonies followed the Quechua people as they spread across the globe.
The events take place in the city of Cusco on June 24th every year. There is a procession that leaves the city and makes its way to the Fortress of Sacsayhuaman. The fortress was the largest structure built by the Incas.
To prepare for the festival, hundreds of people are chosen to play the parts of the nobility and army that would have taken part in the original celebrations.
In the procession, a person chosen to play the part of the Sapa Inca, or ruler of the kingdom of Cusco, is carried on a throne for the 3-plus mile trek to the fortress. There he makes a speech to Inti, the sun god, and to the pilgrims and participants who’ve made the journey.
Following the rituals of gratitude to Inti, the procession makes its way back to Cusco for music, dancing, and feasting.
September- Mistura Culinary Festival
The town of Lima, the capital of Peru, puts on the Mistura Culinary Festival every year. Lasting over 10 days, the festival boasts well over half a million visitors each year, and it’s all about food!
This festival is the biggest food festival in South America and includes flavors that are unique to Peru, from tropical fruits out of the Amazon jungle to seafood, fresh from the Pacific. Blending in with the indigenous flavors, there’s also a mix of delicacies from people that have immigrated to Peru from Asia, Europe, and Africa.
From gourmet cuisine prepared by the many Peruvian chefs to crafty foods whipped up by street vendors, Lima is filled with tasty treats during the festival. From sweets, like tres leches to a Peruvian cookie called alfajores, to ceviche, to fresh breads, all sorts of tasty dishes are available.
You can even find a dish called Causa, which dates back to pre-Columbian times. It’s like a layered potato casserole with mashed potatoes sandwiching any sort of filling you can come up with.
Live music and bands have a part in the festivities, as well. Throughout the town, musicians dressed in the bright and bold colors of Peru perform Huanyo, which is traditional music unique to Peru.
Speaking of Potatoes
Potatoes are a big part of the food of Peru. Plus, South America is where potatoes are naturally from. An indigenous plant, people began domesticating potatoes somewhere between 7,000-10,000 years ago. Peru boasts a whopping 4,000 varieties of spuds grown in the Andean highlands! There’s even a National Potato Day celebrated in May. Potatoes tend to show up in a lot of Peruvian dishes.
Learn Even More About Peru!
These are just some of the many festivals held in Peru. Brilliant, colorful, and filled with culture and tradition there’s just so many things to explore! Check out the Peru box on eat2explore!
Rowena Scherer is a French Culinary Institute-trained home chef who knows what kids love to eat and how food and culture are intertwined. When she discovered that her own kids (who loved travel and world cuisines) couldn't even chop an onion, she was momentarily crushed. She'd grown up in Malaysia, and some of her fondest memories were of cooking together there, as a family, learning and telling stories.
Now she designs cooking kits to recreate that experience, and broaden it, using the unique foodways of various cultures as a bridge into fun learning and great eating for curious kids and their adults.eat2explore office: 646-207-727
There are many indigenous groups in Peru which have many small celebrations in the villages related to harvests and ancient mythological figures. In addition to those, there are festivals surrounding saints, brought about by the introduction of Catholicism by the Spanish.
Let’s party with the Peruvians and learn about food, dancing, and traditions!
January- Trujillo Marinera Festival
Held in Trujillo, Peru every January, the Marinera Festival is centered around dancing. While marinara is an Italian tomato sauce, the marinera is an ancient dance. Its roots go back to the time of the Incas, and it has evolved over the centuries, blending steps with the Spanish fandango and African zamacueca.
The dance involves a complex choreography centered around a couple’s flirting and courtship. Traditional music, played on instruments like the guitar, cajon (box-drum), and bugles, accompanies the dancers who come from all over the country to compete.
Both the Marinera and the Peruvian paso are an official part of the culture and heritage of the country.
February- Fiesta de la Candelaria
The largest and most famous festival in Peru, and one of the largest in the whole continent of South America, the Fiesta de la Candelaria celebrates the Virgin of Candelaria, the patron saint of the town of Puno. She represents a blend of Catholic and traditional beliefs, standing for “Pachamama” or mother earth, and fertility and purity.
And what a celebration it is! The festival takes place in February, which is harvest season in Peru since it’s in the southern hemisphere. The party lasts for 18 days and is filled with live music and street food, like pork sandwiches and salty-fried fava beans.
The main attraction is the people dancing in the streets. As many as 40,000 participants, elaborately costumed get into the celebrations.
The dancers are people who come from all over Peru to participate in dancing competitions. The people are split up into teams and choose from 7 traditional dances. The dances range from moves of playful courtship to a Peruvian waltz to a bullfighting dance.
Brightly colored costumes, dancing, and celebrations fill Puno every year on February 2nd, and have since 1960.
June- Inti Raymi
A festival that has taken place since the time of the Incas, the Festival of the Sun celebrates the winter solstice and the start of the new year.
In the Incan culture, Inti was the sun god, the most important deity of their belief system. The celebration took place every year on the winter solstice. The ceremonies were meant to attract the attention of the sun god, Inti, to make sure he’d return for spring and the planting season.
Considered to be a pagan ritual, it was banned by the Spanish and Catholic Church in 1535. The people continued their festivities anyway, holding the ceremonies in secret. It was brought back by Faustino Espinoza Navarro in 1944 and has been a major celebration since.
Smaller Inti Raymi celebrations are even held in far off places like San Francisco and Madrid, Spain. The ceremonies followed the Quechua people as they spread across the globe.
To prepare for the festival, hundreds of people are chosen to play the parts of the nobility and army that would have taken part in the original celebrations.
In the procession, a person chosen to play the part of the Sapa Inca, or ruler of the kingdom of Cusco, is carried on a throne for the 3-plus mile trek to the fortress. There he makes a speech to Inti, the sun god, and to the pilgrims and participants who’ve made the journey.
Following the rituals of gratitude to Inti, the procession makes its way back to Cusco for music, dancing, and feasting.
September- Mistura Culinary Festival
The town of Lima, the capital of Peru, puts on the Mistura Culinary Festival every year. Lasting over 10 days, the festival boasts well over half a million visitors each year, and it’s all about food!
This festival is the biggest food festival in South America and includes flavors that are unique to Peru, from tropical fruits out of the Amazon jungle to seafood, fresh from the Pacific. Blending in with the indigenous flavors, there’s also a mix of delicacies from people that have immigrated to Peru from Asia, Europe, and Africa.
You can even find a dish called Causa, which dates back to pre-Columbian times. It’s like a layered potato casserole with mashed potatoes sandwiching any sort of filling you can come up with.
Live music and bands have a part in the festivities, as well. Throughout the town, musicians dressed in the bright and bold colors of Peru perform Huanyo, which is traditional music unique to Peru.
Speaking of Potatoes
Potatoes are a big part of the food of Peru. Plus, South America is where potatoes are naturally from. An indigenous plant, people began domesticating potatoes somewhere between 7,000-10,000 years ago. Peru boasts a whopping 4,000 varieties of spuds grown in the Andean highlands! There’s even a National Potato Day celebrated in May. Potatoes tend to show up in a lot of Peruvian dishes.
Learn Even More About Peru!
These are just some of the many festivals held in Peru. Brilliant, colorful, and filled with culture and tradition there’s just so many things to explore! Check out the Peru box on eat2explore!
Rowena Scherer is a French Culinary Institute-trained home chef who knows what kids love to eat and how food and culture are intertwined. When she discovered that her own kids (who loved travel and world cuisines) couldn't even chop an onion, she was momentarily crushed. She'd grown up in Malaysia, and some of her fondest memories were of cooking together there, as a family, learning and telling stories. Now she designs cooking kits to recreate that experience, and broaden it, using the unique foodways of various cultures as a bridge into fun learning and great eating for curious kids and their adults.eat2explore office: 646-207-727
