[vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]The month of February hosts a magic \u201cparty and joy\u201d that is enjoyed not only in Peru, but in many countries of the world. Yes; you got it right! We are talking about \u201cCarnival\u201d; the party in which one can be, for a short period of time, whatever he wants to be.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\u00bbCarnivals in Per\u00fa.\u00bb font_container=\u00bbtag:h4|text_align:left|color:%23a82b26″ use_theme_fonts=\u00bbyes\u00bb][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]As you can imagine, this festival arrived in Peru with the Spanish people and has two very characteristic connotations, the first one is that of a \u201cfolk festival\u201d and the other one is\u00a0 \u201cgames with water and colors.\u201d In most cases both are combined in a single celebration that begins in February and continues throughout the whole month.<\/p>\n
Especially in Spanish colonial times, The Carnival was used for satire and parody. Authorities and slaves alike were represented with costumes and masks. Rosa Mar\u00eda Acosta, author of \u201cUrban Colonial Festivities (Lima-Cuzco-Potos\u00ed)\u201d, has an interesting note; that the Carnivals also served to resolve pending disputes: \u201cIt was very common to see, the day after the carnivals, Spaniards and Indians lying together drunk on the ground,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
This party was not limited to Spaniards and indigenous Peruvians;\u00a0 \u201cThe carnival brought from Spain was quickly vindicated by the popular classes, and it was the black people; who were\u00a0 the majority slaves in Lima at the end of the 18th century \u2013 who gave a festive traits with their dances and masks \u201d,\u00a0 wrote the anthropologist Prof. Vilcapoma.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=\u00bbEl Diablo (The Devil)\u00bb font_container=\u00bbtag:h4|text_align:left|color:%23a82b26″ use_theme_fonts=\u00bbyes\u00bb][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\u00bb1\/2″][vc_single_image image=\u00bb1200″ img_size=\u00bbfull\u00bb][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
Foto: @mariano_fusero<\/pre>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\u00bb1\/2″][vc_column_text]A figure that stands out in Peruvian carnivals is the figure of the \u201cDevil\u201d. Looking at the processes and socio-cultural manifestations of the encounter of colonizers and indigenous people, it can be deduced how the image of the devil is simply a \u201ccollective composition\u201d of the inhabitants of the New World, indigenous, black slaves and Spanish.\u00a0 Another important fact is that it highlights the relationship between \u201cidol and image\u201d in the construction of new cultures in the new world, because this generated other \u201ctypes of images\u201d, fused images that at the same time re-structured the cosmo-vision, the worldview of both worlds.<\/p>\n
There is a well-known song in Peru by the musical group \u201clos morochucos\u201d that expresses precisely this custom and is called \u201cSon de los diablos (The Rhythm of the Devil)\u201d with a text that says:[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=\u00bb1\/3″][vc_column_text]\u201cvenimos de los infiernos<\/p>\n
no se vayan a asustar<\/p>\n
Con nuestros rabos y cuernos<\/p>\n
que son s\u00f3lo pa\u00b4 bailar.<\/p>\n
Con nuestros rabos y cuernos,<\/p>\n
que son s\u00f3lo p\u00e1 bailar.<\/p>\n
Son de los Diablos son<\/p>\n
y aqu\u00ed vamos a bailar;\u201d.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=\u00bb1\/3″][vc_column_text]\u201cWe come from hell<\/p>\n
Do not be scared\u2026.<\/p>\n
With our tails and horns<\/p>\n
That are just for dancing.<\/p>\n
With our tails and horns,<\/p>\n
That are only for dancing.<\/p>\n
In rhythm of the Devils are<\/p>\n
And here we are going to dance\u201d\u2026[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=\u00bbCarnivals in the Andes of Peru.\u00bb font_container=\u00bbtag:h4|text_align:left|color:%23a82b26″ use_theme_fonts=\u00bbyes\u00bb][vc_column_text]These festivities not only stayed in the capital, they were popular throughout the Peruvian territory, and definitely in the Andean areas of Peru highlights for its fusion with the spirituality of the Andean people. It can be said that this European custom has been merged with the traditional harvest festivals in Peru, known as Pukllay, which in Quechua means \u201cgames\u201d. For Jos\u00e9 Carlos Vilcapoma, historian and anthropologist specialized in the Andean tradition, other names are: Chimaycha, Huayllacha, Capac Pucuy and Huaylas.<\/p>\n