by Grace Mirchandani

Created on: February 20, 2009   Last Updated: February 27, 2009

I will never forget the time I spent in Peru. I arrived in Cusco just a couple of days before the start of the Inti Raymi Festival. Inti Raymi means "Festival of the Sun" and takes place during Peru's Winter Solstice.

My first few days in the city were wonderful. I walked the colorful streets and felt as though I was in a dream or that I had traveled back in time.

Around every corner, my senses were flooded with promises of new and exiting experiences.

Music provided an authentic soundtrack as I glanced through the stalls of vendors at the vibrant and swarming street fairs. My mouth watered as I inhaled the plethora of Latin aromas that always found their way on the cool breeze from the dozens of little food tents and eatery carts.

As satisfied as I felt, I could never have imagined that my fun was just beginning.

A couple of days quickly passed by me and on the twenty-fourth of June, as it happens every year, thousands of people made their way into Cusco to witness Inti Raymi, the second largest festival in Latin America.

The festival traces back to the ancient religious ceremonies of the Incas. This was time they spent thanking the sun god (Inti) for successful growing seasons and pleading for his return. It was also a time to honor his son (Manco Capac) and daughter (Mama Occlo).

Late Morning, everyone gathered in the square outside of the Santa Domingo church. The church had been built over an ancient temple. Out front in the square, called Koricancha, the religious leader, or Sapa Inca started the ceremony with an oration and called upon the sun to bless his people and lands.

Then he got up on a golden throne! He was surrounded by elaborately dressed actors that were (quite convincingly) dressed as early priests, officers, and noblemen. They lifted him up onto their shoulders and started a long procession to the hills above the city.

They were taking him to the ancient fortress of Sacsayhuaman!

The streets along the journey were laden with flower petals and I could smell their sweetness in the air. Thousands of people were already at the fortress waiting for the Sapa Inca to arrive and take his position at the altar.

In the hours that followed, hundreds of colorfully dressed actors took part in many different ceremonies. It was all so real!

My favorite part of the afternoon had to be when they sacrificed (realistically simulated) a llama. The high priest held its bloody heart up in the air as a symbolic offering to the god Pachamama, the mother of the universe.

The hours flew by! Before I knew it the sun was starting to set. Big stacks of straw were set on fire and the actors danced and sang around them. It was mesmerizing! I couldn't look away.

The ceremony had to end sometime though. I knew it was almost over when Sapa Inca and Mama Occlo got up on their thrones and were carried off back to the city. A new year had started.

That night, I had a permanent smile glued upon my face. As I tried to sleep, I imagined being offered the honor of playing the part of Sapa Inca in next year's festival.

Well, maybe that wasn't going to happen but I knew that I would be back to see it all again. I can hardly wait!

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