Festivals, Sacred Rituals, Religion

Happy, Fiestas Patrias, Peru!

July 28 marks Peru’s declaration of independence from Spain in 1820, and today Peruvians are celebrating Fiestas Patrias with almuerzos, parties and plenty of booze.

More than 1300 litres of pisco will flow from the fountain in Lima’s historic Plaza de Armas, served to passersby compliments of the Municipality of Lima. The city’s also sponsoring performances by Afro-Peruvian musicians, paso horses and a fireworks display. Events start at 11:30 in the morning and run continuously for the next 12 hours.

El Hijo’s British-Peruvian school put on a big outdoors Fiestas Patrias event two weeks ago that upstaged the previous year’s effort. The schoolkids dressed in elaborate costumes and performed regional dances like the “zamacueca,” “danza de llamas,” and “huaylas.” Between acts, EH and his classmates roamed around as “pregoneros” — old-time street vendors who called out their wares of bread, water, and fruits. I can’t tell you how surprised I was to see my 11-year-old son dressed in cropped pants as an “aguador” (water seller), like something out of Ricardo Palma’s Tradiciones. EH carted around an antique ceramic vessel and sang at the top of his lungs.

The singing and dancing by the kids was just a warm-up, however. A bunch of 4th-graders took to the stage waving Peruvian flags in rhythm to a patriotic song (shades of Mao’s China, there, IMO), and then — drum roll — it was time for The Dance of the Math Teachers.

I have never thought of the marinera as anything but folkloric, but when I saw EH’s usually stern math teacher kicking up her skirts on stage, it struck me that Peru’s national dance is profoundly flirtacious. Ten teachers dipped and swirled, stomping their bare feet on the wooden floor, while the schoolchildren looked on rather amazed. Then the back “wall” of the temporary stage rolled up, and out raced three young men on beautiful paso horses, and the horses and math teachers proceeded to dance with each other for several minutes.

The audience was screaming with excitement at this point because there is nothing a Peruvian crowd likes more than dancing paso horses (except, perhaps, free pisco).

While I was trying to take photos of this improbable event, I bumped into the school’s British headmaster. He was looking a bit stunned.

“I don’t know how we’re going to top this next year,” he said, wiping his face with a handkerchief. “I supposed it is very educational, though, don’t you think?”

I am an American writer who lived in Lima for seven years (2007-2014), where I covered Andean traditions, melting glaciers and daily life in the capital for Miami Herald, MSNBC and Huffington Post. I now live and work in northern Florida where I champion climate change advocacy and compassionate, affordable eldercare.

5 Comments

  • Amazilia

    “and the horses and math teachers proceeded to dance with each other for several minutes”
    LOL, Peru is a surrealist country… especially seen by foreign eyes. Is interesting to see that even “pituco’s” schools who think they are the higher up or more western share that trait.

  • Daniel

    I really like independence day ! We always have dance and music anywhere we go 🙂

    To Amazilia: your comment sound very very ignorant, Most schools, if not every single one of them, have marineras, huaylas, dances from la “selva”, so pretty much from the entire country in this day. Get your facts right, and no school thinks it is better than anyone else 🙂

  • Barb

    Yes, it was a surreal episode but very interesting.

    The school that El Hijo attends has a very international focus (it’s an IB school), so part of the school’s ethos is to fosture appreciation for other cultures. Not all British-Peruvian schools have elaborate Fiestas Patrias shows, by the way. The tradition began several years ago at EH’s school and has gained steam since then.