Photo of a Pilgrimage Leader
photo c. Jorge Vera 2009
Alejandro is from Santiago de Cusco, a province near the former Inca capital. He led a comparsa of 22 members on the pilgrimage last week.
He was intelligent and well spoken, and he patiently explained the signficance of each part of his Capac Qolla outfit to me.
I was intrigued as well by his explanation of why pilgrims travel in comparsas (village groups).
The Lord of Qoyllur Rit’i wants us to live together on this earth peacefully, he explained. We travel to Qoyllur Rit’i in comparsas to learn to share, to stop being egotistical and hypocritical.