Little Catholic Surprises

Inca King near the fountain, truck transporting glass casket,

"event coordinators" in green directing people , costumed kids

Our favorites! These kids waited patiently in the alley near us

until it was their turn to dance in front of the entire group. They were good!

It´s been exactly two months since landing in Lima. Since we´ve arrived, it´s been easy to spot the distinct¨"Catholic-ness" of the country, although in some ways (Matthew mentioned somethign about this in his coca post) it´s a form of Catholicism that seems specific to Peru, with a unique combination of Catholicism and the ancient cultures of the country.

Yesterday, as Matthew and I were exiting a museum about Inca history, there was all sorts of commotion in the Plaza de Armas (the main square). I asked a security guard from the museum what was going on and his response was simply "Los Incas" ... like duh, we should have known! But that explanation didn´t mean much. We approached the crowds of people throwing flower petals, men dressed up as Incas marching around, and a truck driving around the square. We figured it was for the arrival of famous Don Bosco, which had been advertised on large banners.

It wasn´t until we returned to our hostel yesterday afternoon and talked to other travelers that we understood better what was going on. From my own observations, I thought it was some grand celebration to welcome Don Bosco to Cusco, with people dressed as Incas to represent some sort of reconciliation between the Incas and the Catholic Church/Spaniards. There were people dressed up in various cultural costumes, and they danced around. It was all very impressive. We watched the truck drive around and realized it was carrying a glass casket, with what I thought was a statue. The truck drove up to the church and people unloaded the casket and presented it to the Plaza and everyone who was watching, and encouraged everyone to clap. I just thought the church was getting a new statue, as many of the churches have glass caskets containing statues of Jesus. And I thought it was a man in a poncho who spoke briefly standing next to the man dressed as an Incan King who was Don Bosco. I was wrong.

In reality, it was a celebration to welcome the relics of Don Bosco to Cusco. It was really the body of Don Bosco, who died in 1888, who was paraded through the streets. Apparently, he´s making the rounds in Peru, and is eventually even heading to the States. We saw signs advertising his upcoming arrival in Puno when we were there, although I was still trying to find out why this priest was so important. I don´t understand all the details of the presentation from yesterday, what all the costumes represented, or why there was a combination of Inca and Catholic things. Lots of people were interested though. Not least of all me.

As a bonus, Matthew and I were trying to find the Convent of Santa Clara today, where there is a church full of mirrors. The mirrors were apparently used to entice indigenous folks into the church. As soon as we arrived, we saw this amazing sight coming out of the church.

Not sure what it was or why...but there was even a band. Eventually, the men succeeded in lighting the big strip of firecrackers that went off for a solid five minutes. Then, they proceeded down the street, struggling with the giant statue, which looked as if it was marching itself down the street. Lovely!