24 October 2008 South of the Border - Down Peru Way

South of the Border - Down Peru way
October 24, 2008

Today while continuing my efforts to unpack, store and file away my papers, I found one of my journals. This journal contained entries from my last trip to Machu Picchu.

Since my blog has pretty much been focused on SE Asia and Buddhism rites as well as rituals, I thought that for a change I would write about South America.

I first went to Machu Picchu for Christmas 2001. I was working in Brasil and we had a long holiday. As a child I had read and heard about the Lost City of the Incas. I longed to travel to the wondrous places that I read about and discussed in school back in Groton, Connecticut. I never imagined that someday I would have the opportunity or inclination to actually visit those places.

My first visit to Machu Picchu was with my wife. It was a great trip and may be subject of a future blog. I do distinctly remember that I left regretting not having taken photographs of the porters on the Inca trail.

The Inca trail porters are native people who have a very distinct appearance. They are very short and muscular. They wear colorful clothing. Their faces reflect their environment as well as their work. Over centuries of living and laboring at the high altitudes of the Andes, their skin is dark and leathery while their noses are very large apparently to better warm the cold mountain air before entering their lungs. On the first trip I saw them but never took a photographed them.

We returned to Brasil and over the course of the next few months I replaced my old 1976 Nikormat camera with a more modern Nikon F3HP along with longer focal length lenses. The seed had been planted and the excuse was available.

I returned to start a new job in the USA close to my home in the San Francisco Bay Area. I got the bright idea to return to Cusco, Peru for what I refer to as the "Trifeccta".

In June 2003, three of Cusco's biggest events occurred within a two week period - "Feast of the Corpus Christi", "Inti-Raymi" (reenactment of Inca celebration), and the Winter Solstice at Machu Picchu (shortest day of the year). Now that I had a new camera I could go back and photograph the Inca porters too.

One trip to Machu Picchu was enough for my wife so I proceeded on this adventure on my own.

After spending a short night in Lima upon my arrival from Miami, I flew to Cusco arriving on the morning of June 18th. That afternoon was the first parade of the Corpus Christi (Body of Christ) Festival. Unbelievable! Each Roman Catholic church (there are not too many others) has its patron saint's statue paraded through the main square (Plaza de Armas) to the cathedral. Each statue was on a throne carried by "special" people.

The "special" people are the men of that parish, who the previous week had climbed the sacred mountain, Ausungate, and returned with sacred ice from around 15,000 feet elevation.
The effigies of the saints are kept in the Cathedral so that they can communicate and reenergize their powers. This festival was instituted by the Spanish as a replacement for the Inca tradition of parading ancestral mummies.

The parade was very high energy with brass bands, native costumes, colorful effigies, and many banners. A great opportunity for photographs and the first time that I used a digital camera.
I had expected Cusco to be filled with tourists but there are far fewer. This was a pleasant surprise. Cusco was not as crowded as it had been for Christmas

I had a rough night sleeping due to the altitude 3,500m, 11,500 feet). I had a headache and took two aspirin. Since I was working at a refinery and subject to random drug testing I dared not drink any of the coca tea or chew coca leaves that the local use to cope with the altitude. I had not been bothered on my previous trip but I was not working at a refinery then!

The next day, Thursday 19 June had scattered showers. There was a large outdoor Mass which started at 09:30 on the steps of the Cathedral. Prior to the Mass I had entered the Cathedral. It was awesome. All the statues were inside the main room. All the priests, Monks, Bishops, and Nuns were busy getting ready for the Mass. Along with the clergy, there were many ordinary people inside the Cathedral. It was extraordinary to witness how strong the Catholic faith is in Cusco.

The Cathedral looked great. Unlike the last time when I was there in December 2001, there was no scaffolding and it was very clean.

There was singing as part of the outdoor Mass - Bob Dylan's "Blowing In the Wind" and Simon & Garfunkle's "Sounds of Silence". The lyrics were in Spanish so I don't know if they were the same as the popular renditions of the songs.

After the Mass, there was another procession of the statues out of the Cathedral and around the Plaza de Armas that lasted until 3:30 PM.

The procession was very colorful, festive and interesting. The bands were typically comprised of two drums, one tuba, 4 trombones, 5 trumpets, and two clarinets. I found it very strange that one band escorting their patron saint played "The Marine's Hymn" That group was not even the group from "Marina" - so I still am unable to figure it out.

Another band played Stephen Foster's "My Old Kentucky Home", and "The Old Folks at Home" Strange- for sure.

That night, I heard hypnotic music. It was a lilting female voice singing Andean music - music that I love. I headed out to see what was going on. The music was coming from a side street where the hotel was located behind the Cathedral. Off of the side street was a little alley where a man was standing guard. As I turned the corner, I looked through a crack to see where the music was coming from. The guard asked if I wanted to go in. I said "Yes" and went in. I stumbled into a private party for one of the churches that had participated in the procession. The place was a school and the party was in an open courtyard. The band was set up on the balcony overlooking the courtyard.

I sat on the concrete steps, minded my own business, and enjoyed the music. I noticed a young girl to my left approximately 11 years old. I acknowledged her presence and returned my attention to what was going on in front of me. Soon the girl, who reminded me of my son's step daughter, was talking to me and offering me to sit in a chair on the ground level. I declined. It was obvious that this young girl was very intelligent and had that unbridled curiosity that youth and intelligence bring.

My conversations with her were causing some attention from the woman next to her. I determined that the woman was her grandmother. I introduced myself to her and told her not to worry. The grandmother seemed to appreciate it.

The next thing that I knew was one of the big shots of the organization, wearing a fancy blue and gold sash, came over to me and asked if I drank. I replied tthat I did a little. He left and went into a small room. Another man appeared out of the room and brought me a Cusqueno beer.

The little girl, Wendy, asked me about my vacation in Peru, where I lived, my family ... She was speaking in Spanish and I was speaking Portuguese - it worked well enough.
Everyone was enjoying themselves. Often they broke up into two large groups for round dancing. I am crazy for Andean music, so i was sitting there clapping and enjoying myself.
After awhile, Wendy's grandmother got up, grabbed me, and lead me to the middle of one of the dancing rings. That was it. I was now part of the group. Often I was in the middle of the circle, dancing in turns with all of the women. The men were all very friendly. When I got very winded after an especially long and energetic song, one of the men came over and showed me how to breathe in order to catch my breath. Toasts were flying left and right. The guard came over several times to give me the thumbs up sign. I drank only 3/4 of a beer but it was a hell of a good time.

The people were the local patrons who had organized and marched for Immaculata Concepcion De Linda Church. It was very nice and a unique experience. All ages were at the party.
Wendy pinned her religious decoration on me and later another woman pinned a beautiful religious decoration on my jacket as a souvenir of the night and to protect me on my journey.

It was very touching

A lifelong memory of faith, devotion, and kindness.