La Candelaria

Puno knows how to party! For the first two weeks of February they celebrate their Patron Saint, the Virgin of the Candelaria. We have had nearly 75 bands from all over the country, and some from Bolivia here competing and parading with their dance teams. The main parade lasted 17 hours, ending at 2 a.m.! They had 4-5 masses in a row last Saturday, with teams and individuals presenting huge representations of the Virgen at mass. They then backed them back out after mass for a parade through the streets of Puno.






The costumes and dances were very fun to see. So much community pride, and likely so! They varied from indigenous and very traditional pipes and drums....



















with traditional festive costumes....
























to wild, crazy, glitzy costumes! Cammeo was even in a dance conjunta...or team....with some of our fellow Rotarians. It was a great way for her to meet new friends, experience local culture and have a lot of fun. You can link to her website and see more photos, including one of her. She looked great!!








The rest of this month will be very busy. We leave in the morning for Bolivia for 3 days for a signing of the covenant between the Peru and Bolivia Methodist Churches formally celebrating the new Lake Titicaca Border Mission. We will meet with prospective promotores de salud and also local medical professionals. I think this celebration will be a little calmer than La Candelaria!

We then go directly to Cusco where we meet our first team arriving from Boise. More about that soon!