Religion plays a very important role in the culture of South America, and although many people have adopted the Catholic Christian traditions that were brought to the continent by the conquerors, there are also several native religions throughout the region. One of the interesting aspects is that in many cases the festivals that are seen now are a combination of Christian and indigenous European religious beliefs. Seeing the continent during one of these events is a great privilege, and being able to share in those celebrations makes for a very special trip to the region.
Holy Week, Peru
Also known as ‘Semana Santa’, this particular celebration is one that is celebrated in much of the Spanish-speaking world, but in Peru, it is believed that there are no sins committed during this period, which helps make it all match. The festival takes place in the week before Easter celebrations, and the event in the city of Ayacucho is often considered the most fun and raucous of all, especially on Easter Sunday when there is music and singing, prayers for those who go to church and fireworks display to end the week.
Feast of San Juan Bautista, Venezuela
This festival takes place in the city of San Juan, in Venezuela, and celebrates the patron saint of the city, with the festivities that take place in the week before the most important day of the festival on June 24 of each year. As well as the religious ceremonies that are found around the church of the city, there are also many other aspects of the celebration, including wandering minstrels, a fireworks display and in particular in the district of Isla Verde, t here is a tradition of walking backwards into the ocean three times as a way to cleanse the spirit of the individual.
You are Raymi, Peru
A festival that was originally celebrated during the Inca Empire, and before the arrival and conquest of South America by the conquerors, Inti Raymi was one of the four most important events in the Inca’s religious calendar. Resurrected in the mid-20th century by indigenous groups, the festival is most celebrated in Cusco, where large exhibits by indigenous peoples in traditional dress have proven to be very popular with visitors, while there are also many opportunities to share the local tradition. food and drink.
Carnival, Brazil
Carnival takes place in towns and cities across the country, but undoubtedly the largest and most famous of these is held in Rio de Janeiro, where celebrations include marching bands, samba dance groups, and hundreds of floats. . The event begins on the Friday before Ash Wednesday, and officially ends at noon on Ash Wednesday itself, and marks the run-up to the Christian season of Lent.
San Blas Day, Paraguay
Held on February 3 of each year, this festival is held to honor the country’s patron saint, Saint Blaise, and from the smallest town to the largest city, there will be something that will mark this special day. In churches, you’ll find parades and services to honor the saint, while in cities like Ciudad del Este, parades are complemented by dance groups and marching bands to help the event go strong.
Feast of the Virgin of Candelaria, Peru
This is one of the biggest events held in Peru in terms of the number of dance and music shows on display, and the festival is held in the city of Puno, where the Virgen de la Candelaria is the patron saint. The event is interesting as the Quechua and Aymara peoples also join in the celebration along with the Roman Catholic population of the area, and the festival is held in early February each year.
Day of the Virgin of Luján, Argentina
The festival celebrates the icon of the Virgin Mary from the 16th century that is kept in the Basilica of the city of Luján, and the day of the Feast of the Icon falls on May 8 of each year. There are several parades and processions that take place in the days leading up to the day of the festival, while the largest is on the day of the festival, with those involved in the procession and many of those who attend and then attend the church to share a very special saint. mass.
Aymara New Year, Bolivia
The Aymara New Year is a holiday that has been reintroduced in the Bolivian calendar under the leadership of Evo Morales and is an event that marks the beginning of the year in the Aymaran calendar, with a date that coincides with the winter solstice on June 21 every year. The best place to enjoy the festival is at the Tiwanaku Historic Site, where thousands of people join indigenous religious leaders to mark this event with a sacrifice and a grand celebration that begins at sunrise, and then a great feast.
Pas del Niño, Ecuador
Cuenca is home to this quirky event that not only features lots of religious imagery, but also has some more unusual and quirky aspects, with the festival being held on Christmas Eve. At the center of the event is a night parade that has decorated cars, floats and street shows, and involves the realization of a representation of the baby Jesus through the streets of the city.
Day of the dead, uruguay
This religious festival is also known as All Saints’ Day and is celebrated on November 1, and during the event, there are a significant number of people who go to the cemetery to remember their ancestors. There are also a number of lively parties and local events across the country that will have a theme based on skeletons and other aspects related to death.
Quyllur Rit’i, Peru
Also known as the Star Snow Festival, this event has both indigenous and Catholic aspects to the festival and is celebrated in the Andes Mountains with up to 10,000 farmers who come from all over the country to the Sinakara Valley. The festival coincides with the date of the Feast of the Ascension in the Christian calendar, which means that it is generally in the middle to the end of May, and they have dance processions in the valleys, while a ritual figure known as ‘ukuku’ is Adventure on the glacier and bring blocks of ice that are said to have a healing effect.
Urkupina, Bolivia
Near the city of Cochabamba, this festival celebrates the legend of a poor shepherd who saw the Virgin Mary on the hillside above the town of Quillacollo, and the festival takes place in the third week of August each year. At the center of the celebration is a parade with more than 10,000 performers, including dancers and musicians, and then a church service ends with a procession up the hillside where people carry small pebbles and stones left on the hillside.
Phagwah, Guyana
A holiday that is mainly celebrated by the Hindu population of Guyana, which is a part of the Hindu calendar that celebrates the counterproductive good bad. Similar to the Holi festival in Asia, the most popular part of the event is when people throw water, colored powder and scented water at other people, and this is an activity that many others celebrate within the population, as it is a fun way to celebrate
June Party, Brazil
This annual festival takes place in June of each year and is a festival dedicated to Saint John the Baptist and is usually held in a tent, as the festival originally marked the summer in Europe, but this is during the winter in Brazil. Bonfires and fireworks are a popular part of the event, while there is also plenty of traditional food and drink to enjoy.
Christmas Day, across the continent
One of the most important Christian festivals anywhere in the world, Christmas has many of the traditions found in Europe, such as gift-giving and traditional foods, but there are also many traditions unique to South America. Ibirapuera and Lagoa are the main streets of Sao Paulo and Rio, and they have the brightest decorations in the region, which means that there is a traffic jam on these streets on Christmas Eve, while in La Plata it is traditional for the whole family to make cardboard puppets which are then burned as part of the New Years celebrations.
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