Semana Santa has begun! Palm Sunday was a blast. We started off the morning by attending mass at the main cathedral, and although we couldn’t understand anything that was going on, it was still a great intro to the day ahead. After mass we grabbed some ice cream and watched a procession that was passing through the Plaza Mayor (the first of three that day).
Waiting outside the cathedral before Mass
The 1st procession of the day
Right after lunch we went to the other side of town, where, we were told by Rudy and Marisol, was “the place to be”. They were not wrong. The whole street was taken up by what can only be described as a giant Peruvian block party. People, horses, donkeys, llamas, and alpacas alike were dressed in traditional costumes, and everywhere you looked, free food and beer were being doled out. We ran into our program director, Rudy, who not only introduced us to his whole family, but to the Mayor of Ayacucho and his family as well.
It seems I always have to include one cute animal picture, so here is today's: A Llama in a Peruvian costume.
There was music, dancing, drinking, and eating all the way up until the procession started, and once it had passed, everyone followed it all the way back to the Plaza Mayor. It was a long but fun walk, and when we arrived we (naturally) stopped at La Miel for some cake/empanadas/milkshakes while we waited for the third procession of the day. We waited for what seemed like--and really was--hours to see Jesus arrive on his donkey, and finally, in the midst of hundreds of people waving palms and singing, a life-sized Jesus mannequin precariously perched on a donkey passed our way.
The third procession
What a long, exciting, catholic tradition-filled day... We were all ready for bed, as I imagine was the rest of Ayacucho.
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