Love & Light and everything bright...

FROM CUZCO, PERU

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Cuzco, Day 2: Inka Dancers

CUZCO, Peru, June 29, 2008 - Today is another beautiful, warm and sunny day at 11,000 in the High Andes.  A-K and the Spirit seem to be clearing not just various hurdles for me to enjoy this Andean mountain experience to the fullest (my two "lost" bags arrived just as I was writing this), but even the skies.  It is wintertime here, you know.  It could have been raining cats and dogs and snowing, too.  Instead, when I went out for a walk this morning, I was wearing only a short-sleeve T-shirt in the balmy 70sF (low 20sC).  So every day, I have been thanking A-K and God for everything good that's been happening to me lately, including on this trip.

For example, when I went out for a walk to the main square, I did not know that my bags had been found, let alone would be delivered in a couple of hours.  So my intention was to buy some shirts and underwear so I could at least change my clothes while waiting for the bags to arrive.  A pretty mundane goal for a Sunday outing, wouldn't you say?  Well, nothing seems to be mundane in my life anymore.

While I was buying a T-shirt, the young saleswoman kept chattering flatteries to me in Spanish, pointing to my flat tummy and I guess a muscular build.  I do not speak Spanish, so I am only surmising that they were compliments based on her demeanor and hand language. Nevertheless, you know what they say, "flattery is like soap.  And soap is lye." :-)  So I bargained with her anyway, and got about a 15% discount off the asking price.  Not that the price was outrageous to start with.  I just like bargaining with local people in distant countries.  First, because they expect it.  Second, it makes shopping more fun.

As I walked out of the store, I was determined not to use my camera today even though the air was crystal clear today.  Thought one report on Cusco should suffice.  But it wasn't to be...

I was attracted to the other end of the main square by sounds of Inka flutes and drums.  I could see the crowd gathering over there as well.  And no wonder.  It was a parade of Inka dancers from the various mountains around us. Take a look, first at a short video clip...

Cuzco Peru Inka Dancers, Part 1/2 (June 29, 2008) (1:02 mins)

... and then at some still shots I also took...

Most of the dancers were young...

...some very young, like the one in the left and middle left shots.  But some of them were of quite an advanced age for a dancer (middle).  That's what actually made their performance so enchanting.  For, they showed that both their music and their art of dancing knows no age limits.  But while all dancers were women, all flute and drum players were male (right).

Here are also some close-ups of the dancers, as they stopped the parade in front of the church, and did a special performance for the crowd gathered on its steps.  Check out also this short video clip taken from the same spot...

Cuzco Peru Inka Dancers, Part 2/2 (June 29, 2008) (2:20 mins)

It was interesting that the choreographer of one group from from Mtn Chinchero (Apu Chinchero on the sign - Apu means mountain in Inka language), was pretty young woman wearing jeans.  I mentioned her in the above video clip, and then photographed her in the two left shots.  It is nice to see that the Inka traditions are still being passed on to the young, and that the young are still interested in carrying them on.  In so many different places around the world, I have seen the American-dominated crass and glitzy pop culture alluring young people away from their own indigenous rites, arts and traditions.

After the show, a tired group of Inka dancers sat down on the steps of the church for a well-deserved rest and some cool drinks and pizzas (right shot, taken with my cell phone camera).

Today I noticed in the middle of two plaques dedicated to the Cuzco immortals who live in eternity (two left shots).  They are apt anchors for the Peruvian and the Inka flag poles that fly in the middle of the square.  In one of the side little squares off the main one, a couple of pigeons were dozing in warm sunshine on top of great cat sculptures that grace a jaguar lagoon.  Next to them were an Inka couples cast in bronze, donning traditional costumes.  I noted that the sandals the dancers wore were the same as that in the sculptures.  Guess that makes both the sculptures and the dancers authentic.

On my way back to the hotel, I saw more Inka children with their llamas hoping for tourists to give them some money if they posed for the cameras.  You do what you have to do to survive, I suppose...

And that's all she wrote from Day 2 of my Cusco visit.

Tomorrow, I head to the Sacred Valley were I am supposed to join a group of Shamans with whom I will spend the next 12 days in the Holy Mountains.  I have no idea what to expect in terms of even the cell phone service, let alone the internet connections.  So keep your expectations low and I may surprise you with an occasional report from the mountains.  Thanks for your prayers, too.

A P.S. Re. Cuzco: Inka Dancers

Well, again I spoke too soon.  I can't seem to go out fwithout experiencing something interesting. During my sunset and evening walk through Cusco, I caught a scene that dovetailed perfectly on the above Inka Dancers story.  Not far from the main square, I again heard sounds of Inka's mournful flute and drum music.  I followed the sound till I reached a little square (right).  A group of Inka kids were having a dance lesson or a practice, I couldn't tell.  So I stopped and shot a little video of it...

Inka Dancers' Practice in Cusco, Peru (June 29, 2008) (1:22 mins)

A few minutes earlier, I took a shot of the Inka's version of a "Wonderwoman" - a bronze fountain statue with muscles that would make Atlas shrink with envy (left).  As the sun was setting, I passed a few cute smaller squares, already enveloped by darkness (two middle shots).  The Inka rainbow flag, which is proudly flown all over Cusco, even more so than the Peru national flag, is outlined in the rightmost show against the sky painted by the setting sun.  "How appropriate," I thought.  (The Inkas were great sun worshippers).

The sun was still up in the main square, and I finally chanced taking a couple of pictures of myself in the  Cusco main square as a memnto.  You see, I had lived in the same clothes for three days.  So I felt crumpled and unsightly.  In these two shots, I am wearing some clothes from my newly arrived bags, as well as that Machu Picchu T-shirt I had purchased this morning.  At the other end of the square, I caught this close up of another intricate hand-carved balcony, with both the Inka rainbow flag and the sky accentuating it.

Speaking of ornate Cusco balconies, a close friend of mine from back home has asked me to take some close-up pictures of the beautiful artwork.  The above four shots show the same balcony - at "Morton's Pub," only taken from two different angles, each with a close-up. Again, the last two pictures show the Cuzco sky and the setting sun reflecting in the pub's windows.

By the way, I even saw a genuine Irish pub in one of the side streets (right).  The Irish do get around, don't they?  :-)

And now, that IS it from my second day in Cuzco.  Off to the mountains tomorrow morning...

Love  Light 

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