A Demanding Virgin and Pan Pipe Music

This Virgen de la Candelaria is really quite a demanding little lady. Little indeed, since the statue is only about 1 meter tall, but they've had to build a whole church for it. The amount of floral gifts is rather stunning - as is the sea of candles lit in her honour. However due to the large amount of candles and the subsequent fire hazard, the candles can't be lit at the main altar, but they have a room to themselves at the side of the church. On a cold night the candles produce a definite heat wave. 

Yes, the little lady is certainly being pampered! Posters abound and starting tomorrow there will be a full week of dancing and music in her honour.

So, you might ask, what has she done to deserve this devotion? Well, aparently yonks and centuries ago she saved the city from a hoard of invading Incas, Bolivians or some such. The town folk carried her out and prayed, lamented and beat their   chests... At the sight of which the Inca or Bolivian or some such forces promptly decided against invasion and headed home. Maybe they just came to the conclusion the whole town was bat shit crazy (loco como una cabra as my more dedicated readers will know). So for an afternoon's work la virgen de la Candelaria gets a lifetime of devotion. 

Today I kept my nose in the shade after it got slightly toasted sitting on the roof of the ferry in the sunlight yesterday. (Somehow I don't expect a lot of sympathy for this  from my friend in the dark North).

Today's official theme was the Sillustani memorials half an hours drive from Puno. The burial chullpas (furerary towers) of a pre-Inca race rise as high as 12 meters up from the ground. I'll say one thing - the pre-Incas certainly saved the best sights for their ancestors.

The unofficial theme is preparation for the festivities to come. As the night unfolds, the sounds of pan pipe orchestras and brass bands linger in the air. Yes, finally I am getting the full frontal pan pipe assault! A political party seems to be campaigning for the abolition of pan pipes judging by the poster below, but with little success it seems. 

In fact there are so many pan pipe groups that yesterday I witnessed a stand off, where two different orchestras were determined to practice in front of the same building on the main square. If pan pipe music is an acquired taste, two pan pipe orchestras playing different tunes side by side is more an extreme sport.

Practically none of the dancers and musicians taking part are professionals or even semi-pros, so as the moment of truth approaches there are bands practicing all over town. Just follow the cacophony and you'll find one. The brass band in the picture above was, one sincerely hopes, formed of fishermen, builders and movers and other people in a non musical and possibly hearing impairing profession. The drummer especially was beating his instrument enthusiastically to a beat all his own, which seemed to have nothing to do with what the rest of the ensemble were up to. I would feel quite qualified in taking on a role in this particular band, since I don't see what I could possibly do to make things any worse. 

But all this is done with such joy that the odd note out of place (or several) doesn't make the experience any less enjoyable. Tomorrow the party starts - at 7am of course. Now why on earth should anyone want to sleep during the mornings?