Folklife Festival Peru... part one

This is the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC.
The Smithsonian Museum sponsors the yearly Folklife Festival on the mall. This year they are focusing on the country of Peru.
I took lots of pix for you to enjoy. Please grab a cup of your favorite beverage, sit back and enjoy the show.

The Festival covers as much as possible of the culture including architecture, religion, food, crafts, storytelling, lifestyle, language, dance music and more. Many people came from Peru this year to share their lives with us.

There was a lot of mud on this day, so fashion stopped at the feet!
I am standing beneath a balcony with a costumed figure. There is an enormous festival each year and homes are included in the parade as people dress up and become part of the event.
I became overwhelmed so didn't write down the name of the parade but I think it's  Fiesta de la Virgen del Carmen de Paucartambo

Some of the things carried by people are represented here.
To the left are enormous candles highly decorated in many bright colors. In fact color is celebrated throughout the country.

Remember you can click on any picture to see details. See the woven mat? It seems to be in every building, and is woven by hand of course.

There are so many similarities among cultures and their festivals. Really that has become apparent over the 20 years we've been attending this Folklife Festival, having seen so many countries and met so many of their citizens, I have noticed the similarities as well as the defining characteristics. Seems like each country has a circle dance that is social. Every country seems to have some kind of dumpling type food. Every country embellishes their workday items and clothing in some way. Each country has artisans keeping heritage alive.

While waiting at this stage for the archery demonstration, a band of musicians and dancers sped through! Surprising all of the on lookers with their costumes, music, dance and speed. As soon as they arrived they left with all of us asking, "what was that!??" The archery demo had been canceled so I suppose they danced through!

Every country has instruments. There is a tent with various instruments as well as many performances where you can listen to folk music from different areas of Peru.

The following picture is a boat, like one recently seen on the tv show The Amazing Race.
I love that these kids are able to try it. I sure am happy not to be on one in the surf!

Seemed like kids all got along. From different families, and different religions, they just played together. You see that a lot at this festival.
This is a shot of a bridge being built in the foreground, with the monument behind at the other end of the mall.
What you see in DC is people from every part of the globe.
You hear many languages, see different clothing. They are all "playing" together respectful and engaged in the experience.
At the end of the warm day we decided to share a drink...

We gave up sugar months ago, so we did not have a Peruvian beer as we would have done in the past. We decided this was just mango juice and ice after all. It sure tasted sweet!
Two more posts to go, with lots of art and craft and color to excite and inspire you.