Today was very special for two big reasons: Inti Raymi (the festival of the sun in Quechua) and my 22nd birthday. Inti Raymi was a religious ceremony celebrated by the Incas in honor of the god Inti. Traditionally celebrated June 21 and now moved to June 24, it marks the winter solstice and a new year in the Andes. Since 1944, actors and military men and women partake in a theatrical representation starting in the plazas and moving to Sacsayhuaman.
I got up early so we could all leave the hotel and see the opening ceremony at about 9am on Avenida El Sol. This ceremony is meant to wake up the Sun God (though some of my friends joked, "He's already awake!") The whole place was incredibly crowded, since this is the portion of the day that's free to the public. I got a little Cuzco flag (which looks remarkably similar to a gay pride flag, and its rainbow colors represent the different sectors of the Inca Empire, Tawantin Suyo) and some water before it started. Once the ceremony began, I struggled to see anything at all. Fortunately, standing on my tippy toes and taking some pictures helped put the pieces together, and I was able to see a bit more near the end when people started leaving.
It lasted an hour, tops, and Monica told us that the next ceremony in the Plaza de Armas would be just as crowded and hard to see. Some people headed there before I was done watching the first ceremony, and the rest of the classmates I was with just wanted to hang out in the hotel before heading to Sacsayhuaman. But, it was my birthday and a very big celebration, so I definitely wanted to see everything. Monica, Jenny and Sara wanted to walk to the Plaza, so I went with them. It was much easier to see since the place was level. I got myself a good place to stand, then Monica told me everyone else was leaving since they were too short to see much. I waited by myself for a show that I thought would start at 11 but fortunately started at 10:20 or so. The Inca God (he's a famous actor here, but that doesn't mean anything to us) appeared and the show was conducted in Quechua.
We all met up at the plaza at 11:50 to get ready to take our bus to Sacsayhuaman. We ended up waiting a bit longer than expected but made it there in time regardless. Apparently, anyone can see this event, but there are limited seats that offer great views. We were really lucky to all get one, and at $110, it's no wonder they're so coveted. Fortunately, that cost included a script of the ceremony in Spanish, English and Quechua as well as a CD. I was able to follow along as we saw an amazing spectacle with a great view in a historical ruin.
First, the royal entourage and nobility enters, followed by the Inca and Qoya (king and queen). The Inca asks for them to offer the gods sacred coca leaves and chica for protection and a good year. Followed is a rite of the sacred fire, since the cold is coming and the Incas pray for warmth. Finally, they offer the Sun God, Inti, a sacrificial llama. Apparently, this part was actually conducted with a real llama up until a few years ago, but now it's been banned for animal cruelty complaints. The whole ceremony was elaborate, colorful and intriguing, with many dances and more. It felt so amazing to think that this is a replica of what the Incas actually did every year during Winter Solstice; it felt even better knowing that all this was taking place on my birthday.
Afterwards, we had the option of either walking the 30 or 40 minutes back to town or taking the bus. I was hungry and carrying my heavy purse and made the grave error of taking the bus; since it was so crowded, we didn't get back to the hotel til about 5pm.
At that point, we were all really hungry, so I went out with Alison, Kaitlyn and a few others who wanted to eat right away (of course, the walkers had already showered and eaten well before us). They all wanted to go back to a pizza place where we'd had amazing pasta and pizza. I preferred to go somewhere cheaper, but since everybody wanted to go there, I figured I should enjoy myself and spend 20 soles (7 bucks) on some amazing spaghetti. Kaitlyn also spotted me a glass of sangria since I only had 20 soles with me (and a bit more back at the hotel). Andrew was with us, too, and while we were waiting for our food, he walked out to buy some water. He came back 20 minutes later with Andy, who, like Andrew, was an RA at Northeastern. Andy decided to backpack through Peru on his own for over a month, and it was insane to think about our small worlds colliding. We left with him and told him to come to the hotel so he could join us for our festivities later. As we walked out, we ran into Amy, Kris and a few others, and some of them actually knew Andy, too! They were all looking for food, so Andy joined them and decided to meet up with us later.
I went back afterwards to rest and get ready for the night. I went downstairs at 7 or 8 and again heard people talking in Andres and Tomas's room. I decided to hang out with them, Tyler, Alison and Vinny until we made further plans. I had read about a small place called 7 Angelitos, where they play live music every night and was interested in checking it out. I told the group, and Tyler told me he'd been there before and loved it. We all figured we should go to Norton's first, since things wouldn't start picking up til later in the night. In the meantime, we listened to music and hung out in the hotel room, until we went upstairs to meet up with Yianni, Brielle, Dana, Andres, Cara and others (including Andy) in a larger room. Yianni passed around some champagne to everyone and they all sang Happy Birthday to me.
I'd told myself that since I've always had laidback birthdays, I wanted to do something crazy this year, but in the end I just wanted to go back to Norton's. I really enjoyed it the night before, and decided that good company was all I truly wanted. I played darts with Cara, Tyler and Andres and drank some Cusqueña. It was definitely relaxed and really fun.
Afterwards, we decided to try to meet up with the rest of the group, who had gone out for a crazy night at the discotecas. We couldn't find them at Mama Africa's where we thought they were, and I wasn't really in the mood for that anyway. I wouldn't have minded staying at Norton's or trying out 7 Angelitos, but since my group was ready to head back and I couldn't find everyone else, I took a cab back with Cara, Andres and Tyler and ended my festivities at 1am. It was a bit earlier than I had planned but an amazing birthday nonetheless.
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