Christmas in Cusco
MERRY CHRISTMAS IN CUSCO
SANTURANTIKUY
It is a traditional celebration in Cusco, for years a tradition has been followed that is the beginning of the Christmas festivities in Cusco the Santurantikuy, which is a traditional fair of artisans and local people from the farthest part of Cusco bring their handcrafted pieces accompany the Cusco nativity scenes that are armed in small natural mangers adorned with native flora that is brought from far away by the brothers from the field, the ornaments that are acquired at the fair are small animals of all species and any miniature that fits the births. The imagery area is very crowded where dresses for the Infant Jesus are sold in all sizes, styles and colors. Along with this area the sale of candles.
The Cusco people of the time adopted the concept of the Niño Manuelito as their own in such a way that they dressed him as an Inca king, this practice started from the Jesuits and unleashed indignation in the Catholic Church. Today, Niño Manuelito continues to be a figure of their own and beloved for the people of Cusco, especially at Christmas time.
As in ancient times, every December 24 the Santurantikuy craft fair is held in the Plaza Mayor of Cusco, in whose sidewalks the artists spread their blankets with their products, following the custom of the traditional Andean fairs. Santurantikuy (or Santuranticuy) is much more than a place where you can find everything you need for Nativity scenes and artistic products of great quality and originality, the Cusco spirit, tradition, culture, art and devotion. Local people from the farthest part of Cusco come up to this fair transporting the wild, ferns, straw, mosses and flowers that the people of Cusco will buy to decorate the nativity scene for Christmas, the oldest review with a reference to Santurantikuy dates from 1834, is a Spanish creation from the colonial era, imposed in order to evangelize the indigenous Peruvians, because as its name says, images of Catholic Saints have been sold since ancient times on the stairs of the Cathedral of Cusco. The Cusco people of the time adopted the concept of the Niño Manuelito as their own in such a way that they dressed him as an Inca king, this practice started from the Jesuits and unleashed indignation in the Catholic Church. Today, Niño Manuelito continues to be a figure of their own and beloved for the people of Cusco, especially at Christmas time.
Families will gather to celebrate Christmas, many with nostalgia for having lost a loved one or a job due to the pandemic, it will be a different Christmas for having lost work and for the economic crisis in which we find ourselves.
