Peru is an eminently catholic nation. It is because of this that in cities where the rhythm of urban life turns men into slaves of routine and in the smaller towns, of a people with hands furrowed through working the land, a different atmosphere prevails on the days when the life, passion and death of Jesus Christ are relived.

Holy Week is one of the religious dates venerated in Peru with great devotion. Processions, carpets of flowers, an aroma of incense, sorrowing hearts, slow paces, grief-stricken by the death of Jesus, temples alight with candles welcoming devotees begging pardon for their sins, are but a few of the scenes reproduced in every corner of the nation.

And yet the celebration also abounds in unique features, typical to a nation where western and Andean blend and merge; and it this merge that gives the Holy Week such a special aspect...the procession slowly advances; suddenly the bier bends forward in a sign of greeting. In the distance, a peasant, eyes a brim with tears, looks on and crosses himself. The green flow of coca showing on his lips.

Easter Week represents the peak of religious sentiment for the people of the Andes. The departmental capital of Ayacucho, San Cristóbal de Huamanga, located in the central Andes at an altitude of 2,761 meters above sea level, celebrates one of the most intense portrayals of the passion, death and resurrection of Christ.

The week starts out with the entry of Jesus into the city riding on a donkey. On Wednesday, the images of the Virgin Mary and Saint John are paraded in fervent processions through streets carpeted with flower petals until they meet up with the litter bearing the image of Christ, whom they "greet" in the main square. On the evening of Holy Friday, the lights of the city wink out to give way to the Christ of Calvary. The image sets out from the Monastery of Santa Clara in a procession through the streets on a litter strewn with white roses, followed by the grieving Virgin Mary and lines of men and women strictly dressed in mourning bearing lit candles. The litter, which features thousands of white candles, is simply magnificent.

The litter is then accompanied with prayers and songs throughout the night until the three-hour sermon is delivered on Saturday. After days of grieving, Resurrection Sunday takes on a festive air, Christ is resurrected and appears once more on his litter and is carried through the streets.