THE TRADITIONAL FEAST Contemporary Andean festivals have their historical roots in the great pre-Columbian ceremonies that partially survived Spanish colonization. The Colonial religious authorities adapted these ceremonies to Baroque culture brought from Spain in the early seventeenth century. The common thread between the two cultural expressions was the goal of expressing authority through a show of performance, and to use the show as an instrument of education and power. It is impossible to list the number of festivals taking place in Peru every year. Each day sees no less than ten patron saint feasts in different parts of the country. The ideal of creating a permanent calendar is also made difficult by the constant variation in dates and holy images, illustrating the astonishing vitality of Andean religion. A superficial observation of Andean town life reveals a ceremonial calendar that runs parallel to the civic rituals dictated by the capital city of Lima. Marches and parades in honor of the country or on days celebrating parents, teachers or the like, are entries on the official calendar. Patron saint celebrations, or a town's anniversary, and other festivals that are religious and thus universal in nature, have a depth of meaning distinct from patriotic ephemera. For example, the Feast of the Crosses, celebrated throughout the country, is the occasion for each town to retrieve the cross that crowns its nearest mountain and take it to church so that the priest's blessing can renew the energy of the sacred wood and reaffirm its mission of protecting its community. The same could be said of Carnival, yet its universal nature does not impede the peculiar manner in which it is celebrated in the Andes, quite different than in Brazil or the Caribbean. Carnival takes place as the planned crops begin to sprout, encouraged by the rains that begin in December. It is a time of celebration and change from the weary pace of an agricultural society; it runs February into an explosion of sound and color that stirs Andean communities. Organizing a festival is a serious affair which involves specific actions and duties. The individuals chosen for the job assume their responsibilities at the moment the current festivities end. In doing so, they assume diverse titles that differ with each region: majordomo, members of the feast commission, standard-bearers, etc. Their tasks are generally related to those of the brotherhoods committed to protect the patron saints' holy images in each town. Those who fill these posts will be responsible for the processions, dance troupes, choreographies, musical groups, and fireworks that will make for an unforgettable show. At the same time, food and drink must flow in generous proportions, always competing with the previous year's celebrations. The community will be highly attuned to the success or failure of the festival commission as compared to the previous year's event. So there is some competitive anxiety and a real fear of carrying the burden of failure. It must not be said that one regional festival is more important than another. However, the upsurge in popularity of one (such as the Feast of Qoyllur Ritt'i, near Cusco) can somewhat cloud the importance of others that are no less spectacular but draw fewer tourists, such as the Feast of the Captive Lord of Ayabaca or for the Virgin of the Door in Otuzco. The celebrations born in Colonial Lima have not only attained great importance; they also continue to expand the worship of their holy images throughout the nation. This is the case of the Señor de los Milagros, or the Lord of Miracles, a crucifixion scene painted on a wall in the seventeenth century by a Negro slave and venerated today throughout Peru. In October, this image in procession not only packs the street of Lima, but also rouses sufficient fervor in the provinces that other processions are held with reproductions of the image. "The Purple Christ", so named for the color of its robes, parades in the company of the Virgin of the Cloud, whose veneration dates from 1969, when her miraculous intervention restored the health of the bishop o Quito, Sancho de Andrade y Figueroa. She is patroness of Cuenca, Ecuador, where other acts of her divine intervention are also quite notable. The Lord of Miracles procession draws over two million people, who flock to see him from every corner of the country. In the last few years, on some days, the litters carrying the images have also been transported by car to the outlying districts of the capital city. The festival has become a national event from which no political figure can be absent; the president of Peru and the mayor of Lima often accompany the archbishop in official celebrations. Something quite similar can be said of the Feast of Santa Rosa de Lima, celebrated on August 30. This saint's original name was Isabel Flores de Oliva and she was canonized in the seventeenth century after a short life of 31 years full of miracles and sacrifices. Her festival is solemnly celebrated in the basilica dedicated to her, near Lima downtown, but part of it built over what was her parent's home. There are also other celebrations in her honor throughout the country. One of the most famous take place at Quives, in the Chillon River valley, only a few kilometers from Lima. Rosa spent several years of her childhood there and was confirmed by Lima's archbishop Toribio de Mogrovejo, who was later canonized as well. The church and chapel where Santa Rosa worshipped have been rebuilt in an imaginative manner. They have become a highly important pilgrimage site and are the scene of a large festival every August 30 and 31. The celebrations are repeated in various parts of the country and in the central Andes are notable for their elaborately costumed dancers and the accompanying, dramatic reenactments of the capture and murder of the Inca Atahualpa. It is difficult to find one model of festival that is repeated throughout Peru. The most notable similarities occur in rural areas and are generally related to the veneration of the Earth (Pachamama) or to agricultural and livestock celebrations. Festivals devoted to fertility and the hope of rain can also have similar characteristics in different parts of Peru, even though they might be devoted to different saints, or to Christ of the Virgin Mary. These festivals have a long history, with many contributions and imprints from the Christian faith, but at their heart they reveal the undeniable relationship of the Andean people with the natural surroundings that give them life and hope.