Many tourists go to the Imperial City to participate in their festivities. For this reason, we decided to prepare an article about the main traditional dances of Cusco. Most of these dances are characterized by having a strong pre-Hispanic influence, a colorful costumes and a tradition that seeks to keep alive among tourists and residents.
The dance of the little blacks
This dance is performed in honor of the Easter of kings and Christmas because at the time of the viceroyalty slaves were given freedom from December 24 to January 6. The slaves in gratitude visited the births of the most luxurious houses. Such tradition gained more strength since December 13, 1854, when President Ramón Castilla gave them freedom.
The Ampay carnival dance
The meeting between the Spanish conquerors and the inhabitants of ancient Peru caused the birth of more than 1400 musical genres. The Ampay carnival is a dance that originated in the province of Calca, Cusco. The verses of said huayno cusqueño are in Quechua and are framed with wild flowers with the purpose of giving it a more festive and traditional touch.
The dance of Cápac Chuncho
The costumes have symbols of pre-Hispanic culture. This dance is performed on behalf of the native warriors of Kosñipata, a town located in the jungle region. Tradition tells that ch’unchu is the favorite dancer of the Virgen del Carmen. For this reason, her dancers act as guardians, accompanying her throughout the holiday.
The Ukuku dance
Legend has it that Ukuku was a huge bear who kidnapped and pregnant a village woman. She cried telling her son that she wanted to run away from the place where they had locked her up. In the Ukuku dance there are no groups, there is only one dancer dressed in a costume similar to the skin of a bear and a similar mask. which accompanies the troupes with joyful dance steps.
Dance of the merchants, Cápac Colla
Collasuyo was the merchant of the antiplane who arrived at the Antisuyo during the holidays to exchange his products. In the dance of the merchants, Cápac Colla, songs are performed in which they commemorate such an era, narrating the sacrifices that were made to greet the Virgen del Carmen, the farewell and the prayers with which they are asked to be alive during the next year .
The Goldfinches
This dance is characterized by having a roguish and elegant touch. Both men and women flirt with the music. They say singing that there are many women as intended while they respond that there is no lack of romantic proposals. This dance allows us to appreciate the passion that people feel for that special person and the mischievousness of rejecting those who ignore them.
Qanchis
The dance is headed by Apulli, which is the main authority of the town of Canchis. Love and offering are represented by two young people, who pay homage to Mother Earth or Pacha Mama. In addition, the dance is characterized by performing figures such as haykuy, napaykuy, braided, warak’a tusuy, p’asña tusuy, tawna tusuy, qollana tusuy e lluqsiy and pascalle.
Sara Pillu
The traditional dance of Cusco means “flower or corn hair”. During this dance, the men fight with the help of their warakas or slings with the purpose of thanking the pachamama for the excellent corn production that occurred in the region. Such a party was investigated in 1988 by Víctor Vásquez Vera, a renowned Jesuit brother.
