17. January, a Sunday, I took a taxi to Plaza Mayor, the historical centre of Lima. Police had blocked off access to the plaza, as a big commotion seemed to be in progress. The taxi driver explained that Lima was celebrating the anniversary of the founding of the city by Francisco Pizarro on the 18th January 1535. Pizarro was not exactly a 'nice' man, as he sacked, destroyed and killed his conquistadoring route through the Pacific Coast of South America in order to enrich the Spanish crown with stolen gold. However, none of that sad history nor the long past atrocities of the Inquisition, dampened the festive mood of the Citizens.
The whole Plaza, surrounded by magnificient colonial style buildings, was alive with people watching an impressive procession making its way to the baroque cathedral. One by one, large flower adorned shrines carrying every saint imaginable, made their way through the grand portals of the church to disappear into the naves. Men and women in a large variety of traditional costumes carried the heavy platforms with their altars around the spacious plaza and with an almost superhuman effort up the cathedral's wide entrance staircases. The carved or painted Christos, Virgens and Saints were brightly coloured, some dressed in colourful cloth, decorated with huge flower arrangements and some supplemented with rather pagan looking auxiliary statues. Dancers in Peruvian Costumes from far reaching districts, and large bands preceded each altar, and the mounted statues rose above the crowd and swayed with each step.The air was filled with incense. Costumed 'ushers' kept onlookers at bay, so each group could stage a grand and noisy entrance into the holy edifice.
I wondered how so many of these 'floats' would be able to fit into the cathedral, but they all disappeared inside...dozens of them. Most of the crowd followed to attend mass. Riot Police in full gear guarded one side of the grand portal, just in case some of the woprshippers/procession participants/onlookers gave the least sign of disturbance. After all, the Governmental Palace was just across the plaza.
Most notable of Lima colonial architecture are the intricately carved and glassed in mahogany balconies. They make a sharp contrast to the ornately scultped facades of the palaces and edifices around and near the Plaza Mayor.
The day must have also been a day of celebration for a huge group of graduates, all lined up for a group photo and tossing their mortarboards in the air.
Unfortunately - time in port is not long enough to explore more than a small slice of the rich culture of Lima. There are so many museums, archeological sites, artifacts thousands of years old, priceless collections of Inca, Moche and ancient Peruvian art. There are colonial convents (some with catacombs and thousands of skeletons - if one is so inclined), churches, cathedrals, palaces...and that is just Lima. The Andean hinterland, the upper reaches of the Amazon, the Tomb of Lord Sipan, Machu Pichu, Cusco are beyond the scope a a little short visit and remain to be experienced at another time.
