PORTRAITS - ANDEAN CORPUS
(JUNE, 2004)
"(...) tanto veo /
que se ahíta el deseo, pues el oro /
perlas, plata y tesoro que esparcido /
cokumbro y repartido en la ancha plaza /
me ofusca, turba, embaraza (...)"
(17th century poem for the Corpus Christi celebration in Cusco)
que se ahíta el deseo, pues el oro /
perlas, plata y tesoro que esparcido /
cokumbro y repartido en la ancha plaza /
me ofusca, turba, embaraza (...)"
(17th century poem for the Corpus Christi celebration in Cusco)
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Every year, thousands of devotees gather in the Plaza de Armas of Cusco to contemplate the entrance of the Saints who come from the Cusco parishes to celebrate the Corpus Christi.
The fifteen images that get to the Plaza are the living portrait of a city that embodies religiosity in everyday life. These Saints are not inert images; on the contrary, they radiate life in this magical space without distinction between the pagan and the spiritual. |
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For eight days, the Saints are in the Cusco Cathedral discussing the life and health of the city, its inhabitants, crops, livestock, rain, sun, cold and heat. Every year, they meet the "Taytacha of the Earthquakes," and intercede for each of us. After eight days, the music of the "pututos" (sea snails) announces the farewell, and all the images return to their churches dancing on the shoulders of their devotees.
The portraits of this photographic series embody the devotees who have been stopping time and transforming this magical space every year. Each image remembers where we come from and how these daily rituals are the living memory of a culture that struggles to maintain its tradition and renew its identity. |
