Page 75 - Off the Tourist Trail - 1000 Unexpected Travel Alternatives (Part 1 of 2)

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FORGET SEVILLE? FESTIVALS AND PARTIES

THE BUILD-UP With its melding of
Christianity, paganism, and pleasure, Semana
Santa in Seville is both a solemn and cheerily
raucous spectacle. Penitents in long robes and
conical hoods trail behind hefty floats that are
held aloft by the faithful, while brass bands
sound a mournful lament. Spectators pray and
push and pull for the best position as the effigies
pass by. Later, they gather in bars and restaurants
to tuck into tapas and bull’s-tail stew.

THE LETDOWN An estimated one million
people visit Seville during Semana Santa, and
as a result price-gouging in the city is rampant.
The narrow streets get incredibly crowded, and
ABOVE The colorful procession of the Christ figure during spending 10–12 hours at a time on your feet,
Semana Santa in Cusco, Peru
caught up in processions, isn’t unusual. It’s
noisy, busy, and tiring, and everyone is forcibly
Semana garland of ñucchu flowers, comb his hair, anoint vying for the best view.

him with perfume, and dress him up in jewels, GOING ANYWAY? Pick up a leaflet specifying
Santa, Cusco while small choirs, known as chayñas or jilgueras, the departure times and the routes of the pasos
(processions), and then stake out your vantage
sing out in Quechua, the language of the Inca.
At 3pm, church bells announce Christ’s
vs Semana Santa, departure from the cathedral, the city’s colonial point early. Navigating the streets at this time
can be painfully slow, so be patient and not
pushy. Book your hotel well ahead of your trip.
Seville shrine, which is built on top of Inca foundations. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes.
The enormous effigy is then paraded through the
streets, just as the mummies of Inca rulers were
The ancient Inca capital’s atmospheric Easter centuries ago. Legend has it that in 1650, when the
sacred relic was first borne through the town, it
celebrations rival Seville’s robed cavalcade
brought to an end a devastating earthquake, and
ever since then the figure has been known as El
Señor de los Temblores (Lord of the Earthquakes).
NEED TO KNOW
Cusco is unshakably Andean in its devotion,
LOCATION Cusco is located $0-0.#*" with a liberal dash of Catholicism. Crimson ñucchu
685 miles (1,100 km) southeast
&$6"%03
of the Peruvian capital, Lima, flowers, once an offering to the Inca gods but now
and 11,000 ft (3,400 m) above symbolizing the blood of a Christian divinity, rain ABOVE A packed street in Seville, Spain, during a Semana
sea level Santa procession
#3";*- down on the procession from balconies, and fiery
WHEN Cusco’s Semana
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Santa celebrations take place 1&36 garlands flank the dark Christ on his swaying silver
in the week before Easter dais. Tapestries of colored petals depicting sacred
-JNB
VISITORS PER $64$0 icons pave the streets, and firecrackers herald the
YEAR 1BDJmD
Around 700,000 0DFBO "SFRVJQB #0-*7*" Christ figure’s approach. At 7pm the bells ring out PRACTICAL INFORMATION
again and devotees fall to their knees in the Plaza de
Armas, the city’s main square, as El Señor returns to Getting There and Around Where to Stay
Forget the gigantic floats and hooded penitents the cathedral, gracefully bowing three times before Aeropuerto Alejandro Velasco Try the cozy and traditional
for which Seville’s Semana Santa is famous. Picture retreating and closing the door on another year. Astete is 3 miles (5 km) from the Casa Andina Private Collection
instead the streets of Cusco, filled with hundreds of Thousands of pilgrims from remote mountain center of Cusco. Only use official (www.casa-andina.com).
taxis to travel from here to the
diminutive Andean devotees dressed in vibrant villages flock to Cusco for this vibrant, stirring Daytime Temperature
city. Walking is the best way to 70°F (21°C) during
fabrics, the women with long black plaits cascading event, which continues for the rest of Holy Week get around Cusco itself. Semana Santa.
from saucer-like red hats, hailing the city’s protector, with smaller religious processions, ceremonies, and
Where to Eat Budget per Day for Two
a black Christ. It’s a colorful, charming scene. reenactments from the Bible. Local food looms large Cusco has an excellent range of US$120 including food,
Unlike Seville, where Good Friday is the focus of at this time. Stalls dispensing sweet empanadas and places to eat, from casual cafés accommodations, and
the festival, Holy Monday is the highlight in Cusco. corn bread invade the Plaza de Armas, and on Holy to upmarket restaurants. La transportation.
Cicciolina (tel. +51 84 239 510)
At dawn in the city’s cathedral, servidores (servants) Thursday, families traditionally gather to share 12 Website
has a laid-back tapas bar and
prepare a figure of Christ on the cross for the main dishes – representing the 12 apostles – of potatoes, upscale dining room. www.peru.info
procession. They replace his crown of thorns with a seafood, tarwi (Andean lupine) and llullucha (algae).

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