Festival Blog

The Perú: Pachamama program at the 2015 Festival featured a group of traditional weavers from the Centro de Textiles Tradicionales del Cusco, including Timoteo Ccarita Sacaca, a Cusco native.

As the Perú: Pachamama program opened on the National Mall, the Peruvian Ministry of Education announced a new policy officially recognizing the alphabets of twenty-four indigenous languages.

Viento Callejero (“street breeze”) represents the youthful vigor of a renaissance of Latino dance music in communities from East L.A. to Oakland.

Causa en lapa is a mashed potato and salted fish dish commonly served during Holy Week, a time when many Catholics in Peru abstain from eating red meat.

In talking with folk artist Angel L. Callañaupa Alvares, this video gives insight about the expansive significance of Pachamama. His deep appreciation for Pachamama is ever present in his work

On the Mall, our crew built custom tiered wooden planter boxes filled with potato and quinoa plants so that Festival visitors could learn about Peruvian agricultural practices first-hand.

The Trío de Estudiantina Municipal de Ayacucho is part of a larger community ensemble that performs for fiestas, funerals, and other town events. They practice the huayno, a traditional genre with Andean roots

Imagine that you grew up in a small village in Peru and that you are very proud of your culture. You are overjoyed when the Smithsonian Folklife Festival invites you to dance and share your traditions with an American audience

Ana Ccahuin Berrocal and Ives Gálvez Huamán demonstrated one of the countless ways in which seemingly bland quinoa seeds can create delectable dishes.