2018 Festival’s Countries- Peru

Peru is South America’s third-largest country, slightly smaller than the state of Alaska.

Peru is divided into three contrasting topographical regions and is an extremely biodiverse country with habitats ranging from the arid plains of the Pacific coastal region to the peaks of the Andes mountains and to the tropical Amazon Basin. Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world (about 12,500 feet/3,800 meters high), lies partly in Peru and partly in Bolivia.

Peruvian territory was home to ancient cultures spanning from the Norte Chico civilization in Caral, one of the oldest in the world, to the Inca Empire, the largest state in Pre-Columbian America.

Lima, its capital, included most of the South American colonies. The Peruvian population is multiethnic, including Amerindians, Europeans, Africans, and Asians. The main spoken language is Spanish, although a significant number of Peruvians speak Quechua or other native languages.

Amerindian religious traditions play a major role in the beliefs of Peruvians despite 81.3% of the population described themselves as Catholic. The majority of towns, cities, and villages have their own official church or cathedral and patron saint. Catholic festivities blend with Amerindian traditions and Amerindian festivities which were celebrated since pre-Columbian times.

This mixture of cultural traditions has resulted in a wide diversity of expressions in fields such as art, cuisine, literature, and music and made Peru the core of South America, the most sophisticated cultures on the continent. Beyond that, the cuisine alone makes it worth the trip in Peru.