Special celebration in Cusco 17 May 2015

Sunday with Flags celebration

When I went for the Maray & Maras tour in the morning, I was led to Plaza San Francisco for tour gathering and dismissal.  At there, many troops marched with colourful flags.  I was curious what's going on.  People said that there was flag celebration on Sunday mornings.  But the gate keeper told me that there was a special event going on.

Plaza San Francisco
A couple of blocks south of the Plaza de Armas, the Plaza San Francisco has been planted entirely with Andean flora, including amaranth grain.  Here, too, is Cusco's coat of arms, featuring a castle surrounded by eight condors.  The castle represents Scsayhumán, and the emblem refers to the bloody battle fought there in 1536 as the Inca tried to defeat the Spanish conquerors.  The condors flying over the castle vividly recall the scores of flesh-eating birds that, according to legend, circled over the Inca fort as the bodies of the dead piled up.

Flanking one side of the plaza is the 16th-century church and monastery, the Iglesia de San Francisco.  Simple in comparison with other houses of worship in the city, it has an extensive collection of colonial art, including a painting - said to be one of the largest canvases in South America - showing the family tree of St Francis of Assisi.

When we came back to Cusco and dismissed from the tour, I found that it was still crowded in the plaza, stalls serving foods and beverages.

HK$2 for a glass of juice.  I tried the dark purple one, Chicha Morada, a non-fizzy drink made from boiled purple corn, apple peel, pineapple, and cloves

A large crowd enjoyed the one-man talk show

There were still many small groups around in special costumes

This friendly guy put on his mask for picture

There was parade at Plaza de Armas

 

As I had taken a picture, the little boy chased me for 1 sol.  Then, I found that cobra on the grass.

 

Lazy to go out for dinner, I just ordered soup and fried macaroni from the cafe at rooftop