Approximately 9 hours from the city of Cusco is Colorado, a town supported by mining which also celebrates the feast of the Cross.
To get to Colorado you have to take the road to Puerto Maldonado. After 7 hours, you pass through Quincemil and Mazuco and the detour called Santa Rosa. Then you take a 20 minutes ride to get to the port to cross the river in a small boat. You arrive in Puerto Carlo and then, after an hour in in the way, you get to Colorado.
Several dance troupes, bands of musicians, and a large crowd of people expected to enter the first mass of the day. The comparsas were made up of local people and invited troupes from the city of Cusco. They congregate in a single place to present traditional dances such as diablada, tinkus, Capac colla, Morenada, etc. They wait to be able to accompany the procession.
Fireworks also accompany this fiesta that begins when the cross leaves the church. With great devotion the procession travels through all the streets of Colorado with strong fervor and the great acceptance of the people.
The heat is intense and that makes the bodies sweat along with the traditional costumes of the dancers. When the procession ends, the cross gives a blessing to all the participants in this beautiful festival. All the dance troupes begin to dance one by one in an orderly fashion in the direction of the cross.
In this required act, they present the new feast sponsors called mayordomos who will hold this fiesta next year. With applause and music from the bands of musicians each troupe and guests go to their respective places to make a toast for the new mayordomos.
In a small motorized transport the food arrives for all the people who are participating in the fiesta at those homes. The main course is roasted meat with potato and sweet potato, a very clear difference from the city of Cusco. After another round of dancing, the bands begin to play and people start cheering with cold beers to fight the heat. The fiesta is not over yet and the invited groups arrive to encourage all of those present.
It is really a very beautiful fiesta that does not end in a single day.
The people of this place are very happy and very welcoming. They like to dance and sing with everyone and enjoy this extraordinary feast of the cross. This is how the feast of the cross is celebrated in a different place in Peru.
