People are getting ready to start new directions. Some people decide to leave behind the old year in different cities of Peru while others decide to travel to different countries to receive the new year.
Cábalas, auguries, come and cábalas go. People practice different cábalas for their home. The color yellow is part of the new year. It is the cábala of the vast majority of people.
This color represents family harmony. That is why all the people of Cusco including me, use this color in confetti, and in crepe paper necklaces or more things that are change with the passage of time.
The ovens do not stop heating. The daily bread that they make now is in the past, while the famous bakers fill their ovens with delicious and juicy trays for New Year’s feasts. They also fill their pockets with money.
Rich flavors and scents appear as all over. Here it smells like roast pork while there like turkey. These are the most used consumed dishes in the city for the New Year. I forgot to mention the famous tawachakis (four feet or guinea pigs). These rodents are seasoned by the magical herb called huacatay. It is amazing the flavor that springs forth when it goes to the oven. It has a pleasant and indescribable aroma. All these dishes mentioned enrich and feed the palates of Cusco.
Small round spheres in different colors—green, pink and purple—decorate the rooms of houses tonight. These grapes are inevitable. They are also one of the many cábalas that are used in the New Year’s party. There are twelve grapes per person. At twelve midnight people delight one grape after another by making a wish silently.
Drinks are omnipresent to ring in the new year. There is champagne, wine,and beer on the tables. When the clock strikes twelve, the first toast is made, either with wine or champagne. New year’s parties are then closed with beer. It is the tradition.
