Massive Parade to support traditional “diablada” dance in Puno, Peru

August 24, 2009

According to digital Peruvian media, a massive parade will take place in Puno, Peru, on Saturday, august 22nd, to commemorate and defend the authenticity of the traditional “Diablada” dance (means “the Devil’s dance”), a cultural feature claimed to having been born in the Peruvian Andean city of Puno and celebrated for centuries, along several of the Andean countries.

As august 22 is World’s Folklore Day and Puno is considered the folklore capital of Peru, the occasion becomes adequate to put on display a fascinating and massive event where more than 400 artists in the utmost colorful costumes will fill the streets of Puno and frantically dance their way into Puno’s central square.

The Diablada stages the struggle between Good and Evil.  Good is represented by Archangel Saint Michael; while evil is represented by hundreds of mask bearing “demons” who represent the seven “deadly sins”.

This dance was declared a cultural Heritage for Peru in 2003 and is one of the most elaborate and color filled cultural representations of the Andean cultures.  These events, deeply rooted in the local communities, lure hundreds of visitors from other parts of Peru, as well as foreign tourists who come to admire these expressions of ancestral culture, of which the entire Andean region, and certainly Peru have a formidable richness and variety.