Stories: Peru Artistic Travel

The Smithsonian Institution hosts an annual Folklife Festival in Washington DC, with the spotlight turning to Peru this year as the theme of the event. Held outdoors on the National Mall in Washington DC from June 24-28 and July 1-5, the festival delivers a program that showcases contemporary living and cultural traditions. Entitled Perú Pachamama, the 2015 activities draw their inspiration from across Peru to celebrate and promote its rich heritage with many performers and artisans traveling from Peru to the United States to participate in the festival. The line-up is exciting and diverse, highly recommended as much for those who have been to Peru before as those looking for their first introduction to the culture. Held every summer since its inception in 1967, the festival serves as “model of a research-based presentation of contemporary living cultural traditions”, using the research work of many folklorists, anthropologists and other scholars. The festival traditionally focuses on a nation, region or state--with Peru’s turn now in 2015. The festival is not only a cultural and educational experience but it even directly lead to the development of the UNESCO’s 2003 International Convention on the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Festival co-curator, Olivia Cadaval, has commented in preparation for this year’s event that, “Peru is a country steeped in millennial traditions, but we are exploring how today’s traditions are deeply contemporary. Our challenge is to capture and present the creative tensions between tradition and modernity and the threads of connectivity between the different environments and communities.” One of the many goals of the festival is to present and preserve community-based traditions while creating an interactive environment that delivers a message through main themes. By empowering local and regional tradition-bearers and their communities, the festival helps create and conserve cultural resources. THE FESTIVAL PROGRAM: WHAT TO