Something
I can say with absolute certain is that Peruvians love to dance. They take
any and every opportunity as an excuse to dance and most of them are pretty
dang good at it. One of the schools where I work recently had an anniversary
which meant an entire week of dancing.
First of
all I would like to address what a school anniversary is because a few weeks
ago I mentioned to a friend of mine in the US that I was frustrated because
classes had been cancelled so much due to our schools anniversary and she
replied: “A school anniversary? What does that even mean?!”
Peruvians
are obsessed with celebrating anniversaries of when things were founded: Towns,
post offices, schools, health centers, government offices, and just about
anything else you can think of. To celebrate anniversaries they hold dances,
community meals, they parade around the streets with a band, and have other
various activities. When I say that Peruvians use any occasion or excuse to
dance and have fun, I really mean it.
So-for
our school´s anniversary about a week ago, there was a lot of dancing,
specifically traditional native Peruvian dances that have been around for
centuries. The kids get dressed up in native Peruvian outfits and learn the
beautiful native dances and then perform them. It´s a beautiful part of the
Peruvian culture that I really appreciate since in the US it´s rare to see the
native culture celebrated unless you are on a reservation.
Here are some photos of my adorable students in native Peruvian outfits
performing traditional dances from different parts of Peru:
No comments:
Post a Comment