《行前準備‧節慶篇》南美洲重要慶典 Festivals and Events in South America in 2008

2008年2月26日 星期二

由於我是一個愛湊熱鬧的人，還有總是ㄧ心幻想能在異國參加當地慶典，甚至跟著當地人在街上跳著民俗舞蹈，所以這次去南美洲想當然耳一定要好好查一下旅行的那幾個月有何特殊節慶可以參一腳。

以下就是我列出來的幾個 events from March to May 2008。如果大家對其他時間的節慶有興趣，可以利用 iExplore , WhatsonWhen and TravelMax三個網站來查詢。不過奇怪的是有時後我發現不同的網站寫的 event 時間會不一樣，目前還不知如何查到最具公信力的答案。 另外還意外找到一個可以查全世界各地關於 wine 的 events 網站 LocalWineEvents.com，可以試試喔！

1. Events in Peru:

• Ica Wine Festival 3/01/2008 - 3/31/2008 (07 Mar 2008 - 16 Mar 2008 有的網站取這段期間)
  Ica, Peru In the Ica Valley, near the coast, conditions are just right for vines, although most of the product goes to the making of pisco, the famous Peruvian grape brandy. Ica celebrates the abundance of the harvest with processions, fairs, music concerts and parties. Everyone joins in with the popular African-influenced dance of the coastal regions, the "festejo". The biggest single event of the festival is the election of the Wine Queen and her hand maidens. The winners of the pageant are required to tread grapes in a large vat. Special feast-time sweets accompanied by a glass or two of pisco also form an integral part of the occasion.
  




• Holy Week in Ayacucho, Peru 3/16/2008 - 3/23/2008
  Easter week, or "Semana Santa" is celebrated with religious processions in Lima and practically every other town and city of Peru. In the Andean towns, Easter is celebrated with particular fervour and nowhere more so than in Ayacucho. This highland city portrays the passion, death and resurrection of Christ with an incredible intensity, beginning with the arrival of Jesus on a donkey. Images and effigies of the Virgin Mary and Saint John are paraded in processions through streets carpeted with flowers, to meet with the image of Christ on the main square. On Good Friday, a cavalcade begins at dusk, with the images borne in a solemn procession, on biers decorated with white roses. Participants are dressed in mourning attire and carry candles through the darkened streets. The main bier is an inspiring site with thousands of candles. A long sermon follows on the Saturday, while Sunday gives way to more festive celebrations as Christ is resurrected, and carried once more through the streets.
  
  
• Lord of the Earthquakes in Cusco, Peru 3/24/2008 (有的網站是寫 3/17/2008)
  Pre-Inca traditions and beliefs mingle with Catholic worship in this popular celebration based on a miracle. In 1650, an oil painting of Christ on the cross is believed to have overcome the terrible destructive power of an earthquake. Since that date, the indigenous local people have paid homage to the image of "Taitacha Temblores", a mixed Quechua and Spanish title meaning Lord of the Earthquakes. Coming at the end of Semana Santa on Easter Monday, this is a colourful event which takes place partly in Cusco Cathedral, built on the site of the Inca creator-god, Viracocha. Here, the smoke-blackened image is kept, to be paraded through the streets wearing a crimson crown of flowers . (Photo from Annual Events in Cusco)
  

2. Events in Chile:

• Easter (Semana Santa) Various, Chile 3/16/2008 - 3/23/2008
  Semana Santa, or Holy Week, is an important time throughout Latin America, with religious ceremonies and processions taking place throughout the week from Palm Sunday through until Easter Sunday itself. On each day there are specific rituals and processions through the streets. Participants often go on their knees or carry large wooden crosses. In Chile the tradition of "Cuasimodo" extends a week beyond Easter, in popular celebrations that derive from the time when parish priests made their post-Easter rounds accompanied by armed cowboy bodyguards. Also known as "Correr a Cristo", or Running to Christ, the day-long celebration involves a mass, followed by a procession in which the parish priest is drawn in a decorated carriage accompanied by mounted cowboys, bicycles, carts, and crowds of shouting people. The procession careers through the streets stopping only to enjoy copious amounts of food, drink and music.
  
  
• Fiesta de Cuasimodo in Chile 30 Mar 2008 (various dates)
  The peculiarly-named popular religious feast-cum-equestrian-display Fiesta de Cuasimodo is celebrated on the Sunday after Easter Sunday throughout many parts of Chile, particularly in urban areas and around Santiago. The basic idea is that knights, dressed in full and colourful attire, gather outside the local church and escort the priest on his tour to give the Eucharist to the infirm and dying throughout the area.
  
  The apparent historical basis of this ritual is that the criminal and the disenfranchised used to assault the priest to steal his ornaments and valuable goodies. An escort of armed knights was necessary to ensure that God's man could perform his sacred duties undisturbed by the criminals (and the poor and starving) of the Earth. Though there is rather less risk of interference these days, the ceremony still takes place with annual regularity, a fond leftover from more colonial times. (photo form Fiesta de Cuasimodo)



• Celebration of Wine Chile (IV Celebration of Wine in Pirque) 2008 Apr 04, 2008 (Fri) - Apr 06, 2008 (Sun)
  Located in the Valley of the High Maipo it looks for to summon thus on 15,000 visitors and to surpass the achieveed successes the previous years.
  The direction of the event focuses national and foreign consumers, Tourists, Industralists, companies and to the Vitivinícola industry in general; reason why your participation will be pretty important.
  The Celebration emphasis in reinforcing the vision of the commune of Pirque like “the Capital of Wine”, Cradle of Traditions and Vitivinícola Culture. It is by that we invited you to be contributor of this great event that will convocate to the most important vines of the country and foreigners.
  The event will take place the days 4, 5 and 6 of next April, in Vicente Huidobro’s park, where the Average Municipal Moon is located that has an extension of 18 hectares and counts full-featured and required services.
  Parallelly, related activities in the Pavilion of wine will be made.
  

3. Events in Blovia:
Festival of the "Gran Poder" La Paz, Bolivia 5/01/2007 - 6/30/2007
The biggest street party in La Paz is a religious festival with a carnival feel. The "Festividad del Senor del Gran Poder", the festival of the All-Powerful, stems from a cult that developed around a painting of the Trinity of the early 17th century. The second person in the painting represents Christ depicted with native features. From the 1930s, street processions began, headed up by an image of a dusky Christ carried on a ceremonial bier. Nowadays the event has a strong folkloric element, with more than 50 "brotherhoods" contributing costumed participants, adopting varied themes such as Incas, conquistadors, colonialists and so on. Thousands of dancers follow the parade, their voluminous skirts twirling along the way. Eating and drinking plays a prominent role in the day's celebrations. Pinning down the date of Gran Poder can be problematic: this is a moveable feast of the people. (Photo from stephanie-sas' photostream)

4. Events in Argentina

• Buenos Aires Book Fair in Buenos Aires, Argentina 4/16/2007 - 5/07/2007
  This is one of the most important cultural and publishing events in Latin America, bringing together publishers, writers, authors, booksellers, distributors, scientists, and teachers from around the world. Indeed, it is the largest fair of its type in the Spanish-speaking world, attracting well over a million readers to its pavilions. Of these, more than 8,000 are book professionals, here to participate in the excellent business opportunity offered by a vast number of national and international titles at the most competitive prices in the market. International meetings, seminars, debates and discussions form an important part of the fair. Subjects from poetry to cooking come within the overall scope, which follows a different theme each year. Activities for children and young adults ensure that the appeal is widened as far as possible. The first four days of the fair are normally reserved for professionals.
  
  
• Buenos Aires Independent International Film Festival 4/01/2008 - 4/30/2008 Buenos Aires, Argentina Argentina - as well as several other countries in Latin America - produces excellent movies, and has done for many years. The fact that they are only recently coming to the attention of wider European audiences owes much to the work of festivals such as this one. The Buenos Aires Independent International Film Festival (BA FICI) is a young, exciting event which has attracted international recognition for its positive programming, concentrating on quality productions with an emphasis on director-driven films. The work of new directors is also highlighted, helping to develop the national output. The festival is competitive, and prizes are awarded in various categories. It also encourages filmmakers and professionals from around the world to participate in workshops and debates.