Virgen de la Candelaria

The region of Puno, in the Andean Altiplano of Southern Peru, has the most exuberant and diverse folklore of the country, a myriad of festive expressions that gathers lively musicians and dancers from around the region.
Three hundred original dances and many different festivities celebrate life each year in Puno. The most important, La Virgen de la Candelaria, a National Cultural Heritage, grants Puno the title of Folk Capital of the Americas. For 16 days the festival gathers around 200 groups of musicians and dancers, and draws thousands of people to the city. The sponsors, known as majordomos, decorate the church and streets, and pay for banquets and fireworks displays.
The main day, February 2, the Virgin is carried out from its church and then walked throughout the city in a colorful procession followed by a parade of musicians and dancers on spectacular costumes. It is a fantastic dream-like atmosphere, which you will not want to wake-up from. The main dance, “La Diablada”, the dance of the demons, shows how the highlands of Puno have captured imaginations.
http://www.losandes.com.pe/Sociedad/20091216/30988.html http://blogs.elcomercio.pe/mirate/2009/02/la-virgen-de-la-candelaria.html http://www.indiana-expedition.com/Espanol/Lugares/Candelaria.htm