Two days after Halloween, on November 2nd, the Day of the Dead is celebrated throughout Peru. This tradition, which is particularly strong in Mexico, is an important part of Latin American culture. The people of Cuzco are particularly fond of this celebration as they´re still going two days later.
Today a crowd of mainly young people carried huge coffins to the door of the second largest church in the Plaza. Once there a skeletal priest conducted a mock ceremony to the delight of the crowds.
All this under the watchful eye of a superhero standing in a niche a few feet up the front of the church. As the frenzy of the crowd grew he addressed them passionately before jumping down, grabbing two attractive girls and leading the procession down the street. It´s great to see the traffic stopped in its tracks for such antics. It reminds me of a Remembrance Day ceremony at a busy crossroads in Leeds during which noisy vehicles were permitted to completely drown out the words of those speaking. We in the UK should reclaim out streets more often!
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