Apu Yaya - Semana Santa en Ayacucho

After death comes the Resurrection, and Ayacucho awaits Saturday, hopeful and joyous, the triumph of God over sin and death. It’s time to live the teachings of the Master, and this is first shown in acts of solidarity with the needy. This is the “Pascua kanka” (Easter grill), a tradition, which according to some people, has been practiced for more than three centuries, and expresses the solidarity dimension of a faith received and lived. Every Easter ranchers donate cattle to the jail, the hospice, the children’s shelter, and to many others; those who have more give to the needy, so that they too may celebrate Easter with joy breaking the abstinence of Lent and the fast of Good Friday.

Ranchers take this opportunity to demonstrate their beautiful Peruvian Paso horses; they herd the cattle along the 28 de Julio Avenue, and later pass through the Main Square, before reaching their destination. Inside the Cathedral preparations intensify to complete the float of the Risen Lord and have everything ready for the Easter Vigil. At dawn on Sunday morning, a crowd of farmers come down from the Santa Ana Square to carry the float. This is the procession of the common man from the countryside, and those who reach the float first get to carry it. The procession begins with the first rays of light that