A Bit About Peru: Parties

In an email to a friend in the states, Becca realized she needed to explain a couple of things about her life in Peru and so began a series of informative pieces about Becca’s life in Peru.

She wrote:

A Bit About Peru: Parties

From what I gather, there are two primary types of parties, the first being a formal engagement to celebrate a community-wide event or holiday, and the second to celebrate a more personal event like a birthday, funeral, or marriage.

The Stages of a Typical Formal Party in Cruz del Medano:

1.  Everyone gathers in the party area but nothing really happens until 30-60 minutes after the official start time. Note that gathering means there is a decorated tent with chairs arranged in a U-shape in the front for the "VIPs" such as the mayor, heads of various offices, police, teachers, and other authorities. Everyone else gathers in a crowd facing the VIP section.

2.   When the party starts there is an announcer on a huge sound system (we're talking 30-40 speakers) who announces the event, the purpose, all of the VIPs and profusely thanks God and all the saints for everything under the sun. Often there's a short prayer.

3.   Singing of the National anthem.

4.   At a minimum 5 people make long speeches thanking God and all the saints.

5.   The speaker makes another long speech thanking God and all the saints as drinks are passed out and there's a toast

6.   Food is served first to the VIPs and then to everyone else. Everyone who receives food is expected to dig in but it is acceptable to bring a bag and take your food home with you.

7.   Beer bottles are handed out and drinking circles* begin. Then comes the other alcohol drinks; chicha (fermented corn drink) and sometimes pisco, whiskey, and jonki (grain alcohol). Everyone drinks. [At this point and after, it's acceptable to duck out and go home]

8.   Dancing and a general good time

Note that the whole process if you stay for 1-2 dances takes about 2-3 hours but can last for days.

A typical non-formal party will include many similar aspects but in a less formal manner (shocker):

The Stages of a Typical Non-Formal Party in Cruz del Medano:

1.  Everyone gathers in the party area (a large, decorated tent set up in the street in front of the house) and things slowly get started. Rather than a VIP section, there is usually a table for the person being celebrated and their family near a large table for decorations and the cakes that people take photos in front of.

2.  Sometimes there is an announcer or entertainer and sometimes there isn’t, either way there is a sound system equal in sheer force to that of a formal party.

3.  The music starts early but people usually don’t start dancing for quite a while, leaving a lot of time to sit around the outside of the tent and stare at each other.

4.  Food is served first to the family and close friends and then to everyone else. Everyone who receives food is expected to dig in but it is acceptable to bring a bag and take your food home with you.

5.  Beer bottles are handed out and drinking circles* begin. Sometimes there is also chicha, whiskey, or jonki. Everyone drinks.

6.   At a minimum the guest of honor and their family will make speeches thanking God and all the saints. At some parties there are speeches long into the night, at others there are very few.

7.   Dancing and a general good time

* Drinking Circle: A large bottle of beer is passed around a circle of typically 5-6 men, though women are sometimes included. There is one glass. The process is you pour yourself a glass, offer the bottle to the next person who accepts and holds it while you drink (chug) your glass which you then shake out and hand off to the bottle holder, they repeat the action. From what I can tell, drinking circles go on forever, I think there is a drinking circle from 1968 still happening on my street.

***This is clearly only the perspective of one volunteer in one area of Peru, Becca doesn’t claim to know everything, or even anything really...