Peru / Bolivia
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RETHINKING THE ANDEAN FIESTA IN CUIR FOLKLORIC TIMES Enzo E. Vasquez Toral
The patron-saint fiesta is an iconic cultural expression that encompasses what we traditionally understand as folklore in the Andes. Bringing together the ritual aspects of danzas (dance-dramas) and Catholic devotion in the form of masses and processions, fiestas are also performative reminders of the colonial past of this region.1 Perhaps, danzas stand as most significant reenactments of the past, as societal roles and history are staged and embodied through performance. Broadly understood, danzas are costumed —and sometimes masked— ritual dance-dramas composed of different characters who perform to a song for long periods of time in a particular space, parade route and/or choreography. As anthropologist Zoila Mendoza has noted, danza performance has been “a site of confrontation and identity negotiation” since colonial times, and when introduced to the space of Catholic celebrations, they stood as “expressive forms of subordinated groups,” converting danzas and
fiestas as spaces that have shaped personal and community identities beyond the space and time of celebration.2 Despite the possibilities of insubordination that danza performance affords, most fiestas are grounded in local prestige and patriarchal ruling. For instance, fiesta organisers are usually men who act as gatekeepers of tradition and who only in certain cases allow women to take on greater participation.3 However, what has greatly escaped our purview of the fiesta is that over the past decades it has not only been women but also gay men and trans women who have also sought to carve a space for themselves.4 If gender and sexuality are defining and conflictual forces in the Andean fiesta, how can we rethink it at a time when its patriarchal ruling and Catholic rituals have been in contact with gender and sexual non-normativity? In this article I highlight some of the contributions of local gay and trans artists in patron-saint fiestas in Peru and Bolivia.