My Travels In Peru

Halloween in Arequipa

The fact that Halloween is celebrated in this city says a lot about the spread of American culture throughout the world. Seeing it celebrated here makes me think, "Where did Halloween originate anyways?" It's not known for sure, but it wasn't in the U.S., where Halloween was unknown until the early 20th century. Its earliest mention dates to the 16th century, in Shakespeare's the Two Gentlemen of Verona. The phrase he used was 'like a beggar at Hallowmas', which suggests a tradition of begging on the eve of the day of blessings, known as All Saints Day, celebrated throughout the Christian world on November 1. Halloween, or Hallow Eve, is thus celebrated on October 31, the evening before All Saints Day. It is interesting how celebrating the evening of religious holidays was just as important as celebrating the very day – for example, Christmas Eve.

In Peru, it has become a three-day celebration: Halloween, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day. I have never thought about it this way before, but it's a celebration for the dead that have already been blessed and those who still await their turn. In this context, it's understandable that we didn't see any begging, or much trick-or-treating, in Arequipa. Instead, we saw entire families celebrating the beginning of two days of blessings – an evening of merrymaking in the company of friends and family.

The social point of the city is its main square, known as Plaza de Armas. Laid out by the city founders in 1540, it's the size of an entire city block. The cathedral sits majestic on its northern side and two-story colonial-era buildings adorn the other three. Each of these palaces has arches and columns creating a long portico that shelter people from the rain. Originally built to house the administrative and military functions of the city, today the buildings are used for offices, stores, restaurants, and the hotel we're staying in. From the second floor gallery, where we sit daily for breakfast and afternoon tea, we have a spectacular view of the square. Tonight, being Halloween, we sip drinks here, while enjoying the spectacle of colour that unfolds in front of us.

It would only be a slight exaggeration to say that everyone in the square is wearing a costume, or at the very least a mask. The costumes are colourful; some are very elaborate and look quite expensive. Perhaps they reuse them. Those that make it into my camera's memory chip include: two men dressed as roman soldiers, holding a shield in one hand and a sword in the other; a toddler dressed as the devil in a red jumpsuit, wearing a red toque with red horns attached to it, and holding a red plastic trident; a voluptuous young woman with a seductive smile, wearing a batwoman costume; a tall and slim young man dressed as a bullfighter, in an authentic red costume – he looks like he could be a real bullfighter; a young couple with faces and hands painted black, wearing Dixieland costumes; and three young men dressed as the three horsemen of the apocalypse. There are many others that catch our attention, such as pirates and robots, not to mention witches and warlocks.

The square is always full of people, some arrive, while others leave; there is always a constant flow. As the night progresses the demographics change. Initially it was mostly families with children, but now it's mostly young people. Although we're not dressed for the occasion, we go down to the square and walk around. Surprisingly, many youngsters stop to talk to us in English and to have their pictures taken: by not wearing costumes, we're the most visible and attract the attention of the curious. It's fun. Rather than being observers from the second floor balcony, we're participants. It feels good!