Christmas in Taquile / To participate in the celebrations on this day is an unforgettable
experience. It is a mixture of religion and folklore, where the thin line between the unimaginable and the real can be crossed without one noticing it. On Christmas the groups and orchestras from the six sectors of the island rehearse and sing what they call “singing on Christmas”. They do this in the church that is located between the fair grounds where they sell textiles and the community restaurant that is under construction. Each orchestra has around 30 members among musicians and a choir. Among the instruments that are used are the organ, the guitar, bass, charango flutes and other typical instruments. All the songs are sung in Quechua. The Christmas Eve Mass is also celebrated in this language. At around noon on December 24th, the community authorities, the representatives of all the churches that are present (Catholics, Adventists), and outstanding neighbors are invited to a lunch. They gather at the communal building and
participate of the food (soups and dishes) that everybody brings. Two people from the provincial government place all the food together on a long shawl on a table so everybody can eat it. At around 12:30 noon they distribute biscuits and “panetón” , among all the members of the community that have gathered in the central square. The Mass is led by a Director, assisted by a mayordomo (pedioste) . They put up a nativity scene with patches of grass and soil taken from the earth (Pachamama or Mother Earth) itself with the help of picks and shovels. The square patches are placed on planks of wood and then the plaster and plastic figures are placed on top representing the birth of the Savior. Is the Taquile community Catholic? .The gathering that starts at around 20:00 PM is a mixture of religious festivity with customs, cocamisa (or coca mass). The people chew on coca leaves (chaccha). They exchange coca leaves among those who are present, and even the mayordomo takes part in this. He invites everyone, while the songs can be heard, groups alternate and take turns according to an order and placement already established by the ancestors. It is inter section, inter community singing, there are neither prizes nor winners. It is up to the authorities to grant, as recognition, a hug to the group that was the best according to their criteria.
Taquile, Puno, Perú, December 26, 2006,