Santuranticuy | Festivals in Peru

Location: Cusco

Date: December 24

The origin of this fair dates back to the Vice-regency, and today has become one of the largest arts and crafts fairs in Peru. It is held in the main square of Cusco, where artisans lay out blankets on the sidewalks, as is the custom in traditional Andean fairs.

Santuranticuy, which means “saints for sale”, is a provisional market where image carvers and artisans sell a wide variety of figurines to liven up Christmas and fit out the Nativity scenes that are set up in homes and parish churches.

The fair also sells a variety of ceramic objects brought from Pucará and Quinua. Here one can find all sorts of arts and crafts, such as wooden carvings, pottery and the boxed scenes called retablos.

At night, street vendors sell a traditional hot and sweet rum punch called ponche, to warm up chilly visitors.