With the Peruvian nativity scene, the Vatican wishes to commemorate the two hundred years of the Independence of that country.
An Andean nativity scene with peasants, llamas and quinoa adorns St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican on the occasion of Christmas this Thursday, in a tribute to the culture and traditions of Peru.
The manger, made by the Peruvian community of Chopcca, a small town in the Andean region of Huancavelica, whose altitude varies between 3,680 and 4,500 meters and where Quechua is spoken, was installed not far from the central obelisk in the Plaza de San Pedro .
“We have brought the representation of the Peruvian community, the town of Chopcca, cultural heritage of Peru,” he told the AFP Jorge Eduardo Román Morey, Ambassador of Peru to the Holy See.
“It is the image of what an Andean Christmas is. Our Three Wise Men are characters from our Chopcca community and instead of the traditional gift they carry on a camel, they carry food with vicuñas, alpacas, and llamas ”, he explained.
The life-size characters, including the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, the Magi and the shepherds are dressed in traditional costumes and blankets woven in the Huancavelica region.
The Three Wise Men carry saddlebags with food from the region, including potatoes, quinoa, canihua or kiwicha.
Culture and identity
“The elements are very colorful because that is the iconography that is used. We wanted to reflect not only material elements but also living culture, identity: the theme of the traditions and experiences of the Huancavelicans ”, said the Peruvian architect Natalí Santana Girón, winner of the project a year ago.
The manger includes figures of Andean animals, such as alpacas, vicuñas, vizcachas – a rodent similar to a hare – and even a condor, as well as sheep and flamingos.
With the Peruvian nativity scene, the Vatican wishes to commemorate the two hundred years of the Independence of that country and illustrate from the heart of Christianity the life of the deeply Catholic Andean peoples.
“Seeing this nativity scene here, in St. Peter’s Square, in the Vatican, has the meaning of faith in Jesus, in the God who comes to meet us to help us live with joy and hope. (…) It is what the people of Peru are living, the faith in Jesus that leads them to live in a community and organized way, ”said Carlos Alberto Salcedo, bishop of the Huancavelica diocese.
Made by local artisans, known for their work in the textile sector, the colorful Andean nativity scene will be inaugurated on Friday in the course of an official ceremony with a limited audience due to the new restrictions imposed in Italy and the Vatican by the covid- 19.
“We are a whole group of artisans who have elaborated this work with enough love and affection to make known the textiles of the town of Chopcca, a group of communities of men and women who work making multicolored textiles with iconography of the area,” said Manuel Breña Martinez, who traveled to Rome for the occasion.
Along with the nativity scene will be inaugurated the Christmas tree, 28 meters high, from the Dolomites region, in northern Italy, which will be illuminated with low-consumption LED lights out of respect for the environment. (I)
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