It’s carnival time in Cajamarca!!

…a period of song, dance and water fights. This carnival is known to be the most wild in the country and perhaps the second most famous on the continent after the one that takes place in Brazil. Whether a sunny day or not, dressing for rain would be a very good idea – expect to br drenched in buckets of water.

To the people of Cajamarca, carnaval is the most important time of the year. Christmas, birthdays, Easter, independence day all pale in comparison… it’s on everyone’s mind year long, and the days are counted down agonizingly slowly.

Cajamarca’s carnival songs are a particular hallmark of the event and are usually extremely risqué, very funny and sung to pleasant simple melodies. These songs are listened to year-round by locals looking forward to the next carnival season.

I couldn’t possibly leave the city without buying some CDs of the most popular songs, including one CD from the famous Grupo Pallay.

Here’s a sample…

Tags: cajamarca, carnival, dances, grupo pallay, music