Celebration that combines religious and cultural elements, where the faithful come to the sanctuary of Huanca to express their faith.
The "Lord of Huanca" is the image of the martyred Christ that causes great fervor and devotion among the Catholics of Cusco and Peru. Every year, in the month of September, the faithful attend the place of Huanca located about 50 km from the city of Cusco and, according to the devotees, is the place that God chose to live.
There are many stories about how God chose Huanca as His home to live among us:
The first story says that in 1675 the Marquis of Valleumbroso found a rich vein in the Yasos mine. During the Spanish invasion, the Andean natives were subjected to exploitation in different mines, and Yasos was one of those mines.
One day, Diego Quispe, who was one of the workers exploited in the Yasos mine, came out in defense of one of the miners, who was being punished, so the foreman ordered him to be locked up and gave instructions for him to be punished the next day. During the night, Diego escaped from the confinement and decided to take the road to Chinchero, for which he had to pass through the Huanca sector, but it was dawn and the day was going to betray him, so he decided to seek refuge. He found a rock that served as a kind of safe cavern where he took refuge and began to pray that he would not be found.
At night, Diego was ready to resume his course, but he realized that there was no moon and, suddenly, a surprisingly bright light shone in his face, finally, when he could distinguish, he saw Jesus Christ bleeding from the punishments he had received. Diego, almost at his side, adoring his redeemer. Jesus Christ gave a message to Diego: "Diego ... Diego ... I chose you to be a dove, dove messenger of my goodness and mercy, this place has been chosen as a volcano of love and a refreshing source of forgiveness, go to your people, show yourself to the priest, do your service and come back to me. I will be here. Leave at dawn.
In June of that same year, Diego made his first pilgrimage with a small group of people and the priest of Chinchero, arrived on the scene, Diego entered first seeing Christ who was in the cave with fresh wounds after being whipped and then called the others. So they could see the apparition.
From then on he began to worship the Lord of Huanca, who would eventually gather thousands of souls who regarded him as the father and comforter of all evil.
The rich miner Don Pedro Valero was very sick, and I had tried many doctors to diagnose your illness but with no luck. Suddenly, a foreign doctor arrives in town preceded by a great reputation, immediately Don Pedro contacted the doctor telling him to treat him no matter how much he charged.
The mysterious stranger took the call, according to the story, Don Pedro underwent a water treatment for five days, following the doctor's recommendations. After the treatment, Don Pedro recovered from his illness and was ready to put his wealth in the doctor's hands, but the doctor said: "If you want to do something for me, visit me in my house", Don Pedro went to Huanca, entered the altar and discovered that on a rock he was painting the image of his savior.
The central day of the Lord of Huanca is September 14, characterized by a massive pilgrimage of devotees.
The Señor de Huanca Sanctuary is located 48 km from Cusco, at 3100 m.a.s.l. in the district of San Salvador, province of Calca.
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