The picturesque town of Puno was founded as San Carlos de Puno on 4 November 1668, is a city in Peru, and is part of the current Puno region. Old place inhabited since ancient times, first by the Pukara, then conquered by the Tiahuanaco and later by the powerful Incas, was known by the Spanish conquistadors as the «City of Gold» and is now one of the centers of the largest folk event Peru.

A frightening devil in the dance of diablada puneña
Puno is a place rich in folklore, is more unequivocally I breathed in the air, with 96 dances classified and unclassified others, expensive clothes and parties at which they manifest themselves, do not think my statement may be in doubt and it would be impossible for me (or perhaps endless) describe one by one: but I will focus on the best known and recognized: the devil.

One of the most spectacular of these dances of Collao is indeed the devil, who danced from Oruro (Bolivia) to Puno in Peru, whose costumes are very expensive. Its origin is lost in the mists of time and is a manifestation of culture mixing, at a time when the Catholic faith was «imposed» on faith Inca.

The diablada symbolizes the struggle of good, represented by the Archangel Gabriel. , With evil whose representative is Lucifer, with his wife: the Chinasupay.

The dress of the devils is colorful and includes a richly embroidered cloak. The mask is great, crowned with wavy horns, has bulging eyes and open mouth with sharp teeth, between the horns and eyes, various pests (two-headed snakes, lizards, etc.).. The Chinasupay, dressed in Indian fashion, he has in hand a trident, symbol of his high-ranking woman in the devil.

It is curious to note that both the mask and the trident, clothing and various dance steps reminiscent of the dances of the Tibetan lamas (pure coincidence no doubt for dances. That both are dancing in the maximum heights that man inhabits, and about four kilometers above sea level).

The dancer makes their entrance, called “the greeting” making huge jumps and turns synchronized. There follow a series of complicated steps, finally forming the so-called «ball» which is a spiral whose center is the «infernal court, headed by Lucifer Chinasupay and proclaimed gods and rulers of mankind.

The Archangel Gabriel embarks on a desperate race around the «ball» to destroy the forces of evil suffered by the cut infernal temptations of the seven deadly sins. Finally, the Archangel is raised in triumph and shoulders. It is a symbolic figure of Five Points and following other steps, dancing the final dance of triumph.

We can see from this demonstration the deep symbolism, where the Incas subject to the time of its creation, perhaps the devil is the Spanish conquistador, we do not really, but what is clear is that the ancient Peruvians found ways to adapt Christianity to your understanding so you can take the European beliefs to his own.