Noche Cultural

I don't think I've ever made the connection before that the word "cult" is in culture . . . oh, sorry, off topic. So yesterday was the huge Noche Cultural! That's where each of the 12 colleges that make up PUCP present a Peruvian cultural dance. Fransisco was in the presentation for la facultad de ciencias sociales (social sciences). I don't remember the name of the dance but it's from the Andes area of Peru and the guys all wear these big red masks that represent the devil.



Fransisco didn't think I would know which one was him. Afterward I told him it was easy, I just picked out the tallest one. Plus they took their masks off halfway through the dance, which was unbelievable. Everyone was cheering. The fans really get into it. There were balloons, war paint, flags, cheers and chants.



I thought Sociales had an amazing dance and were going to win but they ended up tying for second. Everyone was a little bummed. Even though it started about an hour late and lasted 3 hours, I had a lot of fun. The other dances were interesting, especially since I've never seen dancing like that before. Many of the teams, including Sociales, had an authentic band come in to play. At the end they tallied the points for each college based on all of the competitions held all semester long: sports like soccer, basketball, and volleyball; chess; and the baileton. The system is similar to that at Hogwarts where the 4 houses work all year long to gain the most points.