After two months and 12 days, a letter with lots of stamps came for Sofia. Floro picked up the correspondence from the mail box and put the letter for Sofia on a kitchen counter. Filomena saw the letter and went to look for Sofia who was upstairs making a bed.

Sofia took a knife and opened the letter. It was from Sulay, the ex boyfriend that lived in Peru. Filomena patiently wait until Sofia read the letter. Sofia was a little bit flustered. She said that he reminded her of some things she did not want to remember. But then she said there were two paragraphs that talked about Filomena’s grandson, and she proceeded to read them.

“According to what you asked me, I went to the church and asked for the little Agustinian priest Antonio. The first thing I learned is that he is now a Capuchin friar and not an Agustinian. I did not know that Catholics priest could do that. They told me that he was in charge of keeping the sanctuary, and I was brought to see him. He was very surprised to find out that his grandmother had discovered a way to reach him through me. He looked thin and had big dark circles under his eyes. I asked about his health, and he said that he suffered from nightmares, he slept little and was trying to get used to the cold weather but otherwise he was all right and learning to be a real disciple of Christ.

Antonio said that he had been helping on the celebration of San Ignacio de Loyola, patron of the village. The celebration lasts three days from July 30 to August 1st. In general, he said he had been very well and busy and to tell his grandmother that everything was fine, and he is enjoying learning how Quechuas accepted the Catholic religion and mix it with their beliefs.”

The letter was signed by Sulay. Sinfo said that it was very meaningful to her that in Quechua this name means “the one who waits”.

Filomena felt better and thought that her concerns about Antonio were now less. But she would still be worried about him having nightmares and about his health. She would like to know about that.

Sofia decided to tell Filomena about the party the little town in Peru celebrates for San Ignacio de Loyola to see if she would be glad that Antonio had some fun.

The festivity is related to the death of the patron saint who died in Rome on July 31, 1556. He was canonized by Pope Gregory XV in 1622, together with Saint Isidro Labrador, patron saint of the farmers.

A large number of neighbors and people from other villages, and even the capital, Lima, attend this party. The party starts on July 30th, the day before San Ignacio’s death, with people carrying huge candles inside the church, preceded by an officer of the ceremony. They are accompanied by a band of musicians to salute the patron saint. Then a man on horseback, another officer, comes to the main street followed by the llamas loaded with something to burn on the night before.

The animals, all adorned for the occasion, go to the square. They are accompanied by string musicians (charango, mandolin and guitar) and dancers. They all meet at the square to unload the stuff to burn. An eve mass is held that night, offered by a priest. Then the burning takes place, the square is filled with musical bands, panpipe groups and string groups. The burning concludes in a general party with lots of drinking.

The next day at dawn a “salva” of 21 shots give the respective greeting to the patron saint,
The mass of celebration is carried out this day with the presence of ceremony officers, priests, gentlemen, devotees and population in general.

After the liturgical celebration, the procession is carried out through the main street of the town. Once the procession ends at the main square, new officers of the ceremony are named for the next year. The people then move to the house of the current officer and the band begins the social dance.

The officer of the ceremony provides lunch to all those who visit. It is customary to serve the famous typical dish chuchuli broth (broth of legs) and chochoca api (chochoca porridge).

Next day, August 1st, the grand Cacharpari, or farewell banquet, is celebrated. This is the farewell to the festival. The residents greet each other by saying: “Until next year”. Many are happy and some are almost sad because of the farewell. In the afternoon people enter the church, and the end of the party is announced.

The band of music and a large number of dancers then move along the main street, the dancers go in couples making a continuous row with diverse chorography to the beat of the band.
(“Fiesta de San Ignacio de Loyola Patron de Ichuña» Recurso Turístico – Moquegua, General Sanchez Cerro, Ichuña” 2020)

Filomena was amazed with the long celebration, but she told Sofia that she had heard about the festivities of La Tirana in the North of Chile that sounded very similar. She imagined Antonio being one of the officers in these festivities.