ANDEAN CARNAVAL
¡HAKUCHU PUKLLAYMAN!
Date & Time: February 23 at 4 PM
Location: Hall of Flags, Houston Hall
Organized by: Quechua at Penn Board, Quechua Language Instructor Jesús Rivera Guzmán, and Andean Representation
The Pukllay, or Andean-Amazonian Carnaval, is a vibrant celebration of communal life that honors Pachamama (Mother Earth). This tradition embodies gratitude for abundance (puquy), the joyful expression of music, dance, and play (pukllay), and the unity and integration (tinkuy) of families, friends, and communities, whether local, rural, urban, national, or global. It also reaffirms the aspirations and shared values of these communities while preserving and strengthening the cultural, political, social, and spiritual identities of Indigenous peoples across South America. More than a festivity, the Pukllay upholds the fundamental principles of the Andean-Amazonian worldview, principles that, today, transcend geographical boundaries as Indigenous communities flourish worldwide.
Our Pukllay (Carnaval) celebration, hosted by Quechua at Penn and Andean Representation, reflects our mission to create an inclusive space for Indigenous Latine students and to preserve the language and culture of the Andean and Quechua regions. While Carnaval is widely celebrated throughout South America and the Caribbean, our event specifically honors Indigenous Andean and Quechua traditions. Join us in celebrating youth, gratitude to Pachamama, family, fertility, and the hope for an abundant harvest. The event will feature a conversation on Andean culture with Josefina Navarro & Jesús Rivera Guzmán, traditional music by Inka Rayku, dance performances, and authentic Peruvian food. More than just a celebration, this gathering is a reaffirmation of cultural resilience, a platform for Indigenous expression, and a commitment to preserving the rich traditions, languages, cultures, and values of the Andean and Quechua Peoples in the face of historical and systemic exclusion.
Co-sponsors: Campaign for Community, Penn Music Department, Wolf Humanities Center, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Penn Language Center, and the Greenfield Intercultural Center.
BOOK PRESENTATION
This event will provide an opportunity for an engaging discussion on Indigenous knowledge systems, wisdom, and understanding in Andean and Amazonian traditions.
Date & Time: March 28 at 5–7 PM
Location: McNeil 473 at 318 Locus Walk & Online via Facebook Live
In collaboration with: Quechua@penn, Penn Language Center, Andean Representation, Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies, Department of Political Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, and Mente y Lenguaje at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú.
We invite you to join us in celebrating and amplifying Indigenous voices, traditions, and knowledge systems in these special event!
QUECHUA MOVIE NIGHT
WAWQI-PANICHAYKUNA: HAKUCHU “RETABLO” QHAWAQ!
Join us for a movie night hosted by Quechua at Penn, Andean Representation, and the Lambda Alliance! We’re screening “Retablo” (2017).
This film is a Quechua-Peruvian drama about a 14-year-old boy called Segundo, an artisan trained by his father to craft religious altarpieces. As he uncovers a family secret, the film explores themes of tradition, identity, and societal expectations in the Andean highlands.
The screening will be followed by a discussion moderated by Leonardo Torres Llerena, a Quechua heritage migrant from Peru with a background in Urban Regeneration and Political Science. His research explores community self-organization and state-society relations in contexts of instability. He has worked in public and grassroots spaces, including five years at Peru’s national higher education authority and as a leader in social and environmental movements. Leonardo’s work bridges academic research and activist practice in pursuit of social and spatial justice across the Global South.
We hope to see you there!
