Sunday morning Mass at the Cathedral.

The Cathedral of Ayacucho which dates back to 1612 and the University of Ayacucho to its right.

Just for safety Marion received police protection prior to entering the Cathedral.
Normally we have endeavoured to get to 10.00 Mass at the Cathedral each Sunday so far and today was no exception – except for three memorable moments.

This morning on entering I spied the above sign obviously suggesting that the taking of photos is prohibited. Well, all I can say is that after one hour in the Cathedral it is obvious to all attending that a similar restriction does not hold for mobiles, or cellulars as they call them here! It is reasonably easy to see someone using a phone during Mass.
Secondly, during all our time in Peru we normally manage to hear a rendition of ‘El Condor Pasa’ at least once a day, however, today it was being played over the Cathedral’s public address system and I must admit that the Andean flute and drum group playing the tune did a mighty fine job. The haunting sound seemed to suit the place.
Finally, the one singular thing that never ceases to jolt one from one’s spiritual reverie is an extremely loud fanfare at the moment of the Consecration performed by either the military or police band right outside the front door of the Cathedral! And just for good measure this morning multiple explosions were fired off into the atmosphere , just in case the band music had not worked! For volume they easily outdid the band. After Mass I searched in vain for the guilty canons or howitzers, because the noise could not have come from anything less!

I can assure you that by the time of the required fanfare the numbers had grown appreciably.

Every Sunday in the Plaza de Armas around 11.30 the ceremonial raising of both the Peruvian flag and the flag of the District of Huamanga, together with the playing of the respective national anthems is performed. A guard of honour also plays a very important part in the proceedings.


The flag raising ceremony from a previous Sunday.

Finally, as we waited for 10.00 to arrive a separate religious procession entered the Plaza, did a lap and proceeded to another nearby church. I believe that if you stand on any street corner, in any major city of Peru, for any length of time a procession will pass. And there is a fair chance that the band music will be very similar. The Peruvians seem to love a parade.