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Cusco: San Cristobal neighborhood

07 May 2015 (3130 reads)

Cusco: San Cristobal neighborhood

In the north of the Inca Cusco, at the foot of the Archaeological Park of Sacsayhuaman, it is the palace of Qolqanpata, whose construction is attributed to the legendary Manco Capac, founder of the great Inca Empire and the dynasty of Urin Qosqo. Qolqanpata means place where there are deposits, this neighborhood is full of terraces from the Saphy River to Sapantiana, since these lands were considered children of the sun.

 

Before these walls, agricultural festivals were held, especially in times of planting and harvesting. Qolqanpata Palace, was built by the great Inca Pachacutec and delivered to Chima Panaca, The Panaca Maco Capac, the founder of Sacred Cusco. Qolqanpata palace became the property of Christopher Paullo Inca, who received him for services rendered to the Spanish crown. Paullo Inca was one of the first noble Incas to be baptized. It was named after his godfather, the Commissioner "Christopher" Vaca de Castro. By devotion to the saint of his name, Paullo founded a hermitage in the palace forecourt Qolqanpata, that years later, in 1560, was erected as a parish of Indians under the invocation of San Cristobal. It is said that the remains of Inca Paullo lie beneath the chancel of the church. The parish of San Cristobal had a church, a square in the front, streets and urban land guarding the Inca trace. Bordered on one side by the parish of San Blas and the other with Santa Ana. Its jurisdiction included, toward the back, to the town of Chinchero, being its first mayor Don Alonso Tito Atauchi in 1559. In 1650 a strong earthquake destroyed much of churches and homes of Cusco. The Temple of San Cristobal district was no exception. The church we see today was built after the earthquake in decades.

 

It is a temple of adobe, designed by Indian architect Marcos Uscamayta, the only tower of the temple, however, it is made of stone and was ordered built by Manuel Bishop Mollinedo and Angle, the great patron of colonial Cusco, The silver front the high altar was also donated by Bishop Mollinedo and shows his shield in the center. It stands in the square a beautiful limestone wall, which has several trapezoidal niches overlooking Cusco. In this platform start it was given to the agricultural year in time of the Incas. In 1543, Don Cristobal Paullo Inka built a chapel dedicated to Saint Christopher, and in 1559 the Lawyer Juan Polo Ondegardo the institutes in one of the five first parishes in the city of Cusco. The type of construction of Barrio San Cristobal is Celular because it has a structure similar to a honeycomb made of small polygonal limestone, the same that is kept up to date, although some houses looking remodeling, keep the architectural harmony with the neighboring houses.

 

Account Diego de Esquivel and Navia chronicler in 1703 a Dominican friar fame in pious end, Tadeo Juan Gonzales, saw the hilltop Sacsayhuaman a group of hideous devils dancing and jumping figure. This was reason for the archdeacon of the cathedral celebrated a Mass at the foot of the cross that crowns the hill in order to exorcise those demons.

 

Until the mid-twentieth century, parishes remained under had been organized in the colonial period. At that time there was an important change: the parishes of the suburbs of the city-San Blas, San Cristobal, Santa Ana and San Pedro neighborhoods were turned into the Centro Historico and became part of the Municipality of Cusco.

 

Currently the Corpus Christi San Cristobal develops the August 6 of each year, the pattern image is very impressive, has an aura of silver, beautiful face, long natural hair, the sculptor also stem dress, attitude is to do go to the Child Jesus from one bank to another, holding a bush with his right hand and the left side thereof holding the infant Jesus, while the child shows an attitude of wanting to say something. The devotees every year remember and commemorate this important day, who enthusiastically carry it on their shoulders in a particular way, because shippers are almost inclined to both the right and left side, and at the end of the festival there will only be a winning hand, and will be those who have pushed to the opposite side I have insisted that the pattern of one full turn, are back and asking the faithful to pray that the holy does not fall, as the Employer enjoys being led with such affection, and for the perception of the faithful he He smiles at them.

 

During the republic, the district held two socially distinct areas: the eastern part (of Pumacurcu), marking indigenous environment; and the western part, where the notables of the city were located.

 

In the first half of the twentieth century, the palace was owned Qolqanpata Lomellini family, one of the wealthiest in the city.

 

With old small balconies, railings and roofs that give it a picturesque look and a view that dominates the southern part of Cusco, the neighborhood has already defined its main streets: the costs of Bitterness and the streets of San Cristobal, Rainbow and Pumacurcu .

 

Like other neighborhoods of the historic center, San Cristobal remains faithful to its traditions. One of the oldest and most colorful is undoubtedly the Corpus Christi neighborhood, as seen in these images of the fifties of the last century.

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