Week of Preschool Education

Last week was the Week of Preschool Education in honor of the 78th anniversary of preschool education in Cajamarca. Nowadays, three years of nursery school (from age two to age five) are part of compulsory education in Peru. Through the Wiñaq Muhu project, Warmayllu works with six nursery schools in the environs of Cajamarca. The project aims to improve the access of under six-year-old boys and girls to an intercultural preschool education and promotes the acquisition of skills that have practical relevance in rural underprivileged areas.

The festivities started off with a parade around the Central Square on Sunday morning. Several hundred preschool teachers and other professionals in education took part. To celebrate the Andean cultural heritage, the Warmayllu group dressed up in shalés, a typical campesina outfit. Our guest star was Don Encarnación, who played the clarín, a three-meter-long wind-pipe instrument. First things first, before the parade moved an inch, we sang both the Peruvian national anthem and the Hymn to Cajamarca, and beheld the raising of three flags: one for the nation, one for the department of Cajamarca, and one for the city. Then we marched around the square to the rhythm of an orchestra.



The Warmayllu delegation with the Wiñaq Muhu flag on the right.



The Peruvian flag and the two flags of Cajamarca.



Don Encarnación playing the clarín.


The following day El Panorama Cajamarquino, the regional newspaper of Cajamarca, dedicated half a page and one photo to the event and, of all the networks that participated in the parade, Warmayllu made the photo! You can see me very clearly in the photo, holding the Warmayllu banderol and marching to the music. My fifteen minutes of fame! :)

The celebrations continued on Thursday with a Noche de Talentos, talent show. We prepared a dance performance, complete with numbers from all different regions of Peru. In between the numbers, Don Encarnación played the clarín. I got to dance the Cajamarcan carnival dance. Having never even heard the music before, I cannot say el baile de carnaval was my particular talent, but the steps were so simple that I probably didn’t make too big a fool out of myself in front of the 500 people who showed up to watch. The best part was definitely dressing up! I wore my hair tied up in braids with colourful ribbons and boasted a festive outfit of the sierra. The skirt came with several layers of woollen cloth and an underskirt, and it probably weighed nearly two kilos.



Soila doing Olga's hair.





Alsides, Diana, Silvia, I, Soila, Mirella, Olga, and Don Encarnación sitting down in front of us.


On Friday, the theme week ended with a festive mass and a cocktail party at the Municipal Hall: more national anthems, flags, speeches, and Peruvian wine. I came to the conclusion that Peruvian wine is not my thing; it’s so sweet I wouldn’t have recognized it was wine if I hadn’t been told.