Pawkar Raymi

This Festival takes place in February or March of each year and is celebrated by the community of Peguche located north of Otavalo-Imbabura. This Carnival is of Andean origin and is a celebration of the fertility of the earth and the connection between Mother Earth and the Andean people. Part of the festival includes the celebration of Indigenous Football as various teams follow a parade to the Peguche sports fields. Pawkar Raymi or Fiesta de Florecimiento (The Festival of Flowers), is when the natives thank the land because the crops planted in September the year before, have begun to bloom in February.