Festi Sabores, Festival of Flavours in English, is southern Peru’s most important food festival and a highlight of the Arequipa calendar. With free entry, Festi Sabores is held at Plaza Yanahuara over multiple days around October-November each year. Rocío and I enjoyed the 2016 festival enough to attend two days.
Cuyassic Park: like Jurassic Park but selling roasted guinea pigs instead (cuy in Spanish is guinea pig)
One of many luscious desserts available at the festival
This woman is selling local speciality queso helado, a type of ice cream
Butterflied trout grilling; we ate one and it was delicious
Rocío at another guinea pig stall
Picarones are traditional Peruvian doughnuts and taste awesome
Plaza Yanahuara’s fountain was decorated with fresh produce for the festival
Mount Misti provided a spectacular festival backdrop
Saturday night’s entertainment included cover bands. Coincidentally, two bands both began with Midnight Oil’s Beds Are Burning. The second band also played a second iconic 1980s Australian song, Down Under by Men At Work. It’s good to hear music from your own country when a long time away, even a badly played cover. I wonder if Beds Are Burning was popular in Peru for the politics or just the music.
Snippets of Australian songs played at Festi Sabores 2016
A cover band playing at Festi Sabores
On Sunday we returned with Nicholas for more food and not so much alcohol.
From jungle waters: paco (a freshwater fish) with plantain chips, fried plantain and plantain balls (tacacho); so much plantain!
Dancers in traditional Colca Canyon dress entertained on Sunday
Alcohol infused with, from left to right, coca leaves, cape gooseberry, camu camu, airampo cactus fruit and lemon verbena
If you are around Arequipa during the festival I highly recommend visiting for a fun time while sampling food from South America’s best cuisine.
