The Peruvian festival held in Cusco on June 24 to honor the Inca sun god is Inti Raymi. Its name comes from Quechua and is commonly translated as Festival of the Sun.
Inti Raymi was an important Inca ceremony connected with the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere. The date marked a turning point in the solar year and was associated with honoring Inti, the sun deity, whose power was considered essential to agriculture and the wellbeing of the empire.
Spanish colonial authorities suppressed the original ceremony in the sixteenth century. A modern public reconstruction was staged in Cusco in 1944, based on historical descriptions and research into Inca ritual.
Today’s event includes processions and staged ceremonies at important Cusco sites, including Qorikancha, the historic center, and the fortress of Sacsayhuamán. It is a modern reconstruction rather than an uninterrupted survival of the original Inca ceremony.