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The Yawar Fiesta or the struggle between the bull and the
condor is celebrated in Cotabambas (Apurímac) on July 26-30.
In
the village of Ccollurqui, in the province of Cotabambas,
Apurímac, an eight-hour drive from the city of Abancay
up a dirt road, the locals celebrate Independence Day with
a bullfight whose symbolic characteristics have turned it
into a ritual. Taking part are a bull and a condor, portraying
the Spanish and Andean worlds, respectively. Once the condor
has been trapped, it is lashed to the bull's back, which the
bird pecks at savagely in a bid to free itself. At the same
time, the bull is released in the ring and surrounded by spontaneous
bullfighterswho fend off the animal with their ponchos. The
bull, maddened with pain, leaps into the air trying to rid
itself of the condor.
Finally, when the bull has been overcome -and it usually is-
the condor is set free amidst music and general rejoicing.
If the condor is badly wounded, or dies, it is taken as an
omen for the village.
At night, dancers take to the streets, fireworks are set off
and the villagers stage a torchlit procession.
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