Face in the Crowd

Location: Puno, Peru
Date: February 2018
Photographer: Vanessa Burrowes
Home Country: United States
University Affiliation: Alumni
Category: Arts & Culture
Award: 1st Place

"La Festividad de la Virgen de la Candelaria was declared a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2014. The festival seemingly lasts for nearly the entire month of February each year as the small city of Puno, Peru gears up for the 2nd largest cultural festival in South America. I had the opportunity to participate in two annual celebrations of this festival during my 1.5 years of working in Puno. With over 100 dance troupes from all over Peru and surrounding countries, and nearly just as many styles of traditional dance, this festival was a true feast of colors, sounds, food, and music for all the body's senses. This was one of my favorite pictures taken during the competition held in the city's main stadium. During this brief moment amidst all the televised chaos of dance teams entering, exiting, and getting ready to receive their grading from judges, a lady looked briefly back through all the feathers, noise, and ribbons to find her friend in the crowded stadium without much luck, before dissolving once more into the colorful swirl of Candelaria."