Ever since the ridiculous claim that an oil painting of Christ on the Cross held off a devastating earthquake that was rattling the city of Cuzco, the locals have been rendering homage to the image of 'Taitacha Temblores, the Lord of the Earthquakes.'... This celebration allows onlookers to get a glimpse of 'the fusion of Andean religions and Roman Catholicism.'
The Cuzco Catholic Cathedral, where the image is kept, is built on the foundations of the ancient temple dedicated to the pagan god 'Apulla Tikse Wiracocha.'.... The image of the Lord of Eathquakes is carried in a procession through the streets of the city just as the Incas used to parade the mummies of their chieftains, high priests and supreme rulers....... In the end, the dominating part of the celebration involves the ñucchu flower (salvia esplendes), used as an offering to the ancient gods Kon and Wiracocha. This is rather amusing because an image that can stop an earthquake can´t even walk but must be carried.
