Marinera Festival Trujillo

The Concurso Nacional de Marinera has run in Trujillo since 1960 and it is the largest dance competition in Peru: thousands of couples in dozens of age categories, from infants to seniors over eighty, competing over roughly two weeks in January with the finals in the Coliseo Gran Chimú. The marinera norteña is danced barefoot by the woman, in a wide skirt, with both partners waving a handkerchief - a courtship in which the man pursues and the woman evades, formal and flirtatious at once, to a band of brass, cajón and guitar. The dance takes its name from the navy, renamed after the War of the Pacific. Alongside the contest there are street parades, the caballo de paso horses that accompany marinera in the north, and events across the city. Trujillo fills for it and hotels book out.

What you actually see

• The contest - thousands of couples across categories from infants to over-eighties.
• The dance - barefoot, wide skirts and handkerchiefs, pursuit and evasion.
• The paso horses - the gaited breed that accompanies marinera in the north.
• The scale - two weeks of competition with finals in the Gran Chimú coliseum.

When to go

Late January, over about two weeks, with the finals at the end. Three to seven days to see the main rounds. Book accommodation well ahead.

Honest expectations

Finals tickets sell out and prices rise. Sessions are long, with many rounds before the standard gets high. Trujillo in January is hot and humid. Hotels are full and expensive across the festival.

Nearby

Huanchaco and Chan Chan are west of the city; the paso horse ranches are in the valley.