On December 24, before sunrise, Cusco’s Plaza de Armas is already packed. Artisans arrived before dawn to set up their stalls, and the first shoppers weren’t far behind. There’s no other fair like this in Peru: Santurantikuy has been held for centuries in the same place and with the same purpose.
Its Quechua name says it all: santa, from “saint,” and rantikuy, which means to buy and sell. The selling of saints. That’s exactly what it is a fair where what people buy and sell are religious figures, nativity characters, and folk art objects that Cusco families use to build their Christmas nativity scene at home.
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When it takes place
Date: December 24, starting before dawn
The fair begins before dawn, between 4:00 and 5:00 a.m., when the first artisans set up their stalls in the Plaza de Armas and the surrounding streets. The earliest shoppers arrive shortly after before the sun comes up looking for the best pieces before the square gets completely crowded.
As the morning goes on, the activity grows until the plaza is fully taken over. Santurantikuy runs all day on the 24th, although the best pieces and best prices are usually found in the early hours. By midday, the atmosphere is festive, loud, and extremely busy.
History of Santurantikuy
A tradition that dates back to the colonial era
Santurantikuy has its roots in the colonial period, when Indigenous artisans in Cusco began producing religious figures for Christmas nativity scenes that the Catholic Church promoted as part of the evangelization process. Over time, the making and selling of these figures became a tradition of its own, gradually taking the shape of an annual fair.
For centuries, the fair has been held in the Plaza de Armas without interruption. Neither political changes nor the city’s urban transformations pushed it out of that space. That continuity of both place and date makes it one of the oldest and most enduring Christmas traditions in Peru.
The Andean influence on the Christmas nativity scene
What makes Santurantikuy distinctive is that the figures sold there are not the European characters of the traditional nativity scene. From the beginning, Cusco artisans incorporated elements from their own culture: alongside Baby Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph, you’ll see Andean farmers with tools, llamas carrying goods, condors, alpacas, and characters from everyday highland life.
This blend of the Catholic nativity and the Andean world is a direct expression of the cultural syncretism that defines Cusco. Nativity scenes built with Santurantikuy figures don’t resemble any European version: they are scenes rooted in the Andes, reflecting how Quechua culture received and reshaped the Christmas story.
What’s sold at Santurantikuy
Nativity figures
Most items sold at Santurantikuy are meant for Christmas nativity scenes. Baby Jesus figures are the most sought-after, and they come in every size, material, and style from small hand-painted ceramic pieces to wooden carvings that take weeks of work. Each artisan has a distinct style and set of proportions.
The secondary characters in an Andean nativity are just as varied: shepherds wearing ponchos and chullos, peasant women carrying water jars, musicians with Andean instruments, muleteers with loaded mules, and high-altitude animals that would never appear in a European nativity scene. Building a nativity with Santurantikuy figures is creating a scene that belongs to the Andes.
Retablos and folk art
Cusco retablos are wooden boxes with hinges that open to reveal miniature religious or everyday scenes inside, with hand-painted paste figures arranged across several levels. They are some of the most elaborate objects in the entire fair and among the most time-intensive pieces long before they ever reach the artisan’s stall.
You’ll also find Quinua crosses, engraved gourds (mates burilados), Huamanga stone figures, miniature paintings featuring scenes from the Andean calendar, and many kinds of devotional items. The fair brings together, in one place, artisan production from Cusco and several communities in the Sacred Valley and that diversity of techniques and materials is part of what makes it so interesting to explore at a slow pace.
Miniatures and prosperity objects
An important section of Santurantikuy is dedicated to stalls selling miniature “prosperity” objects: tiny houses, miniature cars, symbolic bills, paper university diplomas, farm animals, and all kinds of items representing what someone hopes to achieve in the coming year. It’s an Andean manifestation tradition that has its own space within the Christmas fair.
Families buy these miniatures to include in New Year rituals or to give as gifts as a wish for prosperity. The stalls that sell these items usually have the widest variety in the entire fair, because the list of things people want is endless and artisans adapt to that demand every year.
The artisans of Santurantikuy
The San Blas neighborhood
San Blas is Cusco’s artisan neighborhood, and it contributes the largest number of artisans to Santurantikuy. Families in this area have spent generations producing religious figures and folk art, and many save their best pieces all year to present them on December 24. Meeting a San Blas artisan at the fair and seeing their work up close is one of the most direct experiences Santurantikuy offers.
Some artisan families from San Blas are known throughout Peru for the quality of their work. The Mendívil family famous for their elongated-neck figures and the Olave family known for their retablos and everyday-life scenes are names that appear in books on Peruvian folk art and have been part of the fair for decades.
Artisans from Sacred Valley communities
In addition to San Blas, Santurantikuy welcomes artisans from Oropesa, Pisac, Chinchero, and other Sacred Valley communities that produce ceramic figures, decorative textiles, and wooden objects using techniques unique to each area. For many of these artisans, the fair is the most important sales event of the year, and preparation begins months in advance.
Looking at stalls from different communities makes it easy to notice differences in style from one place to another: Oropesa figures have a different finish than those from Pisac, and Chinchero pieces use distinctive colors and proportions that set them apart. That diversity within the fair is something connoisseurs of Cusco folk art truly appreciate.
The ritual of shopping at Santurantikuy
Wake up early, bargain, and drink ponche
Santurantikuy has its own unwritten rules. Arriving early is the first one: the best artisans set up in the hours before dawn, and the most elaborate pieces disappear quickly. Shoppers who have known the fair for years know exactly where to find their favorite artisans and arrive with a mental list of what they want to track down.
Negotiating the price is part of the deal. It isn’t required or aggressive, but bargaining with patience and good humor is part of the fair’s rhythm, and artisans expect it. Closing a purchase, shaking hands, and receiving the piece wrapped in newspaper is a small ritual repeated hundreds of times throughout the day across the entire plaza.
Hot ponche
Ponche stands are inseparable from Santurantikuy. This hot drink made with milk, ground peanuts, chuño (freeze-dried potato), cinnamon, cloves, and sugar plus an optional splash of sugarcane liquor for adults is sold in large cups starting before dawn. Drinking a hot ponche while walking the fair before sunrise is one of those simple habits that makes Santurantikuy a complete experience.
There are also stalls selling hot chocolate, herbal tea, and fried buñuelos dusted with sugar that appear only at this time of year. The pre-dawn cold in Cusco in December and those warm food stands create a combination that anyone who has experienced it remembers fondly whenever they think of December 24 in Cusco.
Santurantikuy as a family tradition
For Cusco families, Santurantikuy isn’t optional. Going to the fair on December 24, buying at least one small figure for the nativity, and returning home with a bag full of finds is part of the year’s Christmas ritual just as important as dinner or Christmas Eve Mass. Grandparents bring their grandkids, parents show children which stalls are the best, and the visit becomes an excuse to be together.
That generational continuity is what keeps Santurantikuy alive. It doesn’t depend on tourists showing up, and it doesn’t need official promotion or a municipal budget to exist: it depends on Cusco families continuing to go every December 24 and that hasn’t changed for centuries.
Tips for visiting Santurantikuy
Arrive before sunrise
The best figures and the most affordable prices are found in the early hours. Arriving between 5:00 and 6:00 a.m. lets you walk the fair with more space, choose calmly, and talk with artisans before the plaza gets completely crowded. Bringing a flashlight or using your phone light helps during the first stretches while it’s still dark.
Bring cash in small bills
Most artisans can’t reliably make change for large bills. Bringing 10- and 20-sol bills makes purchases easier and avoids delays or misunderstandings when it’s time to close the deal. Prices at Santurantikuy vary widely depending on the artisan and the piece from just a few soles for small figures to several hundred for retablos and highly detailed works.
Bundle up
December 24 in Cusco can be cold before dawn, with temperatures dropping significantly before the sun comes up. A warm jacket, gloves, and something that covers your ears make the experience much more comfortable. As the morning goes on, the sun warms things up and you can peel off layers but the first hours in the plaza call for real warm clothing.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an entrance fee for Santurantikuy?
No. The fair takes place in the Plaza de Armas and the adjacent streets, which are public spaces with completely free access. There is no ticket, no paid area, and no permit is needed to enter. The only expense is whatever you choose to buy or consume during your visit.
Can you find Santurantikuy crafts at other times of the year?
Some San Blas artisans have workshops and shops open year-round where they sell their figures. However, the December 24 fair brings together the greatest variety of artisans and pieces in a single place and it has an atmosphere that can’t be replicated on any other date. For anyone who wants to experience Santurantikuy as a living tradition, December 24 is the one true date.
What souvenirs are most worth buying at Santurantikuy?
Andean-style Baby Jesus figures are the fair’s most iconic souvenir. Small retablos are easy to transport and carry strong artistic value. Hand-painted ceramic miniatures are affordable and representative. In every case, buying directly from the artisan who made the piece guarantees authenticity and gives the object a context that no souvenir shop in the Historic Center can offer.
