Today, 16 July, is a religious holiday in Lima.  Faithful Catholics gather to honor the Virgin Mary from the religious order of the Carmelites.  The Virgin Mary is also the patron saint of the municipality in which we live, Los Molinos.  The procession started about 1:30 pm and came right by our apartment!  

The parton saint, Maria, is mounted on a wooden platform and carried by six women or men dressed in religious clothing.  They then walk very, very slowly down the street with a band playing music.

The band plays loud and lets the people down the street know that they will soon be marching by their place.

We got a big kick out of seeing the music clipped on the back of the person in front.  

Fireworks are part of the procession.  They lite the rockets that explode in the air ahead of the procession, and this also is a way to let the people know that the procession is coming their way.  They are loud.