Abstract

In this article we discuss the importance of the socio-musical dimension for the development of its different ritual phases of the Cruz de Mayo Festival. The description and analysis are based on ethnographic information collected during the celebration of this festival in the Lluta and Codpa valleys (Arica and Parinacota Region). A distinctive aspect of this celebration, one of the most important festivities of Northern Chile and large part of the South Andean area, is the playing of popular music and sounds in honor of the Holy Cross.