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By Natalia Kidd Buenos Aires — The Pan American Games torch began its trek through Peru on Thursday at a ceremony at the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, the starting point of a nationwide relay that will take it to the event’s host city of Lima.

The torch that had been lit on Tuesday at the Aztec ruins of Teotihuacan outside Mexico City was received by Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra from a “chasqui,” the name for messengers in pre-Columbian times who enabled the Inca Empire to consolidate virtually the entire Andean territory under a single government.

Vizcarra was accompanied by members of the Lima 2019 Games organizing committee - a delegation headed by its president, Carlos Neuhaus - as well as Lima Mayor Jorge Muñoz.

During the ceremony, Vizcarra hailed the arrival of the Pan Am Games flame in a place of great symbolic importance for all Peruvians and said the torch ceremony serves to connect Mexico’s and Peru’s ancient cultures and civilizations through sport.

In remarks to the media at the summit of Machu Picchu, the president predicted that the Pan American Games and the Parapan American Games would be a great success, comparable to what the Peruvian national soccer team has achieved by reaching Sunday’s Copa America final in Brazil.

“The boys of the national team have shown us that when you play with unity, effort and dedication you can reach any goal,” Vizcarra said.

“Our ancestors at Machu Picchu showed us that, and the soccer players have reaffirmed it, as will the athletes from Peru and the 41 countries participating in the Pan American Games. Welcome. Peru receives you with open arms,” he added.

The torch relay in Peru will last for 22 days, with the flame scheduled to arrive at Lima’s National Stadium for the Pan American Games’ inaugural ceremony on July 26.

The torch will next travel to Mt. Vinicunca, also known as Rainbow Mountain, in the southern region of Cusco.

It will then pass through Colca Valley, the main tourist attraction in the southern region of Arequipa, before heading to the Nazca Lines, enigmatic geoglyphs etched into desert sands in the southwestern coastal region of Ica.

The flame also will be brought to Lake Titicaca, a national reserve containing a broad variety of Altiplano (high plains) flora and fauna; and the ruins of Chan Chan, an archaeological site and tourist attraction in the northern region of La Libertad that is considered the largest adobe city in the Americas.

The route will cover a total of 19 Peruvian cities and a broad range of terrain, including coastal, jungle and mountain regions.

The Pan American Games will run from July 26 to Aug. 11 and feature athletes from 41 countries competing in 61 disciplines, 22 of which will be qualifiers for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. EPA-EFE

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