This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Inti Raymi celebrations in Cusco, Peru. Known as the Festival of the Sun, the celebration is believed to have been one of the most important rituals in the Inca Empire. Since its revival in 1944, it's become a yearly festival for tourists and locals alike. CGTN's Dan Collyns reports on the event's preparations.

The preparations for Inca New Year begin. Workers polish a statue of the Inca in Cusco's main square. Hundreds of dancers are put through their paces ahead of the big day. Among them, university students represent the Inca women or Acllas adoring the sun. And police cadets and army recruits play the role of the victorious Inca warriors returning from battle. The artistic director Leonardo Arana reminds them that Inca Empire stretched from modern days in Colombia in the north to Chile and Argentina in the south. And Cusco was its capital. They should feel proud to be its descendants. Arana has directed 15 Inti Raymis and each one is a challenge, he tells CGTN.

LEONARDO ARANA DIRECTOR, FILIGRANAS PERUANAS "As a human being and as a professional it's a huge challenge knowing this great and wise Andean culture."

And to conduct it in Cusco's center where the Spanish vanquished the Incas.

LEONARDO ARANA DIRECTOR, FILIGRANAS PERUANAS "It is a deep emotion which sometimes brings me to tears to feel in that place where we were, our ancestors were unjustly murdered, that is what moves me most of all when I'm in the main square."

Behind the scenes, Arana's organization Filigranas Peruanas has been working against the clock to prepare the costumes for some 700 actors and dancers. Here burnishing the bronze armor for the Inca is Chilean Olimpia Jimenez who comes every year to take part in the festival.

OLIMPIA JIMENEZ INTI RAYMI DANCER "I'm a physical education teacher specialized in Latin American folk dances, I first came to Cusco four years ago and for the last two I've been taking part in Inti Raymi."

She's the only non-Peruvian to take part in the celebration which goes to the heart of Cusco's identity. Other participants clean the costumes which have been gathering dust for a year. Meanwhile, the rehearsals continue.

DAN COLLYNS CUSCO "The artistic directors are putting the finishing touches to the performance marking the biggest day in Cusco's festival calendar, the winter solstice, the longest and most sacred day for the sun-worshipping Incas and here in the Sacsayhuaman fortress is where this theatrical interpretation will climax."

In these spectacular surroundings, the Inca will stand here on this ceremonial pyramid known as an Ushnu. Surrounded by his high priests, nobles and courtiers he'll lead an elaborate ritual of speeches and sacrifices. Thousands of tourists and locals will watch Inti Raymi and hundreds of Peruvians will take part in the performance, like Will Chavez who grew up in the U.S.:

WILL CHAVEZ INTI RAYMI ACTOR "I feel very connected to my roots to the Inca, it's spoken in Quechua it's our own language before the Spaniards came. I feel really proud, this really deep sense of identity that I have where I belong. I'm an Indian Inca that belongs in Cusco."

The ceremony also marks the culmination of a month of festivities in Cusco. A seemingly endless parade dances and music which show folk culture is alive and well. And the connection to the past is far from lost. Dan Collyns, CGTN, in Cusco, Peru.