Opening ceremony
The Ceremony began with a countdown from 10 to 0 and the announcement of President of Peru Martin Vizcarra and the President of Americas Paralympic Committee, Julio César Ávila. The Flag of Peru is raised by Peruvian Armed Forces as the National Anthem is played.
This was followed by an introductory performance titled "The Birth" symbolising Peru's biodiversity and life. [12] The performance was followed immediately by the Parade of Nations in which each teams marched into the stadium, preceded by a person dressed as Ekeko carrying a chicha-style banner with the name of the country, similar to Pan American Games. As per tradition, Peru as host entered last, while the other countries entered under Spanish Alphabetical order.
Soon afterwards was the creative segments, divided into six segments: Symbiosis, The Maze, Chaos, Hope, The Horizon and Victory. All six segments told the story of two boys who grow up helping each other in the spirit of friendship and showing people their ability to overcome their disabilities. The boys as children were played by Jheremy Alejos Perez and Piero Guidiche Montes while the adult boys were played by Marco Antonio Moran and Jose Jesus Diaz Quispe.
In the protocol segment, the President of the Lima 2019 Organizing Committee Carlos Neuhaus and the President of APC, Julio Dussliere deliver their speeches before President of Peru, Martin Vizcarra declare the Games open. The APC flag was carried into the stadium by former Peruvian sportsmen: Efraín Sotacuro, Alicia Flores, Yeni Vargas, Juana Hurtado, María Trujillo, Israel Hilario, Óscar Neyra and Augusto Vásquez and raised to the Paralympic Anthem by the Armed Forces.
During the torch relay segment, the Parapan American flame is carried into the stadium by Peruvian Paralympian Pompilio Falconi, who competed in athletics at Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012. He passed the flame to table tennis player Teresa Chiappo, who then handed it to swimmer José González. Jose Gonzalez handed the flame to last torch bearer, Jimmy Eulert a gold medallist at the Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 Summer Paralympics who lights the Incan Sun cauldron with the help of the acrobats on the totem. The ceremony ended with a concert by Peruvian band "Bareto" who performed four songs: Quiero amanacer, Se ha muerto mi abuelo, No juegues con el diablo and Cariñito. [13]
Closing ceremony
Katia Condos and Gonzalo Torres were the hosts of the ceremony. The segments of the ceremony were inspired by the core values of the International Paralympic Movement which are: Inspiration, Determination, Courage and Equality and featured mostly concert and dance performances by local artists. During the ceremony, Laguna Pai performed three songs: Libertad, Vamos con fe and Resiliencia; We The Lion performed four songs: Found Love, All My Demons, So Fine and When Life Began; and Desiree Nunez Del Prado and Javier Morales performed a Marinera duet.
After delivery of speech by President of the Organizing Committee Carlos Neuhaus and of the Americas Paralympic Committee (APC) Julio César Ávila, the Games were declared closed by APC president himself. Through President of the Americas Paralympic Committee, Julio César Ávila, Deputy Mayor of the city of Lima Miguel Eugenio Romero Sotelo handed the APC flag over to the Undersecretary of Sports of Chile, Andres Otero Klein for the next Parapan American Games in 2023. When the flag of Chile is raised by armed forces personnel, the National Anthem of Chile is performed by 14-year-old Cerebral Palsy female singer Isidora Guzmán, accompanied by images slideshow of the country's scenery. Chilean band Los Jaivas performed songs on stage to represent Chile as next host of the event. When Peruvian singer Eva Ayllón performed “Canción con todos” on stage, the Flame beside the stage was extinguished. The Ceremony ended with a concert by a cumbia group Hermanos Yaipén who performed five songs: Mix de Luis Miguel, El Tiki Taka, Al llorar a otra parte, Mix de Juan Gabriel and Que levante la mano. [22]
