The Inti Raymi festival was an important religious ceremony in the Inca Empire held annually in June to honor the sun god Inti and mark the winter solstice and new year in the Andes. During the Inca Empire, Inti Raymi was the most significant of four ceremonies celebrated in Cusco and indicated the mythical origins of the Incas, lasting nine days with colorful dances, processions, and animal sacrifices. Though suppressed after the Spanish conquest in 1535, a theatrical reconstruction of Inti Raymi was started in 1944 in Sacsayhuamán, attracting thousands of tourists and locals each year.