Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Beyond the utilitarian aspect and fashion itself; thanks to their history, significance and high quality, Peruvian hats are items of huge cultural and artistic value. Do not doubt, you will always look good wearing one.

By Diana P. Olano

Those who have flown in helicopters or air ballons have the distinct pleasure of knowing what our world, seen from above, looks like. Flying in an airplane isn't comparable because you're only seeing our lands, seas and cities, from a high altitude, for a few seconds. And forget about it if you have an evening flight. The view you get from flying above earth isn't one we're used to seeing because unlike birds or other flying creatures, we don't have the capacity to soar our skies. The experience is unnatural to us. However, that doesn't mean we shouldn't be privy to such a special way of viewing the world. Thanks to a new exhibtion, we finally are.

By Milagros Leiva Gálvez
for El Comercio

Translated by Diana P. Olano

She strains the bread, dry and chopped, and transforms it into flour that will later be used to fry hamburgers and other fried foods. She strains in silence. In each of her movements one can notice what it took for her to be sitting here, today, in this confectionery workshop which wants to say that people with disabilities can work; that they can making a living and that they won't spend the rest of their lives studying the way some may think. This woman with a child-like face doesn't speak, but it's possible to understand her.

By Dave Aabo

One donation is shaping the history of surfing in Peru. Global Surf Industries (GSI) sent a shipping container full of surfboards to Peru last year. It’s true as GSI founder says “Life is better when you surf”. The driving force behind the boards’ arrival was a new not-for-profit association in Peru, Switzerland and the USA: WAVES for Development. With the help of IPD (Instituto Peruano de Deporte) and FENTA (Federacion Deportiva Nacional de Tabla) the donated boards have made it into select schools along the coast of Peru. Earlier this month WAVES for Development completed a two-week pilot project in the community of Lobitos, 65 km south of Mancora, putting some of those boards to good use.

Neither the several months’ delay due to the risk of an epidemic, nor the August earthquake affected the quality of the 62nd Official National Show of the Peruvian Paso Horse, an event which now more than ever is consecrated to the unity of all Peruvians.

By Carl Hennings

The country is basking in the glow of high metal prices and an unprecedented number of exploration and development projects, coupled with the investment funds that are ready to pour in. The media and resource conferences are buzzing with the news of the great potential and great projects in the country. Government officials at home and traveling the world are pounding their chests proclaiming the great investment climate and geological potential of Peru. The government had one of the more prominent exhibits at the recent PDAC in Toronto.

By Diana P. Olano
Pictures provided by: dawnontheamazon.com/blog/

Categorized as an extreme sport, river rafting sees a group of people aboard an inflatable raft, trying to navigate through usually rough waters. The activity is popular worldwide, with fans heading to the Arkansas River for whitewater fun or to the harsh waters of the Tara River in Montenegro. Obstacles in these types of rafting adventures usually include drops in elevation, large waves and big rocks. The annual Great Amazon River Raft Race in the rainforest waters of Peru is considered just as extreme, but reasons entirely different since jungle is like no place on earth and this competition can't be compared to many.

By Diana P. Olano

The largest private collection of pre-Columbian ceramics in the world call its home Museo Larco, located in the the city of Lima. Housing 45,000 pieces, it is considered one of the finest museums in all of Lima. However, don’t be surprised if you see visitors leave the museum with blushing cheeks and grins on their faces. Museo Larco’s collection is mainly based on pieces from the Moche Dynasty (A.D 200-700), a civilization who lived near what today is Trujillo in northern Peru. They were the ones who created the titillating art anyone familiar with Peruvian culture loves in secret; the art that focuses on every aspect of daily life, which for the Moche included making music, visiting their rulers, burying the dead, going to war… and oh yeah, having sex.

Whether you go to El Callao or to any place where there is a group of Chalacos (people born in El Callao) you might be surprised when someone yells “chimpum!” and everyone replies “callao!”
 
What is then this “chimpum”?  In the same way that no one knows for sure why we are called Chalacos, there is a number of theories on what this chimpum phrase is all about.
What we know for sure is that it has to do with a sharp sound and a blast. Most people agree that it is indeed the sound of the run of a rocket and its report. Chimmm as it goes up and PUM is, of course, the explosion.

By Diana P. Olano

Late last year, President Alan Garcia declared 2008 as the "Year of the World Summits in Peru". What the Chief of State was referring to were the two global conferences Peru would play host to later this year: The Vth European Union-Latin America and Caribbean (EU-LAC) Summit to be held in May and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum to be held in November. The fact that these two significant meetings are taking place here signify new political and economic recognition and possibilities for Peru that could lead the country on a path away from its third-world country status and towards success in the technologically advanced and prosperous first-world.