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Features / archives for : society
14 January, 2010 14:14:23
Peruvians among the top ten Hispanic communities in the US
By Miguel Vivanco For El Comercio
The Day of the Peruvian Immigrant was celebrated in October and, except for some standard meetings, the date went unnoticed among our compatriots living abroad. The economic crisis and unemployment that afflicts so-called industrialized countries, especially the U.S., leave no room for pompous celebrations of the workers.
Today, it is not surprising to hear – in any Peruvian city or village – comments related to family, friends and neighbors who emigrated abroad and send their remittances every month.
It is estimated that over three million Peruvians reside abroad; nearly a million in the land of Abraham Lincoln, so it is not surprising to find that our compatriots form communities with their own identity and dynamism that always look different to the eye of Americans.
13 January, 2010 00:46:16
Pending Tasks for 2010: Social Conflicts and Violence in the Provinces
By Norka Peralta LinanFor El Comercio
Social Conflict
According to the latest report by the Defensoria del Pueblo, 2009 ended with 284 social conflicts existing in the country. In addition to the indigenous protest in Bagua, the eviction of squatters in the Pomac Forest, where two policemen were killed, and the army and air force’s offensive against the Shining Path in the Apurimac and Ene river valley (VRAE) are recorded in our collective memory. However, the 129 existing socio-environmental conflicts – which account for 46% of the 284 recorded cases – saturated the State’s pending crisis agenda. What conflicts will we have to face in 2010? According to José de Echave, an expert in mining, socio-environmental conflicts will become more acute in areas that receive income from mining royalties. “In 2010 there will be a reduction of mining royalties, as in 2009 the income tax of mines was reduced by 67 percent. The towns that receive royalties will have fewer resources to implement infrastructure, which will cause discontent,” says De Echave.
12 January, 2010 18:42:01
Shaman Markets in Lima: Gamarra
Photos and text by Joshua KristalWhen a Peruvian recipe I was making for Thanksgiving called for Llama fetus my first thought was, “could I just use baked tofu marinated in soy sauce and ginger as a substitute?” Then, the natural “Where the hell am I going to get a llama fetus?” popped up. I soon came to my senses and switched to a tasty sweet potato Latke but the bugger had been planted and a week later I ventured out to Gamarra, a bustling shopping and garment district in the cities eastern section. Besides hundreds of cheap clothing stores, brand name black market rip-offs and multitudes of fabric suppliers, wholesalers and all things ropa, it also has one of Lima’s largest numbers of vendors serving the Peruvian shaman community.
Having a ceremony that calls for leopard head? No problem. Horse hoof? Check. Not feeling well and just not sure what the problem is? Here you can obtain one of Peru’s most interesting diagnostic procedures. Your health practioner-cum-executioner will drag a live guinea pig around your body then kill and dissect it to show you where your medical problems are deriving from as naturally its location is mirrored in the little furry guy’s organs.
7 January, 2010 16:38:08
What does "culture" mean to Peruvians?
By Carlo Trivelli
For El Comercio
Most Lima residents believe that cuisine and archaeological remains are the most representative parts of our culture. We want a ministry of culture and to protect the monuments (even at the expense of development works), and when consuming cultural products, we watch DVDs at home instead of going to the cinema, theater, or even music concerts. Oh, and we read very little and we hardly ever set foot in a library.
That is, broadly speaking, the summary of the attitudes towards culture and cultural consumption patterns of the Limeños according to a recent poll by Public Opinion Institute of the Universidad Católica (IOP).
Perhaps the first point that the survey makes clear is that ideas about culture are changing. On one hand, it is still considered to be associated with knowledge, education, manners, etc., but, when asked about the most representative thing of our culture, the most common responses (the food, the archaeological remains, the dances) make it clear that by culture, people refer to activities and products of our society.
For El Comercio
Most Lima residents believe that cuisine and archaeological remains are the most representative parts of our culture. We want a ministry of culture and to protect the monuments (even at the expense of development works), and when consuming cultural products, we watch DVDs at home instead of going to the cinema, theater, or even music concerts. Oh, and we read very little and we hardly ever set foot in a library. That is, broadly speaking, the summary of the attitudes towards culture and cultural consumption patterns of the Limeños according to a recent poll by Public Opinion Institute of the Universidad Católica (IOP).
Perhaps the first point that the survey makes clear is that ideas about culture are changing. On one hand, it is still considered to be associated with knowledge, education, manners, etc., but, when asked about the most representative thing of our culture, the most common responses (the food, the archaeological remains, the dances) make it clear that by culture, people refer to activities and products of our society.
28 December, 2009 15:16:09
Lima Needs Green Reform: Conversation with a parks expert
By Cesar Sarria GomiFor El Comercio
Lima, the metropolis that grows uncontrollably and in an upward direction, has a deficit of 500 hectares of green areas to meet the minimum requirements recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), and therefore it is required that it defends the few parks and recreational areas that it barely has. Cement is taking over the city, but it will make the capital even grayer. The Spanish specialist in green areas and president of the Spanish Association of Parks and Public Gardens, Felix Moral, arrived in Lima to help give ideas to make this scenario a little greener.
What are the benefits of having green areas in a city?
The benefits are mainly health related, because plants are the only way to control pollution and purify the air. However, I believe that social benefits are equally important. The parks are the latest expressions of a fundamental public space for the development of human beings.
28 December, 2009 11:54:22
The legacy of African descendants in Peru
By Andres Flores
For El Comercio
In the nineteenth century Lima, there was a popular saying – later immortalized by Ricardo Palma – "el que no tiene de inga, tiene de mandiga,” referring to the fusion of African descent at the time. Today, although there are no official figures, an estimated 2.8 million Peruvians are of African descent, and the Government, on November 28 of last year, acknowledged that having African characteristics is part of national identity.
"The first black arrived in Peru in 1532 in Francisco Pizarro’s expedition. And there has been vast African input in art, religion, medicine, cuisine, etc. since his arrival.” according to Paul Colinó, founder of the Francisco Congo Black Movement, the first of its kind to be created in the country.
Colinó says what he considers one of the main signs of the black heritage of the country: "The image of el Señor de los Milagros, which was painted by an Angolan and the black slave confraternities began its worship. Now the procession is a renowned Peruvian tradition."
According to the historian Maribel Arrelucea, in the guilds – today known as brotherhoods – slaves seized the opportunity to remember mother Africa.
For El Comercio
In the nineteenth century Lima, there was a popular saying – later immortalized by Ricardo Palma – "el que no tiene de inga, tiene de mandiga,” referring to the fusion of African descent at the time. Today, although there are no official figures, an estimated 2.8 million Peruvians are of African descent, and the Government, on November 28 of last year, acknowledged that having African characteristics is part of national identity. "The first black arrived in Peru in 1532 in Francisco Pizarro’s expedition. And there has been vast African input in art, religion, medicine, cuisine, etc. since his arrival.” according to Paul Colinó, founder of the Francisco Congo Black Movement, the first of its kind to be created in the country.
Colinó says what he considers one of the main signs of the black heritage of the country: "The image of el Señor de los Milagros, which was painted by an Angolan and the black slave confraternities began its worship. Now the procession is a renowned Peruvian tradition."
According to the historian Maribel Arrelucea, in the guilds – today known as brotherhoods – slaves seized the opportunity to remember mother Africa.
15 December, 2009 13:12:37
Counting the Chickens: Another TechnoServe Story
LivinginPeru.comRead about a family in the province of Cajamarca who saved their poultry business by learning improved business administration. This is a continuation of success stories from TechnoServe, an organization that provides technical assistance to alleviate rural poverty. For our previous story, click here.
In September 2000, Roger Diaz and his wife Liliana Villegas went through difficult economic times. Their little brandy business in the city of Cajamarca failed to provide enough income to support their seven- and five-year-old daughters, Kerlyn and Okaren. In those days private education was beyond their reach. So they decided to return to their hometown, Cutervo, a small city north of Cajamarca.While preparing to move, someone advised them to enter the business of providing chickens for the poultry stores in Cajamarca. They wanted to follow that advice but they worried about to whom they would sell chickens. After a match of fulbito (a soccer match on cement), Roger mentioned his situation to his friend Olger Fernandez, who was the owner of one the best poultry stores in Cajamarca, Medileny Chicken. Fernandez encouraged him to become a provider for his stores, an offer he accepted.
15 December, 2009 12:59:55
Mario Vargas Llosa: “The museum of memory will be dedicated to the victims”
By Mariella BalbiFor El Comercio
Isn’t the creation of the museum of memory (MM) a bit hasty? It's seen as an argument that there is still terrorism in our country.
I’m afraid that if we wait for the violence to end, we would die of old age. The violence is always present; we will not eradicate it overnight. The purpose of the MM is to encourage the end of violence through pressure applied by society and Peruvian public opinion. There is a national awareness of the need to end the political and social violence if we want to take off and be a functioning modern country where law and justice prevails. That is one of the reasons for building the MM. It is not an institution to safeguard the archaeological site of a past memory. It is more complex, more timely, richer. Since the tragic experience of terrorism in the '80s, we look to build an intellectual, political and moral defense against violence, which has a long tradition in Peru.
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Controversy surrounding the creation of a museum of memory continues. LivinginPeru.com translated this recent interview with Mario Vargas Llosa, a strong proponent of the project. For past news on the museum, see LiP's archives here. —Ed. |
I think it will help. If it works as we want, in an objective, unbiased, impartial manner and with a creative will, it can contribute greatly to create awareness in the younger generations that political violence is the source of the worst damage in the country.
Another argument against the MM is that we already lived that terrible experience, that it's not necessary to remind people, to harp on it...
We need to create awareness of the need to confront all forms of radical political violence. The fact that there is a blind opposition – fanatical to the idea of the museum – serves to show that violence is still there, latent, and that it could reach the surface any time.
14 December, 2009 16:07:27
Spreading More than Just Smiles
By Anikó Kraft
Have you ever thought about what happened to the soles and céntimos you gave to the donation-collecting guy at the traffic lights "in exchange" for a smiley sticker? Did you know what Cáritas Peru was collecting for, or did you just want the sticker? It does not really matter, because your donated soles will help people…whether or not you care about the cause. Living in Lima (or in Peru, for that matter) there is hardly any person who would not have come in contact with the little smiley stickers of Cáritas Perú. As confusing as it may get, the organization's name does not refer to faces, but rather to the Latin word "caritas" meaning "charity."
7 December, 2009 18:13:22
A Christmas Party for those with Special Needs
LivinginPeru.com
Photos by Carsten Korch
Photos by Carsten Korch
The USEA Special Needs Christmas Party, now in its 47th year, has been hosted by the US Ambassador on the first Friday of December each year.At 9 a.m. volunteers waited for the arrival of the children to assist them and introduce them to Santa and Mrs. Claus and roaming elves. They also oversaw the activities so the children got a chance to play at inflatable games and participate in music workshops, face painting and Play-Doh sculpting.
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