Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

The 5,500-year-old sunken courtyard found by archaeologists in Peru is believed to have been a social meeting point for the people that lived in the Casma Valley, said German scientist Peter R. Funchs.

The ceremonial plaza, which is located in the region of Ancash - 330 kilometers (206 miles) northwest of Lima - could have been a social club, said Funchs, affirming this was only a hypothesis.

Not getting into a discussion whether this was the oldest monument found in the Americas, Funchs held a conference in Barcelona, explaining that the people that used this courtyard were an oral culture and were seeking an identity.

"They had to transmit their rituals, they gathered there to listen to anecdotes, myths, they had their parties," said the German scientist.

German and Peruvian archaeologists are working on the ceremonial plaza, which is built of stones and adobe.

It is believed that this is the oldest known monument in Peru.

Entrepreneur Edgar Perez and his team are ready to take the best of Peruvian cuisine and traditional dances to New York audiences with Peru Grand Tasting Fall 2008 on Nov. 5th, Wednesday after the election, at 6:30PM. International socialite Jules Kirby, designer Moises de la Renta, power lawyer Jennifer Jurmark and wealth

Manager Anca Ciorga will join Mr. Perez in hosting this fabulous event at El Tequilazo Restaurant, 43 W 46th St., in the heart of New York City.

Mr. Perez has created a popular website www.flavorsofperu.com and a Facebook group 'Support Edgar's quest to transform Peruvian dining in New York City!' to promote his Peruvian concepts. One grateful participant from his last event stated, 'We have waited a long time to experience the best of Peruvian cuisine, and this evening was truly a perfect celebration of its arrival! I was thrilled to be able to experience for the first time authentic Peruvian ceviche, perfectly poured pisco sours, and a wonderful performance of Peruvian dance.' Another one added: 'I thoroughly enjoyed each dish! I especially loved the Causa Peruana and could not put my fork down when tasting the Lomo Saltado. My taste buds are looking forward to another installment of this kind, while my heart can't stop dreaming about Peru!'

Registration information about this amazing Peru Grand Tasting event can be found at peru2008newyorkcity.eventbrite.com. Whether one has have ever tasted the delectable taste, sounds, and smells of Peruvian culinary creations before or whether it would be the first time, this culinary evening in the company of Flavors of Peru's friends and investors promises to remain among each guest's treasured culinary experiences in their lifetime.

Although hundreds of children will be celebrating Halloween by collecting candy door to door, a large number of Peruvians will celebrate Día de la Canción Criolla tonight, a Peruvian genre of music that combines mainly African, Spanish and Andean influences.

Every year Peruvians celebrate “El Día de la Canción Criolla” (Criolla Music Day) on October 31.

The tradition dates back to 1944, when the Peruvian government announced that on this day a special celebration of Criolla music, which is part of Peruvian folklore, would be held.

Throughout Latin America, the term "criolla" originally referred to the descendants of Spanish settlers, but it subsequently came to designate that which was distinctively local.

In the case of Peru, it designates the people and culture of the coastal region (as opposed to the Andean highlands) and of Lima in particular.

It was on the coast that the Spaniards founded their capital, where most of their settlement was concentrated and where their culture took deepest root.

The most popular style of Peru's "criolla" music is the Marinera, said to be the national dance of Peru. Other main genres are the Peruvian Waltz, Tondero, Festejo, Polka, Zamacueca, Landó, among other traditional dances.

A 3,000-year-old adobe temple featuring an image of a spider god was recently found in the Lambayeque valley on Peru's north coast.

National Geographic reported that people of the Cupisnique culture, which thrived from roughly 1500 to 1000 B.C., built this temple (called Collud) in the Lambayeque valley, a desert area close to the Pacific Ocean in the north of the country.

The finds suggest that the three valley sites may have been part of a large capital for divine worship, said archaeologist Walter Alva, director of the Royal Tombs of Sipán Museum.

Alva and colleagues started the dig in November 2007, when they discovered a 4,000-year-old temple and a mural painting at the Ventarrón site in the valley. Both the temple and mural were the oldest ever found in the Americas.

The entire religious complex houses every ancient Peruvian architectural style up to the Inca, Walter Alva said, one of only a few sites in Peru that spans so many cultures.

The spider-god image appears often in other sites created during Peru's Early Formative Period, 1200 to 400 B.C.

For instance, the Garagay temple in Lima and the Limón Carro site in northern Peru both include the imagery, according to Ignacio Alva, Walter Alva's son and colleague.

At the newfound Collud, the spider god carried several meanings, experts say.

"The image combines a spider's neck and head, the mouth of a large cat, and a bird's beak. The spider is also carved with lines radiating from its neck, creating a web-like appearance," Ignacio Alva said.

The web symbolizes hunting nets, a sign of human progress and prosperity, Ignacio Alva said. Traps set with nets caught more prey than spear hunting, he added.

The opportunity to vote in a survey that will choose Latin America's top 100 most influential people will end tomorrow Thursday.

This survey is promoted by Antena 3 Internacional and the American Capital of Culture, a non-governmental organization that is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

Voting has two stages. National elections are carried out in each Latin American countries and took place from last April 21 to August 31, 2008.

In the second phase, elected candidates of all Latin American countries are put to a general vote.

These elections are already being held from September 15 and will close tomorrow October 30. From this, the final list will come out, organized by the number of votes.

The seven Peruvians who are taking part in this general election are the precursor of Latin America's independence, José Gabriel Condorcanqui, Túpac Amaru II, the writer Mario Vargas Llosa, the traditionalist writer Ricardo Palma, the theoretician José Carlos Mariategui, the composer María Isabel Granda Larco, known as Chabuca Granda, master guitar player Raúl García Zárate; and tenor Juan Diego Floréz Salom.

The country with the highest number of candidates is Brazil (14), followed by Mexico (12), and Argentina and Colombia (9).

The countries with the least number of representatives are Uruguay, Panamá, Paraguay, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Honduras. Each of these countries has only two candidates.

People interested in voting can do so through Antena 3 Internacional and the American Capital of Culture, both of which have established websites for participants.

Levi Novey

I recently visited a bathroom in Peru.

Check out the sign I saw.

Not to be rude, but do men from Peru know where to pee in a bathroom?

After snapping my photo and pondering if Peruvian men truly need that much guidance, I left the bathroom and mentioned what I had seen to my wife and mother-in-law.

It is without a doubt true that in Peru many public bathrooms –if not most– are disgusting.

The threat of toilet paper and soap being stolen from bathrooms by impoverished individuals leaves many public restrooms without these highly important supplies.

This fact, as well a lack of initiative to clean bathrooms, often results in unsanitary conditions. It has a large ripple effect, from contamination of foods, to the pollution of water, to the spread of disease.

It also creates a feeling of low national self-esteem that does not inspire people to cherish landscapes in both natural and urban environments (of course, this later statement comes with considerable exceptions).

But why would men pee on the floor purposely? If they are going to pee on the floor, why enter the bathroom in the first place?

I don’t know the answer, but I do know one thing. My mother-in-law summed it up defensively and concisely: “In the U.S. I saw pee on bathroom floors too!”

Touché.

So perhaps for a future article I should ask: Do people in the U.S. know where to pee in a bathroom?

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

In less than 24 hours, the annual celebration known as the "Gran Semana de Lima", which is organized by the Metropolitan Municipality of Lima, will begin for all to enjoy.

Currently in its fourth edition, the "Gran Semana de Lima" is sponsored by over eleven companies such as Inca Kola, Cristal, Movistar, BCP, Edelnor, Ripley, RPP and El Comercio among others.

With the goal of celebrating, cherishing and fostering the identity of Limeans, this grand celebration, which is to last until November 1, will include everything from art exhibitions and parades to concerts and gastronomic festivals.

"Gran Semana de Lima", which offers all its main events free of charge, will kick off with a spectacular light and firework show - organized and sponsored by Edelnor power company - at 7:30 p.m. at the city's Plaza de Armas.

Aside from viewing this magnificent display of fireworks - known as "Ciudad de las Luces" - participants will enjoy music by Nicole Pilman, one of the top three singers in the last edition of Latin American Idol.

Because of the magnitude of the inauguration ceremony, streets around the city's main square will be closed as early as 5 p.m. on Friday. Authorities have assured that they will reopen at approximately 10 p.m.

Click here for a complete list of events and more information on "Gran Semana de Lima".

Living in Peru
Jobana Soto

A massive turnout at last weekend’s Señor de Los Milagros led to heightened security initiatives as downtown Lima was packed with thousands of worshipers parading in purple attire and with rosaries in hand.

Whether you’re a religious believer or not, witnessing the largest Catholic procession in Latin America is truly an unforgettable experience. Although the two-day parade is long gone, there’s still a chance to catch Señor de Los Milagros next week on October 28 as worshipers will again parade through downtown Lima but for a shorter distance this time around. After this, the last time to catch the holy mural is on November 1 where many are expected to bid farewell before it makes its way home to the church of Las Nazarenas on Av. Tacna.

Señor de Los Milagros is a legendary tale dating back to 1651 when a slave who converted to Catholicism painted a portrait of Christ nailed to the cross on a wall of an old church outside of Lima. Four years later a tremendous earthquake hit the city, destroying all of the church except the wall on which the painting resides.

The mural was considered a miracle and worshiped mainly by the descendants of slaves but because of concern over its growing popularity the Spaniards decided to destroy it. Ironically, failure to destroy the wall converted the Spaniards into believers and decided to build a church that would hold the infamous mural instead. The church is now known as Las Nazarenas and the wall would survive two more earthquakes, the last being October 28, 1746 which leveled nearly the entire city of Lima destroying thousands of buildings and taking more than 18,000 lives.

The wall was again found untouched and since then it has been solidified as an important image in Catholic faith in Latin America.

To view a map of the procession of Señor de Los Milagros click here.

News Source: El Comercio

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

Eva Ayllón, Peru's leading Afro-Peruvian musician will delight fans in the United States with another tour of the country's biggest cities.

Among the cities the singer/songwriter is to perform in, are New York, Chicago and Miami.

In New York, the renowned singer will perform at Carnegie Hall in Midtown Manhattan.

Aside from these performances, Eva Ayllón has been invited to Berklee College of Music to take part in master singing and music classes as well as take part in acting.

She is to be at the university as an artist-in-residence and take part in the music department with an advanced jazz orchestra. Participating in these classes will be complemented by a performance on November 6.

While workshops with Ayllón will be open to the public, entrance to her concert has been restricted to guests from the university and members of the community of Boston.

On November 1, Ayllón will perform at the John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall in Miami and on the 8, she will be in New York at the Carnegie Hall. In Chicago, the Peruvian singer will perform at the House of Blues.

Eva Ayllón has earned four platinum records, ten gold and two Latin Grammy nominations.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

Art students from Peru successfully took part in the 15th Annual World Children's Picture Contest, in which 51,320 young artists from 67 countries participated.

Winners were chosen after two rigorous selection rounds left two hundred paintings from an array of categories.

While 7-year-old Sofía Cuba Perales received a silver medal, María José Beltrán (10), Viviana Valdivieso (10) and Sergio (8) along with his brother Mario (9) Velásquez Elguera all received honorable mentions.

It was reported that all five children were students at the Lima Art Museum (MALI), which hosted an event last year to choose the paintings that would be submitted to the World Children's Picture Contest.

Sofia Cuba, who began studying art at the MALI with Professor Juan Valdivieso when she was four years old, won the silver medal with her painting, "Las Cholitas", which was sent to Japan for the contest.