Peruanidad

Vote Cesar Muedas, June13

2006-05-31T11:56:00.000-05:00

Cesar Muedas is running for Commissioner of the City of Oak Hill.
Election day is Tuesday June 13, 2006.
Read all relevant details in
http://june13oakhill.blogspot.com
or send him an email to
june13cesarmuedas@gmail.com

The Music of "The New Heroes"

2005-07-05T22:16:00.000-05:00

National Public Radio devoted a segment of its program "Day to Day" today to highlight the uniqueness and high quality of the music and soundtrack created specifically for the new PBS documentary "The New Heroes". The archived audio stream is available from the PBS website. "The New Heroes" is the program noted in the preceding post and takes the viewers to Pucallpa and to the work of Albina Ruiz (see below).

In new PBS documentary: Albina Ruiz vale un Peru!

2005-07-05T21:14:00.000-05:00

Most local affiliates of the Public Broadcasting System aired tonight a new documentary that focuses on what 21st century entrepreneurs are doing in their own developing countries. The program, titled "The New Heroes" and hosted by Robert Redford, kicks off with a detailed report on the extraordinary work that Ms. Albina Ruiz is doing in Peru to eliminate the sub-human conditions that surround the handling of waste and garbage in Peru. The webpage dedicated to Ms. Ruiz is just a fragment of the vast and fruitful work she is leading in many communities (Pucallpa and Carhuaz are two examples extensively documented in the TV program).

WSJ quotes de Soto's "Capital"

2005-06-23T08:12:00.000-05:00

Lionel Tiger, in an editorial piece on the Wall Street Journal of June 22 (page A10), makes reference to Hernando de Soto's research with the following quote:

In his lively study, "The Mystery of Capital," Hernando De Soto shows how seemingly disorganized slums in poor countries maintain a precisely gauged metric of rights and obligations. People know their ground, stand their ground, and enjoy their ground. Mr. De Soto also advises to listen "for where the dogs bark," because that's where the boundaries are. Basic territoriality and allegiance thrive. The cumbersome legalism involved in securing a search warrant to ruffle through your bedroom reflects the severity of a home's importance.

Mr. Tiger, professor of anthropology at Rutgers University, is author of "The Decline of Males" (St. Martin's, 2000).

Public Radio reports on Uros and Lake Titicaca

2005-06-23T05:46:00.000-05:00

On June 22, the show "Day to Day" of National Public Radio, featured the story "Tourism a Blessing and Curse for Uros Indians". The audio stream is availble online, and the excerpt mentions that "tourism is having a big impact on the Uros Indians, a tribe of fishermen who live on islands in the middle of Lake Titicaca, high in the Andes Mountains between Bolivia and Peru. The indigenous people are finding the increased tourism to their unique, man-made islands both a curse and a blessing". The segment's producer is Reese Erlich.

Front page of WSJ: Peru, ukukus and global warming

2005-06-19T22:00:00.000-05:00

The front page of the Wall Street Journal of Friday, June 17, 2005 presents a 1200-word article that connects the dots among such disparate stories as the Señor de Qoyllur Riti ceremonies, climate change and the work of a scientist at the Department of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. The WSJ reporter is Antonio Regalado, and the title and subtitle of the piece are: "The Ukukus Wonder Why a Sacred Glacier Melts in Peru's Andes: It could portend world's end so mountain worshipers are stewarding the ice". An excerpt is reproduced below:

QOLQEPUNKU GLACIER, Peru -- One recent moonlit night high in the Peruvian Andes, about 200 men dressed in furry cloaks and woolen masks trekked up to a glacier whose ice is said to have magical healing properties.

In the past these men, called ukukus after the word for bear in the local Quechua language, cut and hauled down large blocks of ice to share with family, friends and livestock as part of an annual Catholic pilgrimage known as El Señor de Qoyllur Rit'i that usually draws about 40,000 worshipers to a dizzying 16,000 feet above sea level.

These days, cutting ice is all but taboo. "We used to take ice, but now it's prohibited," said Darwin Apaza Año, a broad-faced ukuku from the province of Anta.

The bear-men say their sacred glacier is disappearing. Over a period of two decades, its edge has drawn back 600 feet along the boulder-strewn slope leading to the church in the valley below, according to people here. Even compared with last year, the glacier is noticeably smaller.

That's a worrisome portent for locals who still worship snowcapped mountains as gods, or apus. It's out of concern for the apu living here, the bear-men say, that they have decided not to take any more blocks of ice.

Although few on this remote mountaintop are aware of it, the demise of this Andean ice-cutting ritual is likely the result of global warming. The United Nations says rising temperatures are causing glaciers to recede throughout the world, with some of the most pronounced effects on relatively rare patches of ice in countries like Peru that lie within the tropics.

A study by the Peruvian government in 1997 found that the country's glaciers had shrunk by more than 20% over 30 years. The National Commission on Climate Change in Lima now predicts that Peru could lose all its glaciers below 18,000 feet in elevation in the next 10 years. Within 40 years, they may all be gone.

Amid Peru's high mountains, where locals scratch a living from potatoes and alpaca wool, most people have little idea that changes to their climate may be caused by global warming. As debate rages in industrialized countries over how to control the problem, it is people living in remote regions like the Andes and in the Arctic who are the first to feel the impact of climate change.

The cosmological implications of the missing snow are clear to people here. According to local myth, when the snow disappears from the tops of the mountains, it will herald the end of the world. "That's what the farmers say. But I believe it, too," said Ramón Salizar Flores, a shopkeeper in the southern city of Cuzco who last made the 10-hour trip to Qoyllur Rit'i six years ago.

Qoyllur Rit'i, which means "resplendent snow" in Quechua, likely started out hundreds of years ago as a rite to the apus, said Jean-Jacques Decoster, who teaches precolonial history at the University of Cuzco, located in the onetime capital of the Inca empire. Later, in 1780 as tradition has it, Jesus appeared on the mountain in the guise of a little blond boy.

"When Spaniards had difficulty converting the populace, they invented a miracle," said Enrique Vera Farfan, a tour guide who is also a dancer in one of dozens of troupes that parade nonstop around the mountainside, accompanied by noisy brass bands.

Today Catholic and pagan traditions are fused, an effect known as syncretism. For instance, the glacial ice is deemed to be holy water, and it is also still revered as the apu's semen, good for fertilizing Pacha Mama, or Mother Earth. "It's the same thing," Mr. Vera explained between gulps of coca-leaf tea.

Until recently, a highlight of the festival was when the ukukus carried down heavy blocks of ice tied to their backs. Some of the ice found its way 100 miles northwest to Cuzco's cathedral. Other pieces were distributed on the spot as a healing elixir.

The ukukus first started to get worried about the ice about 1993, said Carlos Flores Lizana, a former Jesuit priest who ran the Qoyllur Rit'i sanctuary at the time. The mystical bear-men, who consider themselves guardians of the snow, worried that taking ice might be causing it to shrink. "They had the ecological issue in mind," said Mr. Flores. "They didn't want the glacier destroyed more."

Amazing Race discovers Peru

2005-03-12T10:16:00.000-06:00

CBS's reality/tavel/adventure show "The Amazing Race" launched its seventh season a couple of weeks ago by taking the participants to Peru for the first leg of the competition. Cuzco and Machu Picchu were the highlights of episode 1 but other locations where also used for live shooting (Lima, and Arequipa). The online webpages show some interesting vignettes: There is good info on Cuzco, some pictures of the competition ... but by far the best stuff online is the collection of video reports by the host, New Zealander Phil Keoghan, as he arrives to the different locations ahead of the participants.

Tenth day of physicians strike

2005-03-10T01:07:00.000-06:00

More than 13000 doctors began a national strike on March 1. No resolution as of the time of this entry. The Associated Press provides detailed updates on pieces of March 2 and March 8.

Majority of Peruvians would support female presidential candidate

2005-03-10T00:59:00.000-06:00

A recent poll by Universidad de Lima indicates ample support for a female politician seeking the presidency (87.6% of more than 560 responses). The report by ANSAlatina was published on March 7 and was part of news pieces referring to the Womens' International Day celebrated March 8.

Bolivian leader spreads indian movement to Peru and Chile

2005-03-10T00:45:00.000-06:00

ANSA reports on Bolivian coca grower Evo Morales intention to grow his indian movement beyond Bolivia's borders. The article dated March 8 also aludes to the founding of the Peruvian branch of his "Movimiento al Socialismo" last February.

Colca Canyon and condors get PBS exposure

2005-02-28T10:50:00.000-06:00

Several public TV affiliates have begun airing the series "The Desert Speaks" with a special episode dedicated to "Peru's Canyon of the Condor". The corresponding website also includes journal entries by the show host Dr. David Yetman. This refreshing exposure of the Colca canyon to a wide audience helps expand the knowledge of Peru beyond the traditional tourist destinations.

Sendero kills three policemen in jungle ambush

2005-02-21T23:33:00.000-06:00

The Associated Press reports that, according to official sources, Maoist Shining Path insurgents ambushed and killed three Peruvian policemen in a remote jungle area known for guerrilla activity. The officers were driving Sunday evening in the Huallaga Valley about 205 miles northwest of Lima when more than 70 rebels sprayed their SUV with semiautomatic weapons fire, police said. Sunday's attack was the first on police in the former guerrilla stronghold since June, when two officers and a marine died in a similar ambush.
(Link above also includes AP headlines on Peru for the last 2 weeks).

Typically Peruvian

2005-02-21T12:45:00.000-06:00

Two weeks ago, about 1500 Peruvians from around the world completed an online poll to pick - under 24 different categories - the best of what is authentically Peruvian. The results were published by the Peruvian portal Adonde and announced via soc.culture.peru.

Gevalia goes organic with Peruvian coffee

2005-02-17T10:12:00.000-06:00

Almost two months after we spotted Peruvian coffee at Costco (see post of December 21), we learn that Gevalia is introducing organic coffe to its catalog and is choosing a Peruvian source. You may order online at $7.25/lb or act splendid and go for the full gift set at $34.95.

2005-02-17T10:11:00.000-06:00

Peruvian Organic Coffee by Gevalia

A. Humala and gunmen agree to lay down weapons at police station in Andahuaylas

2005-01-03T01:16:00.000-06:00

The Associated Press reports that 2 days after seizing a police station in Andahuaylas, Antauro Humala, "the leader of a nationalist group" has agreed to end the standoff. The same report includes quotes from the two Humala brothers and from Interior Minister C. Ferrero. The group in question is further described as "a nationalist indigenous movement modeled on the ancient Incan Empire". In concluding the piece, AP mentions the aproval rating of President Toledo at 9%.

Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad!!

2004-12-25T11:15:00.000-06:00

Norte Chico: oldest complex culture in the Americas

2004-12-23T04:33:00.000-06:00

NPR's "All Things Considered" of 12/22 reported extensively on the recent discovery of archaelogical evidence that may bring prominence to de site of Norte Chico as the oldest complex culture in the entire continent. The link includes the audio file of the broadcast. The academic research has been conducted by Jonathan Haas, Winifred Creamer and Alvaro Ruiz and just described in a letter to the journal Nature under the title "Dating the Late Archaic occupation of the Norte Chico region in Peru". Geographically, the Norte Chico region on the coast of Peru north of Lima consists of four adjacent river valleys: Huaura, Supe, Pativilca and Fortaleza.
The same webpage through the NPR link above lists older stories on Ancient Civilizations along Lake Titicaca and on Lost Temples of Peru (Parts I and II).

Peruvian coffee in the US

2004-12-21T22:25:00.000-06:00

The picture below documents the current availability of Peruvian coffee at some Costco stores in the US. You can learn plenty about this fine export from Peru by visiting PeruCoffee.com, or the sites sponsored by B.J.'s Coffee Company or Sweet Maria's.

2004-12-21T22:24:00.000-06:00

Peruvian coffee at Costco: $6.99 for 2 lbs.

Death Toll at 49 in Peruvian Bus Crash

2004-12-21T22:14:00.000-06:00

The Associated Press reports details of a bus crash that killed 49 and injured 15 near Aguaytia. The AP piece also indicates a 20% increase in the number of deaths in rural bus crashes in Peru in the last year.

More than 550,000 Peruvians in the U.S.?

2004-12-16T10:37:00.000-06:00

The number of Peruvians living in the United States may be as high as 552,778. The calculation is based on the numbers reported by Javier Justo of JustOnline Inc. (Miami, FL), who is also one of the lead organizers of the website Club de Peruanos.com. His report breaks down the estimates for Peruvians in 100 cities and metropolitan areas in the US.
We welcome any fact-checking or fact-based disclosure that may help us refine or improve the accuracy of these estimates.

Miss Peru crowned Miss World 2004

2004-12-05T23:30:00.000-06:00

Maria Julia Mantilla Garcia repeats what Madeleine Hartog-Bell accomplished in 1967: the title of Miss World. See story and photos as reported by CNN. El Comercio covers ample details in three separate articles (1, 2, 3) and reminds us that 2 other Peruvian ladies enjoy similar worldwide recognition: Gladys Zender (Miss Universe 1957) and Lucila Boggiano de Zoeger (Mrs. World 1989).

From Luis Alva to Juan Diego Florez

2004-11-28T13:20:00.000-06:00

Perhaps you need to be Peruvian and at least 30 years old for the name Luis Alva to ring a bell. Without further digression, a short piece of news (La Republica, Nov.01 2004) offers some background and update on him.
Juan Diego Florez, on the other hand, is the XXI century Peruvian tenor that is making a mark as no other before. A guise de introduction, you may look at his personal website, his official site under the Decca label, or even download his rendition of the Peruvian National Anthem. An informative bio of Mr.Florez has been compiled by Jean Peccei. Searching by name under Amazon.com will give you access to his full discography.

The $64000-dream that wasn't

2004-11-28T13:05:00.000-06:00

On Thanksgiving Eve, the Associated Press reports on the unsuccessful journey of 8 Peruvians aiming at an eventual US-border crossing by traveling by car through Honduras. Eight persons are identified by name and age, with the cost of the illegal enterprise amounting to $8000 per capita (full article in Spanish).

A window into Peruvian literature

2004-10-21T02:30:00.000-05:00

An opportunity to sample representative work of Peruvian authors. Under the title "Apuntes de literatura peruana", this site offers more than 50 direct links to online texts (regrettably, a number of URLs are outdated).

Fidel Dolorier's selections

2004-10-21T02:19:00.000-05:00

A unique mix of highlights and snapshots of Peruvian culture. Total of eleven entries covering a diverse sampling: from Pisco sour to Sarita Colonia.

Mr. Delgado in the WSJ

2004-10-14T03:00:00.000-05:00

The Wall Street Journal of Oct.11 reports on ACNielsen targeting Hispanics through the example of Peruvian-American employee Jose Delgado. An excerpt is reproduced below; and if you are a WSJ online subscriber, you may gain access to the full story.

Nielsen's Search for Hispanics is a Delicate Job

By MIRIAM JORDAN
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 11, 2004; Page B1

LOS ANGELES -- Jorge Delgado pounds the pavements of this city's blue-collar neighborhoods, knocking on doors if he thinks someone is home. Mr. Delgado is often mistaken for an immigration officer, a missionary or a swindler. He has been chased away by jealous husbands.

But the 57-year-old Peruvian-American isn't selling encyclopedias, proselytizing or looking for love. As a recruiter for market-research company AC Nielsen, he's trying to persuade one of the nation's fastest-growing consumer groups -- Hispanic immigrants -- to cough up information about their shopping habits.

It isn't particularly easy. Mr. Delgado pleads, cajoles and applies some gentle arm-twisting. He tells the people who answer the door that he isn't interested in their immigration status. He tries appealing to community spirit, to the Latino sense of family. "You will make Hispanics count," he tells potential recruits. "Companies will know what we like and better serve our people."

Mr. Delgado, who has been a recruiter for three years, once knocked on 208 doors before signing up a single participant. A more typical success rate is one in 40. "It's a tough job just getting them to open the door," says Mr. Delgado, who knows tough jobs. He used to sell health insurance.

Mr. Delgado dresses neatly, but not too neatly, lest someone mistake him for a door-to-door missionary. His first task is overcoming the fundamental obstacles in door-to-door sales. On a recent trip to Los Angeles's Huntington Park area, he spotted some evangelists who had arrived ahead of him. He made a U-turn and headed back. "Nobody was going to listen to me anymore around there," he says.

If Mr. Delgado gets a foot in the door, he tries to explain that Homescan participants can accumulate points to claim prizes. And Nielsen usually offers new participants a free mug, a key chain or a pen. But Hispanic households dismissed those inducements as insignificant. Instead, Nielsen sends $5 to Hispanic families as a welcome gift and then another $5 every month they participate.

Even after Mr. Delgado manages to find someone to empanelar -- his Spanglish term for signing someone up -- another hurdle arises: teaching participants how to use the scanner. The lesson can take more than two hours. He leaves his cellphone number behind, in case of emergencies.

One enthusiastic participant called almost every time he used the scanner, Mr. Delgado recalls. Once, the panelist called to ask which button to press for a shoe store. Mr. Delgado always helps out, even if a call interrupts his Sunday nap. His wife suggested Mr. Delgado tell the man to read the manual. "He's my panelist and I have to help him," says Mr. Delgado.

Not all of Mr. Delgado's encounters are such hard work. If he gets inside, Mr. Delgado is sometimes offered something to eat and drink. If he overcomes all suspicion, he is treated like a friend. AC Nielsen recruiters say they often are invited to parties thrown by participants.

But after investing hours explaining the scanner, sometimes Mr. Delgado has to reject willing participants if it's clear they don't really understand how it works. "I feel bad when I have to turn people down," he says.

Machu Picchu in Chicago

2004-10-11T14:55:00.000-05:00

After touring LA, Pittsburg, Denver and Houston, this extraordinary exhibit reaches its last stop in Chicago. If you can make it, don't miss the "avant premiere" presentation this October 14: An evening with the curators. A heartfelt thanks to Prof. Richard Burger!

Peruvia: news you can use

2004-10-10T17:36:00.000-05:00

The best in its class as a summary and digest of of English language news on Peru.

2004-10-09T21:16:00.000-05:00

Peruanidad.blogspot.com

Street Maps of Lima

2004-10-09T20:54:00.000-05:00

We just ran into a collection of street maps of Lima (online) that was a very pleasant surprise. Check the link and verify that the area(s) of interest to you is(are) adequately identified. Send us your comments ... And Gracias Inka Tour!

A Peruvian connection

2004-10-09T01:17:00.000-05:00

This inaugural posting simply indicates our intention to consolidate news and updates about all things Peruvian. Your comments and suggestions are very welcome!