LAX - LIM

Hot Spots: Bangkok, the other City of the Angels

2010-05-15T16:44:00.000-07:00

LA and Bangkok have many connections.

At the least, both Pacific Rim cities are named for angels: Los Angeles, and Krung Thep, กรุงเทพฯ, City of Angels.

I admit I've had a hard time grasping the minute details: yellow shirts, red shirts, et als.

My understanding is it's about the business class, allied with the military, vs. the poorer classes and opposition.

And there's some type of electoral fraud thrown in for good measure.

And of course, manipulation.

Surprise!

I promise I'll inform myself better in the near future, mea culpa.

I've always admired Thailand for having had a wise monarchy; during the height of European expansionism in South East Asia, the Thai king negotiated a colonial-free Siam (later, Thailand, Land of the Free), making Thailand the only SE Asian country never colonized.

Interestingly, since a constitutional monarchy was established in 1932, Thailand has had various coups; and now, according to some sources, the country is on the brink of a civil war.

The King hasn't gotten involved; which, to me, is surprising.

When there is live fire on the streets in Krung Thep, I'd think he'd take a side and then use his powerful moral authority to stop the violence.

But, as I said, I don't understand the intricacies of the Thai situation.

Filmed on the streets of Bangkok this week:

The immediacy of this video is frightening. It feels so real you almost smell gunpowder. It views like the best live journalism; another tribute to new media and the power of the individual. I imagine myself in that alley, hearing all the gun shots; trembling, full of adrenaline.

Last year, during the height of the unrest in Iran, I saw a number of videos shot from behind gates and fences and other barriers. This video from Krung Thep reminded me of those in Iran.

.

Quechua Commercial

2010-01-04T23:03:00.000-08:00

This is no news to anyone who pays attention to what goes on in Peru, but as my first 2010 post at LAX-LIM, I wanted to comment.

Is it a good thing Quechua is used as a marketing tool for a multinational cellular phone company?

I don't care.

I like the fantasy of the well-dressed women, in upscale pseudo-traditional clothing, in beautifully appointed settings, selling Movistar, in Quechua.

I know it's capitalism to the nth degree, but I wish this was the reality in Peru: indigenous people being wealthy, having nice surroundings, and being able to be on TV in Quechua.

There are many loan words from Quechua in Peruvian Spanish, but Quechua itself is seen as having very little value as a language.

Why learn Quechua if you can learn English, or better yet Mandarin, seems to a prevailing stream of thought.

A language is not just the sum of how many people speak it, or how much money you can make from being able to communicate in it.

Quechua is a connection to a long history: it represents a cosmology, a vision of the world.

I can only speak English and Spanish; damn, I wish I knew Quechua as well.

.

Andean Women Learning To Read In Quechua & Spanish

2008-09-04T06:05:00.000-07:00

A recent article by Flor Huilca, a Cuzco correspondent for La República newspaper, profiled Andean women who leave their homes and fields to head to class with their children and learn to read in Quechua and Spanish.

As Huilco writes: "It is never too late to learn. Robertina, Juanita, Cristina, and Jesusa, all women from native communities in Espinar, know this all too well and have decided to attend literacy class once a week."

For the first time, these women can read and write their and their children's names, as well as signs they encounter.

According to Huilco, some women "like Juana Huacarpuma may take a while to syllabicate Quechua words like simi (language, mouth), sipas (young woman), and sisi (ant) but her reward is undeniable. At 42, this was the first time Juana had ever entered a classroom and sat at a desk." Some of her classmates walk two hours each way to class.

Huilco explains Huacarpuma had never been sent to school by her parents, but finally, as an adult, she enrolled in the literacy program at K'anamarca Espinar.

She says she's learning, "little by little". Learning to hold and control the pencil was a challenge at first, but it is no longer.

Interestingly, even though she is fluent in Quechua, she thinks she reads and writes better in Spanish, since she always thought, "Quechua was just for speaking, not for writing." Now, Juana can read and write and help her children with their homework.

Huilco also tells the story of Cristina Kataca who had gone to school as a child but had forgotten almost everything. She could read slowly, write her name and her Peruvian identification card number, she knew how to sign her name, but she wouldn't dare to try anything else. After six months of classes, she has advanced considerably in reading and writing.

There is something poignant about the struggle of these women to attain literacy, something so many of us take for granted.

According to the article, 73% of 175,000 illiterate people in the Cuzco region are women, usually living in extreme poverty.

The regional government is trying to create a year-long program, which consists of ten units in Spanish and four in Quechua. Materials used reflect the reality of the communities where the program is being implemented.

Read the entire article at this link.

clipped from www.larepublica.com.pe

De lejos. Muchas de las participantes en el programa acuden a recibir clases desde lejanas comunidades de la provincia de Espinar.

En voz alta. Esta campesina repasa la lectura aprendida y demuestra que es posible ser madre, ser esposa, trabajadora del campo, y a la vez aplicada alumna.

Aplicada. Esta joven madre parece demostrarnos que si ella puede, otras mujeres iletradas también.

Participan mujeres de toda edad.

Barin Bababo: Shipibo Konibo: Cosmovision of an Amazonian People

2008-09-01T22:13:00.000-07:00

In the slums at the base of Cerro San Cristóbal, an arid mountain rising on the far side of the Rimac River from Lima's historic center, there is a community called Cantagallo. It is where the Shipibo people, who have migrated from the Amazonian region of Peru to its desert capital, live.

Amidst the precarious homes and the nearby traffic belching out pollution, young Shipibo artists create beauty: paintings that reflect their unique Amazonian cosmology.

This talented collective of young indigenous artists have had numerous shows in Lima and other parts of Peru.

These are three videos of members of the Shipibo tribe, who come from the fertile valleys of the Pucallpa region in the Peruvian Amazonian, to live in the center of arid Lima.

Sources & Photos: Barin Bababo Blog, Barin Babao at Flickr.

Los Canarios & The Plane Crash In Madrid

2008-08-24T04:13:00.000-07:00

Paso Doble Islas Canarias sung by
Agrupación Folclórica San Cristóbal
of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

As a young man, I lived for four years in Spain, two in the Canary Islands.

I lived, loved, laughed, cried, grew, sang, learned on Gran Canaria.

For most Europeans, Gran Canaria is just holiday spot.

For me, it is the place whence I met one of my dearest life-long friends. An island that accepted me as I was, warts and all.

And, although I haven't been back in many years, I still attempt to keep abreast of the happenings on those seven islands off the coast of northwest Africa that belong to Spain, las Islas Canarias.

A friend of mine wrote a thesis on the Canaries as the prototype for the Conquest of the New World.

There is truth to that argument, but what I took away from the Canaries is that it serves as a bridge between Europe and the Americas, between penninsular Spain and the legacy of Spain in the Western Hemisphere.

The tragic plane crash in Madrid, in which more than half of the passengers lived on Gran Canaria, made me shudder. The notion of whole families being wiped out is beyond my grasp.

As a frequent flyer, I realize how tenuous that fine line is between life and death, between survival and destruction, between what is in one's in control and what is truly out of one's control.

Like so many others, I weep.

The paso doble Islas Canarias has a beautiful line at its end, when the main singer says:

El mundo tiene una Europa,
Europa tiene una España,
España tiene un jardín,
Que son ¡las islas Canarias!

A River Cries Out: The Rimac River Project

2008-08-20T00:49:00.000-07:00

Río Rimac, Rimac River.

In the old days, they called it El Río Hablador, The River That Speaks.

During the winter rains in the Andes, the water would rush down so forcefully the sound of the constant grinding of the giant boulders that line the riverbed seemed to make a noise akin to talking.

I think that still happens at the height of the rainy season in the Andes; but, mostly when I think of the Rimac in its current state, I just imagine a polluted, uncared-for, and abandoned river.

As the Rimac approaches, and traverses Lima, it is akin to a giant garbage disposal system.

Three Peruvian artists (Jorge Luis Baca de las Casas, Alejandro Jaime Carbonel, Guillermo Palacios Pomareda) felt the same way, but decided to do something about it, creating the Proyecto Río Rimac, the Rimac River Project, which is both a love song and an accusation, a testament and denunciation.

They decided one way to raise awareness about this emblematic river was to walk, during 21 days, the entire length of the Rimac, from its genesis in the high Andean puna to the spot in the Callao Naval Base where its waters meet the ocean.

They took photographs, drew pictures, videographed, and blogged the project, from beginning to end.

Their blog is available in English and Spanish, and they plan on having an exhibition at the Centro Cultural de España, the Cultural Center of Spain, in Lima, during the APEC conference this coming October.

I posted the above photos from the Río Rimac project.

It was too depressing to post the pictures of the river after man's polluting hand.

Definitely worth checking out the following links:

Proyecto Río Rimac blog

They have great photos on Flickr, here are the links:

first four days

days 5 to 8

days 9 to 12

days 12 to 14

days 15 to 17

day 18

day 19

day 20

day 21

There was also a report on the Peruvian television program, Cuarto Poder, that discussed the project in Spanish.

Here is that video, in two parts:

Computer Panic

2008-08-19T00:39:00.000-07:00

I admit it.

I curled up into a fetal ball and moaned as I lay in the center of my apartment after seeing the screen telling me there was a major problem with my operating system.

It took me at least a couple of days, and the help of a resilient friend, to drive around LA's Koreatown until we located a computer repair shop. The fragile CPU sat in my arms, like a forlorn babe awaiting redemption.

In a non-descript office building, brimming with signs in Hanjul, I found the temple of resurrection.

Surprisingly, or not for my hood, it was run by a Salvadoran who took pity on me, but still told me it would be over the weekend before he could diagnose the problem.

Early Monday morning the phone rang, and the problem was resolved almost effortlessly.

Nonetheless, for the first time in a long while I spent five long days without internet access, other what I was able to glom off sympathetic friends.

I realize: in the urban jungle in which I live, there are certain necessities of life, which include a phone, a car, and a computer. They have become the technological holy triad of the twenty-first century.

Thank you, Pachamama, for making sure everything worked out again...

Urban Spiderwebs...

2008-08-01T08:04:00.001-07:00

That's how a friend describes the freeways of Southern California; I think of them as arteries, pulsating, maintaining alive the movement of people and transport across this vast urban/suburban landscape which is so confusing to those who arrive from elsewhere, but to me seems as familiar as the lines on the palms of my hand. There is beauty in the lines on my palms; there is beauty amidst the chaos of our freeways...

Happy Birthday!

2008-01-21T03:40:00.000-08:00

One of my heroes...Dr. Martin Luther King...

Hungry?

2008-01-13T03:04:00.000-08:00

Something to celebrate the Year of the Potato...

Just A Street In Trujillo

2007-10-22T22:15:00.000-07:00

Just one of those things you see when wandering around the historic part of this historic city.

Crenshaw

2007-10-21T13:41:00.000-07:00

A Shop in Orcotuna

2007-10-19T19:34:00.001-07:00

My maternal grandfather's town: the ancestral village.

A shop:

two lads,
musicians resting,
drink on the floor,
merchandise on the shelves.
Orcotuna.

Wanka walarshmi ka...

It Must Be Venice...

2007-09-03T01:38:00.000-07:00

Mural along the Venice boardwalk.

Angelino Sign

2007-08-30T02:11:00.000-07:00

What you see anywhere, any night, here in LA...

Munchkin Patterns

2007-08-13T22:44:00.000-07:00

Well, they are just in kindergarten.

Crab Soup In Barranco

2007-08-06T08:55:00.000-07:00

Man, this makes me so hungry...

Jesus, Beer, and Inca Kola

2007-08-04T03:06:00.000-07:00

Just something I found in the small Andean town of Jauja.

Tiles

2007-07-30T19:15:00.000-07:00

One day I went to the Mercado La Paloma, here in Los Angeles, and came across this tile wall.

Street Art In The Amazon

2007-07-22T22:50:00.000-07:00

I was walking along a street in the hot and humid Amazonian town of Nauta, about 50 miles from Iquitos, when I spotted this doorway, a combination of art and religion.

Colors

2007-05-22T00:17:00.000-07:00

Colors I discovered on a recent walk along ultra chichi Abbot Kinney in Venice. This was not the chichi part.

Bank On Wheels: South Central LA

2007-05-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

I thought I had seen it all, but this bank on wheels near Long Beach Boulevard and Slauson (south central a todo dar) took me by surprise.

Los Angeles Police Department Vs. Immigrant Rights Demonstrators

2007-05-01T22:09:00.000-07:00

The pro-immigrant rally in Los Angeles ended in violence, thanks to the attitude of the Los Angeles Police Department, who dispersed the crowd with rubber bullets and tear gas, a crowd including mothers with children, the elderly and handicapped, and many others who were peacefully congregated. Yes, there was a small group of troublemakers, mainly youth who wanted to provoke the police, but the police fell into the trap, and the outcome is that the vast peaceful majority had to pay for it.

Even Telemundo's Pedro Sevcec was not safe from the police action. This is a photo moments before we all had to flee the area as the police cracked batons and fired rubber bullets at the crowd.

This photo demonstrates the peaceful character of the overwhelming majority of the people who gathered in Los Angeles' MacArthur Park.

Democratic Secular Turkey

2007-04-30T00:50:00.000-07:00

I don't usually post other people's pictures, but serious times require serious actions. On April 14, over a million people marched in Ankara to defend Turkey's secular and democratic heritage. Today, April 29, another million people marched in Istanbul for the same cause. I am posting these pictures in solidarity with my secular and democratic Turkish sisters and brothers.

City Flag

2007-04-24T23:41:00.000-07:00

I love flags.

The flag of the City of Los Angeles was designed in 1931 for Los Angeles' 150th anniversary. The red represents the vineyards, the golden-yellow depicts the orange groves, and the green symbolizes the olive trees. The center of the flag features the City Seal, which dates from 1905. The center features the four flags that have flown over Los Angeles: Spain, Mexico, the California Republic, and the United States. The olives, grapes, and oranges represent Los Angeles' agricultural roots. The rosary around the seal symbolizes the role played by the Mission padres in the city's early history.

Saksaywaman

2007-03-23T16:45:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite photos of Saksaywaman, also known as Saksaq Waman, Sasa Waman, and in Spanish, Sacsayhuamán.

Ten West

2007-03-13T16:42:00.000-07:00

Freeways in LA, like arteries, transport countless cells through the urban circulatory system.

Iquitos Tiles

2007-03-07T21:55:00.000-08:00

Many of the historical buildings in Iquitos are covered in exuberant tiles, an architectural influence from Brazil and Portugal.

Freedom Won't Wait

2007-03-04T00:01:00.000-08:00

Heading west along 54th street towards Crenshaw.

In Flagrante Delicto

2007-03-02T16:17:00.000-08:00

This made me burst out loud in laughter over my bowl of cereal earlier this week.

For the kid in the photo, it was just another school day and a little bit of tagging in the morning before heading into class.

What the kid didn't know was that the passengers on the bus he was tagging included Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent David L. Brewer, along with a team of reporters and photographers, including Anne Cusack, who snapped him in flagrante delicto.

Certainly, he never expected his photo to be splayed across the front page of the Los Angeles Times.

old Lima

2007-03-01T06:44:00.000-08:00

Lima was still a small town, especially for a capital city, at least until the late 1950s

central Lima, as it had for centuries, was the focal point of Lima society, and Jirón de la Unión was the chic street in town

these photos are out on the internet, because of their age, the original copyright has expired, and they belong to the public domain

downtown LA buildings

2007-02-28T00:01:00.000-08:00

i've decided i need to make this blog a fotolog for a while

i've learned maintaining a good blog requires a lot of time and dedication, and my food blog keeps me pretty busy

yet, i want to have a space in which to write in english about whatever strikes my fancy

for now, i think i'd like to just post my photos and make some commentary

i need a stress-free blog, where i don't feel that each post has to be a literary masterpiece

because in that mindset, i rarely post

so here goes:

yesterday there was a storm here, so today was brilliantly blue, a perfect day to drive around downtown taking pictures of tall buildings.

Carniceria Las Muchachas

2007-02-23T18:50:00.000-08:00

It was a wonderfully clear day today in LA; yesterday, for the first time all winter, we got a real rainstorm, so although it was cold (by Angeleno standards), it was also very clear and the sky was a brilliant blue. I had seen this mural at Orchard and Venice a few days ago. Since it faces west, I knew that today in the afternoon, on my way home from a friend's house in South LA, the light would be perfect.

Lafayette Park

2007-02-20T21:52:00.003-08:00

One of the emblems of Los Angeles, the palm tree. This one was in Lafayette Park, one of the city's oldest.

Playing With Color 2

2007-02-20T21:52:00.001-08:00

This is an entryway to one of the original carparks of the 1920 buildings along Wilshire Boulevard, which accounts as for the narrow width.

Playing With Color

2007-02-20T21:51:00.001-08:00

This stretch of Wilshire Boulevard is where the first Korean stores begin. This one is a tailor's near historic Lafayette Park.

Echo Park

2007-02-16T21:25:00.001-08:00

Something I saw in Echo Park today.

Video: Silent Movie About Lima in 1927 From General Motors

2007-02-01T21:00:00.000-08:00

I first read about the videos of Lima in the 1950s (the year of filming turns out to be 1944) mentioned by David Sasaki on Global Voices Online, who wrote they they had been posted by the Lima-based poet and journalist, Fernando Obregón Rossi on the Peruvian blog, pospost. The original You Tube poster poetafer, also has a 1927 video of Lima, which many bloggers have reposted.

For some reason, most scenes repeat in this video filmed by The General Motors Export Division, in a film titled 'General Motors Around The World'.

This is the first text. If you prefer, scroll straight to video.

"General Motors one of the world's greatest commercial and industrial corporations.

Over a million persons get their livelihood from entrprises under its sway; its manufacturing plants hum busily in 250 cities; its products bring pleasure and comfort into the lives of untold thousands in all parts of the world."

There is then a cut to a view of a GM vehicle in Andes, traversing the altiplano amidst snow-capped mountains and driving through villages with streets full of llamas.

Then there is map of of GM distibutors and dealers in Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America.

The next text says:

"The vast mineral wealth of Peru is the basis of commercial progress and luxury."

Now, there's a cut to an elite women dressed in flapper fashion standing in front of a mansion (I wounder if it is what is currently the Lima Country Club), The woman descends the steps and boards into a luxury GM model.

The next text reads:

"Lima, Peru, has the oldest traffic laws in the world. The man who invented the one-way street came from Lima."

I don't know if that is a true claim or not, but the camera cuts to a street in what is now Central Lima, where a GM models competes with pedestrians and burros. The Plaza San Martin is shown, which had just been inagurated in 1921.

Here is the video:

The.Flying.Gato@gmail.com
.
.
.

Video: Lima, 1944 Documentary

2007-01-21T16:22:00.000-08:00

I first read about these historical videos made of a film of Lima in the 1940s as a brief mention by David Sasaki on Global Voices Online, who noted they had appeared on the Peruvian blog, pospost, by the Lima-based poet and journalist, Fernando Obregón Rossi. The videos are originally posted on You Tube by poetafer.

I give some background information about the film; if you prefer, go straight to the videos to watch them.

This film, called simply Lima, was funded by US Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, a government agency from 1940 to 1946 aimed at promoting increased commercial and economic cooperation among the US and other Western Hemisphere countries.

As part of this initiative, producer Julien Bryan was hired by President Franklin Roosvelt to make a series of films to be shown to students about Latin American and its customs. Clearly, the video attempts to portray Lima as a modern city, rooted in history, with an emerging middle-class and industrial base. The photography and script are by documentarians Jules and Miriam Bucher. Special mention should be made about the music; although no credit is given, it is used dramatically to underscore the film in a very 1950s fashion.

As this video begins, severe music and graphics lead us to the credits. We see where Lima is located in South America, as we listen to a superficial history of Lima's history.

The first city shots are from what looks like the Hotel Bolivar on Plaza San Martin, followed by some nice shots of central Lima streets, transportation, and pedestrians.

We see the 'city on top of the city', the life being led on Lima's rooftops.

A quick cutaway take us to the Plaza de Armas where the camera lingers on the statue of Pizarro.

The narrator is concerned, even as we see historic colonial churches, we understand 'the new Lima is much like other modern cities the world over'.

We then see an interesting cross-section of people displaying devotion to an image of a Virgen outside a Lima church.

Suddenly, we're at the Lima racetrack and viewing 'the leisure class', who are described as 'the present-day representative of the immensely rich aristocracy'.

Middle-class people are also shown at the racetrack, and we hear about how the middle class is small but growing. We see so much of the horsetrack, it makes me wonder if the filmmaker wasn't a betting man himself.

Finally, we're back in central Lima, viewing the colonnaded passages along the Plaza San Martín. We see the old Lima streetcars, while the narrator launches into a long explanation of the tradition of closing down for two hours daily for a long lunch.

Lima Part 1:
Running Time: 5:15

This second part of the film shows Lima waking up from its siesta, with some good shots of random streets and businesses in the center. Then, as the narrator discusses the fact Lima is in an earthquake zone, we see earthquake damaged buildings. There is a plan to 'rebuild the city to withstand the ravages' of earthquakes.

Construction, with 'uncommon enthusiasm', is going on in Lima as see workers raising a multistory building, albeit the old-fashioned way. We see some of the new suburbs, which look like they may be in the Rimac area, close to the hills of eastern Lima.

There is a long segment of a shaved ice vendor with strange musical accompaniment.

We see a restaurant and hear about 'the hearty food of the country: rice, fish, meat, and bread' for about 'five cents in North American money'.

Next, we are whisked to the Hospital Obrero, touted as 'one of the finest in South America'; yet, outside patients buy old bottles to fill in the pharmacy. Inside the hospital we see the 'workers --cabdrivers, construction laborers, waiters, clerks, all these-- and their families' getting care with modern-looking machines.

This segment ends with the narrator discussing changing attitudes to the nursing profession.

Lima Part 2:
Running Time: 5:26

The final part of the film begins by focusing on folk art and the Christmas nacimiento, the traditional Nativity scenes displayed in churches. Then, artist Julia Codesido and her indigenista style paintings are briefly featured.

We ovbserve students taking their oral examinations at San Marcos University, the oldest in South America. The narrator makes it a point to say studying there had been, 'a peregotive of the rich' but now 'young men and women from the less-priviliged areas' go there; in particular, to study engineering and medicine'.

The narrator waxes on Peruvian young people, calling them, 'serious young people; they feel, more than most students, responsibility in the working out of their country's destiny'.

The film ends with another set of graphics detailing Lima's growth from 1750 to 1944. In 1750, Lima was described as, 'A tiny triangle of narrow streets'.

Finally, there are streetscapes of modern Lima (possibly, Paseo de Colón and Parque de la Exposición). The final shot of the film is of the new industry in the still agricultural Rimac Valley.

Lima Part 3:
Running Time:4:32

The.Flying.Gato@gmail.com
.
.
.

I Have A Dream: Celebrating The Life Of Martin Luther King, Jr.

2007-01-15T20:39:00.000-08:00

Despite the troubled times in which we live, there are still heros in the world.

One of mine is Martin Luther King, Jr. Crusader for civil rights, practitioner of non-violence, the youngest person ever to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, brutally assasinated. Here in the United States, the third Monday of every January, we celebrate Martin Luther King Day.

In honor of Dr. King, here is a video of the full version of his famous I Have A Dream speech.

Running time: 17:47

The.Flying.Gato@gmail.com
.
.
.

LAX to LIM

2007-01-13T01:00:00.000-08:00

I've flown LAX to LIM many times, and here's what I can tell you.

The cheap AeroMéxico flight is very tiring. You leave LAX at about 7:30 am (so you have to be at the airport around 4:30 a.m.); fly 3.5 hours to Mexico City, where you HAVE to go through Mexican immigration (even though you are just in transit). Then, you have to wait about 5 or 6 hours until you board the plane to Lima, where you arrive around 11:30 p.m. A very long day, indeed.

LACSA and TACA, part of the same company, also have long stopovers; they leave LAX around midnight, and you don't get to Lima until the late in the evening of the following day.

Most US companies take you to one of their hubs (like Houston, or worse Miami) which also makes for a long trip. Those flights always arrive late at night.

LAN, the Chilean carrier, flies directs, is usually the most expensive, and can have one or two flights a day depending on the season; but, it usually arrives in Lima in the middle of the night as well.

My personal preference is with the Panamanian airline, Copa. Those flights leave LAX around midnight and fly six hours to Tocumen International Airport in Panama City. Upon arrival at PTY, you DON'T go through immigration; you just have a one hour turnaround to get the next flight to Lima, arriving in Peru around 2:30 p.m., just in time for lunch and a couple of pisco sours.

In Spanish there is a saying, Lo barato sale caro; meaning, sometimes the cheapest things end up costing the most.

I prefer to pay a little more to fly Copa (and it's not as expensive as LAN) and arrive in Peru without having to wait in transit for a long time. Plus, I prefer to arrive in Lima in the daytime. The Panamanian flight attendants are friendly and do their best to make you comfortable. They also ply you with free drinks. The return flight with Copa leaves Lima around 3 p.m., and arrives at LAX by midnight of the same day, with a change of planes at PTY.

The.Flying.Gato@gmail.com
.
.
.

Peruvian Bloggers Raising Social Consciousness

2007-01-10T12:09:00.000-08:00

Peruvian bloggers are raising social consciousness.

I recently became aware of two projects worthy of note. One has to do with housing for the poorest Peruvians, and the other with discrimination of workers by elite employers.

At Slayer_X, I read about the Un Techo Para Mi País project, which is very similar to the American Habitat For Humanity, in which volunteers build houses for needy people. This project began in Chile a few years back, and has now expanded to various Latin American countries. It not only seeks to assist the poorest residents; but, also to create relationships and networks between them and the volunteers.

The wording of the poster for the Peru project is powerful:

You're lucky. This is not your house.
52% of Peruvians don't have the same luck.

Un Techo Para Mi País Perú is calling for 450 volunteers between the ages of 17 and 26 to come together in solidarity to build homes for residents in three very poor areas in Greater Lima. The recipients of the new homes do not get them for free; they contribute either a small monetary contribution or in-kind labor. Construction dates will be from January 17 to 20.

Meanwhile, la página de milanta, brings us news of the Operativo Empleada Audaz, or Operation Audacious Employee.

In the elite seaside resort of Asia, south of Lima, local citizens and the municipality have passed a series of stringent measures meant to curtail the behavior of the nannies, maids, and other servants who work in the exclusive resorts and homes of the areas. One of the most egregious laws passed was that servants could only go to the beach after 7 p.m. This goes against Peruvian laws that state that Peruvian beaches cannot be privatized and must be open and accessible for all.

The Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos, National Human Rights Coordination, an umbrella organization of various human rights, anti-racism, and anti-discrimination groups in Peru, is calling for a protest on January 28. It is asking as many people as possible to come to Asia on that day dressed in the uniforms of nannies, maids, and other household servants, and mount en masse protest at the beach there in solidarity with the household workers at the resort. Ironic that those Peruvians who have the most resources are among the most lacking in compassion.

The.Flying.Gato@gmail.com
.
.
.

El Tema Del Verano: A Commercial Creates Furor This Summer In Argentina

2007-01-08T20:27:00.000-08:00

As promised, I am trying to add to this blog as one of my New Year's resolutions.

I first heard about El Tema Del Verano, a commercial for Argentine cellular phone company Cti Móvil, at Just MU It, in which the author discusses the very clever ad campaign for the summer season in the Southern Hemisphere. In the past week, I've been seeing more and more posts about this commercial phenomenon taking place in Argentina, at blogs such as Marquitos, Maskus Planet, and leading Buenos Aires daily, La Nación.

If you use Google Argentina, to search for tema del verano you will get about three million hits for a commercial that is about a month old in a country of only 36 million people.

But I still didn't understand the full impact of this one commercial until I read a detailed account by deambulante@SSC, from whom I'm quoting heavily in this post.

In mid-December, mobile or cellular phone company Cti Móvil, launched this new commercial to kick off the summer season in Argentina.

The commercial is based on the fact that every summer in Argentina there is always one musical hit, el tema del verano, that gets played over and over on the radio and in the discos. Usually, it's not a great song, but has a catchy beat, and is just right for hanging out at the beach.

The commercial is a complete spoof on this type of song, as the lyrics attest:

Este es el tema del verano,
Que vas a cantar y bailar en todos lados,
Te habla del sol, de la arena y de las olas,
Y que tiene un estribillo que se te pega,
Que se te pega y nunca despega.

ESTRIBILLO:

Clavo que te clavo la sombrilla,
Clavo que te clavo la sombrilla,
Pero claro que te clavo que te clavo la sombrilla,
Ajá, que te clavo la sombrilla.

Este es el tema, el hitazo del verano,
El que vas a cantar y bailar en todos lados,
Que siempre dice abajo, arriba, abajo,
Y tiene un estribillo que se pega,
Que se pega y nunca despega.

ESTRIBILLO

Este es el tema, el hitazo del verano,
Que vas a cantar y bailar en todos lados,
Y que siempre en una parte tiene un
PUNCHI, PUNCHI, PUNCHI, PUNCHI,
Que se te pega,
Que se te pega y nunca despega.

Este es el tema, el hitazo del verano,
Que vas a cantar y bailar en todos lados,
Porque siempre en una parte pide,
PALMAS, PALMAS, PALMAS,
Y que siempre tiene un meneo sensual, SENSUAL!!!!!!!

ESTRIBILLO

A rough translation in English would be:

This is the summer hit,
That you're going to sing and dance everywhere,
That talks about the sun, the sand, and the waves,
And has a catchy chorus,
That sticks in your head and you never forget.

CHORUS:

I'm going to stick, stick, stick that umbrella in for you,
I'm going to stick that umbrella in for you,
Of course I'm going to stick that umbrella in for you,
Oh yeah, I'm going to stick that umbrella in for you.

This is the hit, the big hit of the summer,
The one you're going to sing and dance everywhere,
The one that always says, up and down, and up and down,
And has a catchy chorus,
That sticks in your head and you never forget.

CHORUS

This is the hit, the big hit of the summer,
The one you're going to sing and dance everywhere,
And has a part that always says,
PUNCHI, PUNCHI, PUNCHI, PUNCHI,
That sticks in your head,
That sticks in your head and you never forget.

This is the hit, the big hit of the summer,
The one you're going to sing and dance everywhere,
Because one part always asks people to
CLAP, CLAP, CLAP,
And has a sensual move, so SENSUAL!!!!!!!

CHORUS

Anyone can tell the song is a parody, and a very clever marketing tool. At the onset of the commercial, a voice says: "Every summer people flee the noise of the city, but they can't escape the Summer Hit, el tema del verano.

And, at the end of the commercial, the same voice declares: The Summer Hit, more dangerous than the sun. Protect yourself with your Cti with MP3, and play your own music this summer.

What the advertisers could never have forseen, and has never happened before in Argentina, was that the song making fun of those temas del verano of years past has in fact become the TEMA DEL VERANO of Summer 2007 in Argentina.

The jingle is receiving constant airplay on the radio and clubs throughout the entire country, more so than any other recent summer hit, if ever. In fact, it has become more popular than any of the songs it was spoofing.

An umbrella dance is being danced at discos and parties all over Argentina.

And, Argentines of all types are making home videos of themselves singing and dancing to the song and uploading them to video hosting sites, such as You Tube. There are teens, entire families, robots, and even a puppet cow singing and dancing to the catchy melody on the Internet.

I don't know if commercials win awards in Argentina but this would win best marketing tool of Summer 2007.

Here is the video:

The.Flying.Gato@gmail.com
.
.
.

Ouch! Has it been almost a year?

2007-01-06T23:46:00.000-08:00

If you've landed on this page, allow me to apologize that it's been almost a year since I've posted anything on this blog. I've been working on my Peru Food blog, and I've learned that keeping up with a blog is a full-time occupation! But, one of my New Year's resolutions is that I will attempt to post at least a couple of items on this blog during 2007. Please bear with me.

Secret to a Long Life? Chew Coca Leaves!

2006-02-25T15:17:00.001-08:00

Original: Ana Briceño, Trome, 25/02/06.
Link to original Spanish article here.

107 Year Old Granny Happy Chewing Coca Leaves

How many of us would like to have her vitality?

Rebeca Rua Alva, a grandmother originally from Ayacucho, celebrated her 107th birthday yesterday, blowing out the candles on a cake given to her by family members.

She may be the oldest living person in Peru, and according to her, the secret to a long life lies in a healthy diet and chewing coca leaves in the traditional Andean manner.

"For breakfast she eats boiled lima beans, quinoa grain, and she drinks kiwicha (Andean amaranth) with milk. Then she chews her coca leaves so she doesn't fall asleep. My mother doesn't suffer from either high cholesterol nor diabetes," commented her daughter Eulogia Rojas.

The mamai as the grandmother is referred to affectionately, only speaks Quechua and lives in the San Martin de Porras district of Lima. She is a mother of 14 children and had her last two children at the age of 51.

During the years of the Sendero Luminoso terrorism, Rebeca Rua lived in Vilcahuamán, in the Department of Ayacucho.

"During that time, I had to pretend that I was deaf and mute, so that the terrorists wouldn't do anything to me, and by the same token, I had to tell the military forces that my son was in the Army so that they wouldn't do anything to me either," the grandmother commented in Quechua.

The.Flying.Gato@gmail.com
.
.
.

2006-02-22T20:30:00.000-08:00

Suddenly, I was transported somewhere very different, where nothing was as it should be, and despite the grey of the winter sky, there was color and light everywhere I looked.

The.Flying.Gato@gmail.com
.
.
.

Novalima: Afro Peruvian Band from London

2006-02-21T22:02:00.000-08:00

Four Peruvian musicians based in
Barcelona, Hong Kong,
London, and Lima,
come together to create an Afro Peruvian
Afro Latin Electronic inspired band.

You can hear them, see them,
and find out more at

novalima

Barranco, 2005

The.Flying.Gato@gmail.com
.
.
.

You can't make up this sort of thing: Truquini's fake leg a drug stash

2006-01-26T17:28:00.000-08:00

Original: Arturo Barahona and Ana Briceño, Trome, 1/4/06.

Truquini hides drug stash in fake leg.

He thought he was pretty clever. The prosthetic device he used on his right leg didn't impede Héctor Luján Bellido (32), alias Truquini (rhymes with Houdini), from driving his motorized bicycle-taxi to sell drugs in different beer and pool halls in the Villa María del Triunfo district of Lima.

Officers from José Galvez police station, under the command of Peruvian National Police Major Teófilo Mariño, captured him in the fifth block of Quechuas Avenue, and discovered a stash of drugs hidden inside the prosthetic leg, which is how he had previously managed to evade the authorities.

Also seized from Truquíni was a pistol and the vehicle, with plate number 5305, which he bought a year ago.

"Boss, don't take me in. I wasn't selling drugs," the detainee stated cynically, even shedding tears in an attempt to gain sympathy and be set free.

Police indicated that Luján Bellido was known as a hardened criminal in Villa María del Triunfo, and that if his clients owed him money, he ordered his minions to beat them.

The police also stated, "If his sales were low, he would get angry and jump up and down on his one good leg. During the first few days of surveillance, we never suspected he had hidden the drugs inside the prosthetic leg. We thought his cronies had the merchandise."

In total, police recovered 110 individual bundles of basic cocaine paste, which he sold for 50 cents each, including free delivery. "His territory was Villa María del Triunfo, and he kept in contact with his clients by cell phone," added an agent.

I enjoy translating from Spanish to English.

And I enjoy reading the police pages: the grit, the crime, the raw stuff.

Peruvian newspapers put great headlines on their crime stories. And all the hoods have nicknames. You really can't make this stuff up.

The.Flying.Gato@gmail.com
.
.
.

The frugal nuns of Barrios Altos now surf cyberspace

2006-01-13T23:53:00.000-08:00

Original: Nelly Luna Amancio, El Comercio, 1/8/06.

The Monastery of Santa Clara turned 400 this year. Its inhabitants, cloistered nuns, opened the doors to share its secrets.

Sor Rosa chatted online. And she did it without hesitation, and an enormous smile. Since 1999, when the Vatican allowed cloistered convents to use the Internet with"moderation and discretion," the sisters of the Monastery of Santa Clara, in the Barrios Altos district of Lima, have allied themselves with the web.

Now, Sor Rosa has e-mail and surfs. She looks for information about her convent and her order, the Poor Clares. She chats with other nuns at other sites and coordinates meetings. Sor Rosa Inmaculada is a globalized cloistered nun.

The other 45 nuns at the Monastery have also joined the information highway. They listen to news broadcasts, watch TV, once in a while rent movies (the last one they saw was "The Passion of the Christ") and if they wanted, they could use cell phones. But, of course, no telenovelas (television soap operas) are allowed, although once in a while one of the naughty novice sisters has been known to sneak a peek at an episode of the most current one.

Everything in moderation.

The nuns say they don't neglect contemplation. They made a decision to retire from the external world, to isolate themselves and withdraw into prayer. In keeping with their Franciscan spirituality, they renounce all their material possessions. That is how the Poor Clare sisters live in Barrios Altos: in the most absolute austerity.

They make turrones, panetones, and other sweets to offer for sale in local markets. And from that income they manage to survive. That is how the nuns at this Monastery have been living for the past four hundred years, since Toribio de Mogrovejo founded it on January 4, 1606.

Four centuries of history, art, and tradition.

The Monastery of Santa Clara is located in one of the city's most feared areas: the ninth block of Jirón Ancash, in Barrios Altos. The enormous construction, bearing the title of Patrimony for Humanity, is untrustworthy. What is left of the Huatica River has dampened the foundations of the walls. The columns have begun to give way. The roof of the main church shows dozens of cracks.

Last year, Civil Defense ordered it closed. Since then, Mass is celebrated in the smallest chapel, and no one can enter besides the priest. If someone does, the Poor Clares will be fined.

Their resources are meager. Years ago, when Lima was a city of Viceroys and the nuns came from well-off families, donations supported the Monastery's upkeep. Now, that is no longer possible. In the surrounding area, residents live in overcrowded misery and the new postulants to the religious life come from the provinces.

Any time a painting or a piece of artwork from the 16th or 17th century needs to be restored, the nuns pray they will receive private donations.

At times, the remedy has been worse than the illness.

"Shoddy restorations have damaged some saints carved in wood," they say. During one of the most recent modifications, a floor lined with antique tiles from Seville was buried under kilos of cement. The foreman had thought the tiles were of no importance.

The monastery's most precious treasure is a sculpture of the Señor de Burgos. This image of Jesus Christ dates from the 18th century, and, as the legend goes, is there because it did not want to leave the day it was meant to be taken to Chile.

The Poor Clares say that during that time, Sor Jerónima de Jesús dreamt that Christ asked her to build a chapel for him. The next morning, an Augustine priest arrived at the Monastery with the sculpture of Jesus which he offered them for 400 pesos. The nuns only had 300. Despite their pleas, the priest would not accept the offer. However, according to the legend, when the priest tried to leave the monastery with the sculpture,the sculpture would not go out the door it had been brought in.

The history of this monastery includes a Peruvian nun of African descent, the venerable Ursula de Jesús. Originally a slave, she entered the monastery in order to help with the housework and ended up staying for the rest of her life. At the time, a black slave could not aspire to be a nun, but she possessed, "a very strong spirituality," says Sor Rosa. During her years in the Monastery, she gained renown as a visionary and is still venerated to this day.

This connection to their history makes the Poor Clares remain in Barrios Altos. Though they are threatened by the humidity that is eating away at the monastery, surrounded by the pollution of the city, the noise along Jirón Ancash, and the the rough nature of their neighborhood, known as Cinco Esquinas (Five Corners), the Poor Clares have rejected the Archbishop's request for them to abandon the convent and move to a different area. "We can not leave this place. There are many poor people here who need us. Our task is to be with them," says Sor Rosa.

New times, old traditions.

The only male in the convent is Bobby, "the watchdog that entertains himself playing with stones," says Sor Rosa. She entered the monastery when she was 17 years old. She has lived the past 13 years within these immense four walls. She has only gone beyond the walls in order to renew her National Identity Document, or vote.

Is it difficult to live a cloistered life? "No, we are always busy. We have so many chores to do. People think we are bored all day in here, but we also have fun. We play, we dance. Of course we do. This is the life we have chosen and we like it," she says.

Every day, dozens of people come to the monastery to ask for a piece a bread or a glass of water. No one can see the nuns, only hear them. The requests are made and given out through a revolving wooden window. Food is never denied here. Sor María says that as long as they have something to give, they will never deny anyone. "We are poor, but the people around here live in misery."

Stereotypes are swept aside when you meet the nuns. The Poor Clares are mostly young, smiling, and high-spirited. The day we visited, they were working in the garden. They wore their work aprons. They would not allow photos.

The ones who surely could not have been older than 20 told the photographer, "How can you take pictures of us like this? Allow us to fix ourselves up a little."

"A women never stops being concerned with her appearance, does she?" "Of course not," answered Sor Rosa. And in half jest (or maybe not) she added, "Every time we see a handsome man, we thank the Lord for having created such a beautiful creature. We are human beings, like everyone else."

In the past, cloistered life must have been more difficult. In the present, electronic media has improved communication. The concept of the cloister has acquired a different meaning. A century ago, in order to visit the monastery, the Archbishop would have had to grant permission. These are different times.

The.Flying.Gato@gmail.com
.
.
.

LAX - LIM

2006-01-13T18:44:00.000-08:00

There are 4177 miles, or 6723 kilometers, between LAX, Los Angeles International Airport, and LIM, Lima Callao Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Chávez. This blog is an attempt to bridge that distance.

The.Flying.Gato@gmail.com
.
.
.

September 8 in Orcotuna

2005-09-08T21:17:00.000-07:00

Too many good things happened to me today, and yet it wasn't until almost the end of the day that I realized the significance of this date.

Today, 8 de septiembre, is the feast day of the patroness of my grandfather's Andean village, Orcotuna, my ancestral homeland.

I suddenly realized that in Orcotuna, today would be a day of processions, ritual dancing, eating, and drinking. A small image of a white Virgin would be paraded along the dusty streets, followed by chonguinada dancers dressed in elaborate 16th century costumes.

Musicians with violins and archaic harps would parade around the plaza playing syncopated huaynos, and encouraging the throngs of visitors to dance.

Vendors set up stands around the plaza, selling food and drink (since copious ingestion of beer and chicha and aguardiente are part and parcel of Andean festivities.

Four years ago I went to Orcotuna to witness the event for the first time since my childhood, when I was dragged religiously on a yearly basis. Although my grandfather's reality had far removed him, in consciousness and experience, from the village life, the yearly visits to Orcotuna on 8 de septiembre were his way of linking his present with his past.

It had taken me over twenty years to make that same journey, and although I had been to many parts of the world, there was something that had kept me from returning to the one place where I can say: My people come from here.

Atop a hill, overlooking the red tiled roofs of Orcotuna, is the shrine that becomes the focal point on the ocho de septiembre.

It is built around a cave where apparently the Virgin first appeared, and as I trudged up the dirt road with all the other pilgrims, revelers, and tourists, I saw myriad Indian women, dressed in their many-layered skirts, kneeling before the cave entrance.

Their offerings were white candles they held in their hands oblivious to the wax dripping slowly on their bronze-colored skin. They prayed and chanted, their long braids bobbing, their heads covered by high-brim white hats.

It was being seven years old again. It was having my grandparents still alive, holding my small hands in theirs.

And as I looked into the cave, I realized that worshippers had imbued special meaning to a unique rock outcropping right inside the cave walls.

And it all made sense. Because in animist Andean cosmology, the mountains, the glaciers, rocks, and all manifestations of Nature, possess their own spirts.

Despite 500 plus years of Spanish post-colonialism and the unique synchretic reality that has since arisen, in Orcotuna, as in many other parts of the Andean world, there is still a link to that millenial past.

Suddenly I realized that I belonged there, that despite the vicissitudes of my own life and space and time, I too had link to that ancient past.

Although the cultural landscape I best understand is the chaotic fractured polyglot post-modern megalopolis I call home, on that ocho de septiembre in Orcotuna, I could say:

My people come from here. And I too am from here.

The.Flying.Gato@gmail.com
.
.
.

Pachamama Power

2005-09-02T23:40:00.000-07:00

The Pachamama is the Earth Mother. Without her, would we exist?