Vote for Machu Picchu!
Six weeks left for the election of the New 7 Wonders
Photo by Rubyk, displayed under a Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License.
Add comment May 25th, 2007
Sacred Valley of the Incas
A journey through the Sacred Valley: llamas, alpacas, mountains, terrace-farming platforms, Inca ruins, rock walls, blue skies, etc.
Add comment May 22nd, 2007
Peru’s Astrid & Gastón Restaurant Opens in Europe
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A branch of Lima’s renowned Astrid & Gastón restaurant was inaugurated yesterday (May 21st) in Madrid, and most probably became the first high-cuisine Peruvian restaurant in Europe. Gastón Acurio, Peru’s most celebrated chef and founder of a restaurant conglomerate (together with his German wife Astrid Gutsche), intends to open several branches of his top-of-the-line Astrid & Gastón in Europe during the coming years.
According to Acurio, the election of Spain’s capital as first location for the restaurant was obvious: “Madrid is the natural gateway to Europe for any Latin American proposal”.
As in every other location, Madrid’s Astrid & Gastón’s cuisine will maintain its trademark subtle re-lecture of Peruvian culinary tradition, making an intense use of typical Peruvian spices, ajíes (chili-peppers), herbs, and other ingredients.
Add comment May 22nd, 2007
Anthony Bourdain about Peruvian Cuisine
As part of his No Reservations TV show, New York’s chef Anthony Bourdain travels to Peru to discover Peruvian cuisine. This first part (out of the 5 found on YouTube) focus on Lima’s ceviches and seafood. Guided by Peru’s great chef Gastón Acurio, Bourdain visits the famous yet humble cevichería Sonia.
Add comment May 17th, 2007
Lost Magellanic penguin swims 5.000 kilometres to Peru
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According to a curious news article appeared on several media, a Magellanic penguin strayed thousands of miles and swam all the way to Peru’s Paracas national reserve. These penguins are native of the Strait of Magellan area, which means the penguin apparently made the 5.000 kilometres journey all by itself.
Wilder Canales, head of the Paracas reserve, said the disoriented bird "got lost in the sea due to the different ocean currents".
Add comment May 15th, 2007
Weaving ceremony at the Suspended Bridge of Queshuachaca
Every year prior to the second Sunday of June, almost one thousand locals in the Canas province (140km southeast of Cusco city) spend 3 days weaving the Queshuachaca bridge (a suspended bridge overhanging the Apurímac river).
The weavers use only braided ichu straw and chachacomo, and follow 5-century old techniques, originally developed by the Incas. The task is finished on the fourth day, and celebrated with songs and dances
Add comment May 12th, 2007
Corpus Christi 2007
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A Catholic celebration instituted in 1547 to commemorate the Holy Eucharist, Corpus Christi (body of Christ, in Latin) is one of the most concurred religious feasts in Cusco. The colourful parade takes place the eighth Sunday after Easter (this year, on June 7th), when the effigies of the saints and virgins are borrowed from Cusco’s churches for the occasion.
Traditionally, effigies coming from nine parishes participate in the procession. Eight of these are of “Indian” origin (parishes created in Cusco since the 16th century), and correspond to the Inca quarters of Chakilchaka, Qolqanpata, Qarmenqa, Toqokachi, Sañu, and Wama; the last one, of “Spanish” origin is known as Matriz, Triunfo o Sagrario.
The procession goes round the city until its final stop at the Plaza de Armas, where locals gather to celebrate the festivity and taste the traditional dishes prepared at the many food stalls. The festivity starts early in morning, but it’s from 6pm onwards that the best takes place.
Photo source: EMUFEC, Cusco’s Municipal Office for Festivities. By the way, the rainbow flag before the effigy isn’t a gay flag, but the flag of the Tawantinsuyo (Quechua name of the Inca empire).
Add comment May 5th, 2007
The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Peru
Nice 10-minute video by 2 Brits who completed the classic 4-day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Ironic and funny, the film shows both the beauty of Machu Picchu’s landscape and the fatigue and harshness of the trekking route.
Add comment April 10th, 2007
Alerts on damage to Machu Picchu
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The recently built bridge of Carrilluchayoc, in the nearby Santa teresa district, is threatening to deteriorate the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu. According to Alda Lazo, congresswoman and president of the Culture and Heritage Commission of the Congress, the bridge was built without a decent environmental impact study. And, obviously, despite the objections of government cultural experts.
The threat derives, in first place, from the expected vehicle transit over the bridge, which could seriously damage the Machu Picchu Historical Sanctuary, as well as the citadel itself.
Moreover, the bridge has opened a new, uncontrolled entrance route to the Inca archaeological complex. This new route, involving a daylong bus ride and a seven-mile hike along railroad tracks, targets thrifty backpackers who want to avoid the pricey train tickets. The already stressed-out stone citadel, already at almost top-capacity, could not bear the increased -and much unchecked- tourist flow.
During mid April, UNESCO, which has expressed concern over Machu Picchu’s increasing tourism, will send a delegation to the citadel in order to study the Carrilluchayoc bridge matter.
Add comment April 6th, 2007
Contemporary Jazz and Blues
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The Peruvian singer Desiré Mandrile will present her first album “Latin Soul” in Jazz Zone, one of Miraflores’ finest live music bars. The recitals are scheduled for April’s every Thursday: 5, 12, 19, and 26.
Mandrile is a fine interpreter of classic and contemporary Jazz, Blues and Soul. Whilst her first album includes her own compositions, in her concerts she also interprets classic songs “her own way”: a jazzy Tainted Love, for example, or Last Train to London with a soul rhythm.
The band that accompanies Mandrile gathers some of Peru’s most prestigious musicians: Eduardo Freire, Pedro Luis Pacora, Carlo Calienes, and Fernando Lorca.
Desiré Mandrile in Jazz Zone - Every Thursday of April, 10pm. Cover 15 soles.
Jazz Zone - Av. La Paz 656, Pasaje El Suche - Miraflores (Lima).
Add comment April 5th, 2007
Agreement to Promote Cusco Folklore Worldwide
The presidents of the Qosqo Centre of Native Art and of the Instituto Nacional de Desarrollo de Pueblos Andinos, Amazónicos y Afroperanos (National Institute for the Development of the Andean, Amazonic, and Afro Peruvian Peoples) signed an agreement for the worldwide promotion of Cusco’s folklore.
The agreement aims at aiding research, diffusion, and promotion of the music and dance native to the Cusco department.
Add comment March 14th, 2007
Machu Picchu could close 2 days per week
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Machu Picchu closed two days per week. That is what Peru’s Geological Institute suggested during a recent conference. The polemic measurement aims at reducing the massive arrival of tourists to the Inca citadel, and thus preserve it from wearing and damage. According to the Geological Institute (Instituto Geológico Minero y Metalúrgico de Perú, INGEMMET), the 3,000 daily visitors to the archaeological complex, plus the arrival of buses and trains, could exceed its normal carrying capacity.
The granitic rocks on which the archaeological complex stands are already showing signs of fractures. This, according to the geologist Patricio Valderrama, could provoke some descends in the structure of Machu Picchu.
The Geological Institute is studying the bearing capacity of Machu Picchu, in order to determine the ideal number of daily visitors.
The 2-day closure proposal, however, means a higher tourist congestion on the open days; this, obviously, will impoverish the Machu Picchu experience (and eventually scare visitors away). A better alternative, both for the tourism industry and Machu Picchu’s integrity, would be to impose a limit on the daily number of tourists.
Add comment March 12th, 2007
Roger Waters Live in Lima!
Roger Waters live performance (above); and (top) with other Pink Floyd members |
Extraordinary musician and former leader of legendary rock band Pink Floyd, Roger Waters will perform live in Lima next March, 12th. Needless to say, expectations for what many consider the most important 2007 concert in Peru are sky high.
Waters is expected to deploy during the gig some of the music that made Pink Floyd utterly famous, in particular the songs from The Dark side of the Moon album.
Pink Floyd ’s main songwriter, Roger Waters (b. 1943) was also the bass player and one of their vocalists. He was also the mastermind behind the majority of the band’s songs, concept albums and many of Pink Floyd’s symbols including the Pink Floyd Pigs and the marching hammers. Waters’ extraordinary capacity for song writing -both lyrics and music- are largely responsible for the masterpieces found in The Dark side of the Moon, The Wall, and Wish you Were Here albums.
After Pink Floyd dissolved in 1985 (only to re-form again without Waters), Roger Waters pursued a solo career that produced three studio albums and one of the largest concerts ever, The Wall Concert in Berlin in 1990. In 2005, he released an opera, Ça Ira and joined Pink Floyd at the Live 8 concert in London, on July 2, for their first public performance together in 24 years.
Roger Waters in Lima, March 12th, Monumental Stadium (Ate).
Add comment March 12th, 2007
Indispensable Trivia: Agricultural and Mining Production
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Peru is the World’s 1st producer of paprika, 1st of fish meal, 2nd of asparagus, 5th of green broad berries, 6th of roots and tubers (i.e. Potatoes), 7th of string beans, 8th of avocados, 9th of coffee, 12th of mangoes, and 13th of cocoa beans.
Peru is the World’s second largest producer of silver, fourth of copper, zinc, and lead, and the fifth of gold.
And Obviously, Peru is the first producer of Alpaca wool.
Add comment March 10th, 2007
