October 25, 09 by Sergio Reyna
Vals Idilio
“quien no tiene de inga tiene de mandinga”
popular saying
Would you like to dance or listen to any peruvian music? Your best chance to do so is on october 31st when most coastal cities celebrate the Día de la Canción Criolla or the Creole Song Day. Thus, whether you happen to be around Lima, Piura, Trujillo, Chiclayo, or Ica you would hear the sound of guitars and the “cajón peruano”. These musical instruments give rhythm to marinera, tondero, festejo, landó, and zamacueca which are five samples of the creole music. Couples dance with frantic movements of their arms and legs. They entice each other with their zapateo or tapping of the floor.
The traditional place for “criollos” to gather and start the “jarana” or rave is known as peña. However, nowadays the feast can even be held at plazas and parks.
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October 20, 09 by Sergio Reyna
On last sunday 18th while thousands of devotees were worshipping the icon of the Lord of the Miracles (for more info please refer to previous post) around downtown Lima, hundreds of chefs gathered a few miles away from there and prepared one of the biggest turrón de Doña Pepa ever, which measured over 300 mt (984 ft) of length.
Associated with the Coloured Christ procession, the turrón de Doña Pepa has turned out to be part of this traditional feast held in the city of Lima during october, the purple month. Nowadays, nevertheless, the flavour of this dessert can be enjoyed not only in october but all year round in this city.
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October 18, 09 by Sergio Reyna
An image of a coloured Jesus Christ painted on a wall in Pachacamilla near the city of Lima in 1651 was bound to become the beginning of the most important religious tradition in Peru’s calendar. According to history, an anonymous african slave painted the mural which survived a few earthquakes. After 358 years, the faith to the image evolved into a great feast. Every october, a series of processions are arranged by the Hermandad or Brotherhood of The Lord of the Miracles. People not only from Lima but also from other peruvian cities fill up the streets of downtown to worship the icon. Today, the 18th, devotees give pay homage to the image for the third time in this month.
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October 05, 09 by Sergio Reyna
October 02, 09 by Sergio Reyna
While sitting on a boulder, I admired the dramatic scenery at night. The moonlight spread a beam on the surface of Lake Titicaca from the shore where I was to the west. Down there, Puno´s city lights embellished the deep darkness of the silhouette of the mountain range that covered all my sight of the horizon. Parallel to the cordillera ran a fringe of clouds white at the top yet black at the bottom. Above it, millions of stars sparkled in the sky. That was going to be my first night out of two at Felix Turpo´s family house.
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October 01, 09 by Sergio Reyna
While I was rafting the Lunahuaná River (1) with other fellows, there was a young man on a kayak very near to us. He was struggling against the currents with the help of his paddle. In a blink of an eye, he just disappeared. I only saw the hull of the boat for seconds which seemed a lifetime for me. Suddenly, he emerged from the waters.
That is really extreme! I said to myself.
I do not dare doing that yet even though it would only be a rapids I. However, I do dare kayaking in the world´s highest lake. And not just one day, but actually three.
And that is also cool!
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