MetaFilter posts tagged with peru

Not a Halloween Post.

gman — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:46:13 -0800

The Maskatorium: hundreds of masks collected from around the world over the past 20 years.

LIMA PERU

vronsky — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:45:41 -0800

CARLOS JIMÉNEZ CAHUA : "This young Peruvian photographer, now based in New York, returned to Lima to document the city’s unchecked sprawl into the desert, where flimsy plywood houses huddle together, as if for warmth. Jiménez Cahua takes the long view, typically framing broad landscape vistas from an omniscient, elevated perspective, so teeming neighborhoods appear unpopulated, toy-like." NYer (alt view)

"Vampire bats must feast on fresh blood"

Burhanistan — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:02:58 -0800

Vampire Bats Biting People. They just need to feed their babies like anyone else.

Machu Picchu Post

homunculus — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:32:41 -0800

Machu Picchu Post. Cute animation about an air mail pilot in the Andes and his strange encounter with a boy and his llama. [Via]

Social Documentarian

netbros — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 10:56:49 -0800

Daryl Peveto is a freelance photographer and videographer with a passion for social documentary storytelling. Over the last few years he has worked on issues ranging from American nomads to bullfighting in Tijuana to Antarctica: The White Continent to the black market economies of Peru. His photoblog is a sketchbook for story ideas and visual explorations.

Political violence in Peru

nomis — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 21:08:25 -0800

On the morning of 5 June, Peruvian police forces opened fire on indigenous protesters near Bagua, Amazonas. Amazonwatch has an excellent audio report (about 8 mins) from Gregor Maclennan. The majority of the protesters were from the Awajún/Aguaruna and Wampís/Huambisa tribes of the northwestern Peruvian Amazon, and were armed only with traditional wooden spears. Indigenous leaders say that dozens of protesters were killed and their bodies secretly disposed of; the official toll is nine indigenous deaths and over 20 police deaths (In Spanish). A blog providing political information relevant to the Wampís (in Spanish) gives details of indigenous arrests, injuries and deaths. The ultimate source of the conflict is a Free Trade Agreement that President García signed with the USA, which included new laws making oil and lumber extraction from tribal lands by foreign companies much easier. Peru's main indigenous organisation AIDESEP claims that these laws are unconstitutional as they were passed by presidential decree with no consultation. The president of AIDESEP, Alberto Pizango, is facing 35 years prison for inciting the violence, and has taken refuge in the Embassy of Nicaragua (in Spanish). Meanwhile García makes it clear that he considers natives to be a separate class of citizens from "Peruvians". Indigenous people have been protesting these laws for nearly two months now throughout the Peruvian Amazon, although the main focus has been in the area around Bagua. Here is a youtube link to video of the removal of Awajún and Wampís protesters from the bridge at Corral Quemado on 10 May 2009.

Yma Sumac RIP

Astro Zombie — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 19:57:00 -0800

She was the voice of exotica. Rumored to be a Brooklyn housewife named Amy Camus, she was, in fact, native Peruvian with a voice of three octaves, Yma Sumac's singing graced the exotic easy listening albums of Les Baxter and Billy May. Yma Sumac died today at age 86. (Via) La Castafiore Inca, a French documentary about the singer (only part one seems to be available.) Gopher Mambo. Pachamama. Chuncho. La pampa y la puna. Bo Mambo. Goomba Goomba. Wimoweh. Jungla. Calls of the Andes.

Festejo

Rubbstone — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:07:56 -0800

Festejo? ... Festejo! The group in the last video is Peru Negro who were dubbed the cultural ambassadors of black Peru more of there work:First Half, Second Half of the New york show The performer in the first video is Eva Ayllon more of her work: El Guarangito I would be remiss if I didn't point you of the person who first caught my eye in peruvian music Susana Baca be sure to check out her excellent version of Negra Presentousa PS Zapateo 1 2 3 4 5

Now wait just a cotton-pickin' minute

Asparagirl — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:20:09 -0800

"King Cotton" created a huge demand for land and (slave) labor that changed early America's borders, population, and economics. But just as cotton affected history, history affected cotton: the story of naturally colored cottons -- brown, green, yellow, mauve, and reddish cottons -- has almost been lost. Slaves in the American South, forbidden from planting white cotton lest they sell it for profit, grew this colored cotton in their gardens to spin their own clothes. These heirloom varieties, and colored cottons being grown in the former Soviet Union, were considered too difficult to spin commercially, and were almost lost until an untrained textiles enthusiast named Sally Fox single-handedly pioneered the revival of some of these cotton colors. Her cotton plants are grown organically (amazing for cotton, the most pesticide-dependent crop in the world!), drought tolerant, and their fibers require no toxic bleaching or highly carcinogenic dyes. Undyed colored cotton, raised organically in Peru by artisans through a collective called Pakucho, is also sold online here (Knitter's Review likes it a lot). And on a fun note, companies like Levi Strauss & Co. have now come full circle -- the original Levi's jeans were made in both the traditional indigo-dyed white cotton and in natural brown cotton, the latter of which fell out of favor. Now Levi's makes jeans out of Sally Fox's cotton.

The Roots of CHICHA

vronsky — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 21:34:21 -0800

THE ROOTS OF CHICHA: Psychedelic Cumbias from Peru "Borrowing the well-known cumbia rhythm from their Amazonian neighbor Colombia, enterprising Peruvian musicians grafted it on to indigenous styles with emerging rock ‘n’ roll from the United States. These cumbias amazonicas migrated to the capital of Lima and their music became known as chicha (named after a fermented corn drink made for centuries and drunk by the working class). The music compiled on The Roots of Chicha: Psychedelic Cumbias from Peru is truly transcendent: instantly hummable melodies getting down with surf-rock wah-wah pedals, farfisa organs, moog synthesizers, and dirty electric guitars, all the while delivered with a raw sensuality and enthusiasm."

Toxic Meteorite?

haunted by Leonard Cohen — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 05:58:12 -0800

Meteorite landing confirmed in Peru. Some report illness. Could it be the arrival of the anti-Christ Mabus? Here's what one Doubting Thomas has to say about the whole thing. Some have found it funny.

Major earthquake in Peru

LMGM — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 08:08:55 -0800

A 7.9-magnitude earthquake hit Peru in the Ica region, south of the capital of Lima. Ica, Chincha and Pisco have been hardest hit, although the pavement rippled in downtown Lima as well. BBC (first link) and CNN have been reporting about 336-7 dead, but my uncle (in Lima) says that many towns south of San Bartolo have simply disappeared into rubble.

MAMBO!

hermitosis — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 20:03:00 -0800

After so many obituary threads, you will be happy to know that Yma Sumac, your favorite four-octave-ranged Peruvian diva (YouTube links) is alive and well and supporting universal healthcare at 85 years of age. Photos then and now. Yma is still communicating with fans and making appearances. Long live the Incan Queen!

Every lady loves a sharp dressed man

Stynxno — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 09:09:57 -0800

GIANT PENGUINS! The discovery in 2005 of fossils in Peru is challenging previous views about the evolution of penguins. They were tall, fast, and enjoyed being smacked by cavemen*.

* may not be true

The Mysterious Holes of Peru

Burhanistan — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 19:57:41 -0800

The Mysterious Holes of Peru. While the world is generally familiar with Machu Picchu and the Nazca Lines, another mystery has come to light through the modern science of satellite photography.

Archaeoastronomy in Peru

homunculus — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 22:38:46 -0800

The Thirteen Towers of Chankillo in Peru may be the Western Hemisphere's oldest known full-service solar observatory, showing evidence of early, sophisticated Sun cults, according to archaeoastronomy professor Clive Ruggles. The 2,300-year-old complex featured 13 towers running north to south along a ridge and spread across 980 feet to form a toothed horizon that spans the solar arc. Last year, another ancient observatory was discovered in Peru by Robert Benfer. The Temple of the Fox is 4,200 years old, making it 1,900 years older than the Chankillo site, but wasn't a complete calendar.

More than Inka Kola

LMGM — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 05:15:33 -0800

We're all familiar with Peruvian ceviche/cebiche (and if you're not, you should be), but what about ají de gallina (shredded chicken in walnut-cream-chile sauce)? There's also papa a la huancaína (potatoes with spicy cheese sauce) and ocopa (the same, but with pecans and huacatay/black mint). Oh, and don't forget anticúchos (marinated beef heart skewers) or causa limeña (hard to explain, but it's like a really amazing potato salad). Peru has a substantial and long-standing Chinese population, which has resulted in Chifa (some debate on whether that's Cantonese or Mandarin), Peru's "indigenous" Chinese culinary tradition. A staple (and my comfort food) of chifa is arroz chaufa (from Cantonese "chow fan," --> "fried rice").

Peruvian cuisine is getting a boost of interest around teh interwebs, thanks in no small part to dedicated blogs in English (1, 2, 3) and Spanish (1, 2). Even Wikipedia has a substantial entry in English and Spanish (and French). And the tourism industry hasn't missed out on this either (warning, food pr0n & YouTube).

Life Is A [Pan-American] Highway

amyms — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 00:26:41 -0800

The Pan-American Highway: A Photo Voyage Photographer Melissa Fowler documented her journey along a stretch of the Pan-American Highway that flows through Mexico, Peru and Chile, providing detailed captions on ancient sites, local economies, rural life, and much more. Click here (wikipedia link) for more information on the Pan-American Highway and its history.

Kira Salak

jason's_planet — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 13:03:38 -0800

Kira Salak is a writer who embodies an old-fashioned spirit of adventure. She has kayaked the Niger River solo; during her time in Africa, she freed a slave. On another trip, she sampled Ayahuasca in the Peruvian jungle. At the age of 24, she trekked alone through the tribal violence of Papua New Guinea. Her work is a wonderful alternative to the blandness and narrowness of contemporary consumer society, in which there is nothing new to be discovered and everything can be reduced to lucre.

They say he has the pelt of a human-like being that he shot in the wilderness; the beast was hiding behind a tree, whistling.

Sticherbeast — Sun, 16 Jul 2006 20:15:07 -0800

Peruvian Gothic. "Don Benigno Aazco carved his way 36 years deep into the green heart of the Andean forest, founded 14 settlements, abandoned his wife and many children, married his daughter, slew his son-in-law, fought drug peddlers, tamed the wilderness, and reclaimed, as best he could, the Inca Empire. And now I was going to find him." [via]

Pachakutic on schedule for 2012

airguitar — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 08:57:43 -0800

Latin America Turning Left? From the top: Lula da Silva *, Lopez Obrador, Nestor Kirchner, Hugo Chavez *, Alvaro Uribe, Michelle Bachelet *, Ollanta Humala, Alfredo Palacio, Oscar Berger, Leonel Fernandez, Oscar Arias, Tony Saca, Tabare Vazquez, Martín Torrijos, Evo Morales * Manuel Zelaya, Nicanor Duarte, Daniel Ortega, Rene Preval *.

The Moche

crumbly — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 11:40:38 -0800

The images on the ceramics were thought to be mythical narratives, imagery the priestly class used to underscore its coercive power. Without proper archaeological evidence, the representations were too horrific to take literally. They depicted gruesome scenes of torture: captives skinned alive, drained of blood (which was drunk by priests in front of them), throats slit, bodies decapitated and left to the vultures, bones meticulously defleshed and hung from ropes.

Unfortunately for the victims, these bloody rites actually happened. They took place in an otherwise vibrant and highly advanced culture, a culture renowned for its artists and builders. These were a people who developed advanced agricultural knowledge, extremely sophisticated metallurgy, and built the largest pre-Columbian adobe structure in the Americas. Because they had no written language, though, it is by their ceramics that we know them best.

The Moche.

The Incan War against Science

DirtyCreature — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 13:52:24 -0800

You're a leader of a tiny village whose chief scientists and elders are telling you that the laws of science dictate that your village and all its people will soon be wiped from existence. Solution? How about just change the laws of science? That was this man 's plan and in doing so he created an empire as large as the Romans' and in a fraction of the time through largely peaceful negotiations. Sacrificing your finest children for your ancestors to change those laws was a solemn price to pay.

Can you really blame Peru for suing Yale University to get their hero's private treasures back?

Chew this coca, sister

verstegan — Tue, 02 Aug 2005 09:39:35 -0800

The Guaman Poma Website. Felipe Guaman Poma's El primer nueva coronica y buen gobierno (New Chronicle and Good Government) is one of the most remarkable manuscripts of the seventeenth century. Written by a native Peruvian, in the form of a 1200-page 'letter' to King Philip III of Spain, it provides a richly detailed account of Inca society before and after the Spanish conquest. Forgotten for three centuries, it was rediscovered in 1908 in the Royal Library, Copenhagen, which has now published a full digital facsimile online. The illustrations are extraordinary: glimpses of the abuse of colonial power ('Recite the doctrine, Indian troublemaker! Right now!') alongside gentler scenes of agriculture and everyday life ('Chew this coca, sister'). Scholarly articles help to set the manuscript in context. Browse and enjoy.

Mountain Voices

plep — Sun, 10 Apr 2005 12:10:47 -0800

Mountain Voices. 'This website presents interviews with over 300 people who live in mountain and highland regions round the world. Their testimonies offer a personal perspective on change and development.'