Peru
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| República del Perú Republic of Peru | |||||
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| Anthem: Somos libres, seámoslo siempre (Spanish) "We are free, may we always be so" | |||||
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| Capital | Lima 12°2.6′S 77°1.7′W | ||||
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| Largest city | capital | ||||
| Official languages | Spanish1 | ||||
| Government | Constitutional republic | ||||
| - President | Alan García Pérez | ||||
| - Prime Minister | Jorge Del Castillo | ||||
| Independence | from Spain | ||||
| - Declared | July 28 1821 | ||||
| Area | |||||
| - Total | 1,285,220 km² (20th) 496,222 sq mi | ||||
| - Water (%) | 8.80 | ||||
| Population | |||||
| - July 2007 estimate | 28,674,757 | ||||
| - 2005 census | 27,219,266 | ||||
| - Density | 22/km² 57/sq mi | ||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2005 estimate | ||||
| - Total | $170.089 billion | ||||
| - Per capita | $6,715 | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2006 estimate | ||||
| - Total | $93.268 billion | ||||
| - Per capita | $3,374 | ||||
| HDI (2004) | .png){kind=icon} 0.767 (medium)
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| Currency | Nuevo Sol (PEN)
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| Time zone | PET (UTC-5) | ||||
| Internet TLD | .pe | ||||
| Calling code | +51 | ||||
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America, bordering Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Brazil to the east, Bolivia to the south-east, Chile to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west.
In addition to being known as the cradle of the Inca empire, Peru harbors many indigenous ethnic groups, making it a major historical and cultural site.
History
Ancient cultures
Archaeological evidence indicates that hunter-gatherers have inhabited Peru for about 20,000 years, based on evidence present in sites located in the caves of Piquimachay (Ayacucho), Chivateros, Lauricocha, Paijan, and Toquepala. Some of the oldest identifiable cultures appeared ca. 6000 B.C.E. in the coastal provinces of Chilca and Paracas and in the highlands province of Callejon de Huaylas.
Over the following 3,000 years humans became agrarian, judging from sites such as Kotosh and Huaca Prieta. Cultivation of plants such as corn and cotton began, as well as the domestication of animals. Inhabitants practiced domestic crafts such as spinning and knitting of cotton and wool, basketry and pottery. Some of the more advanced Andean civilizations that appeared in 900 B.C.E. were:
- Caral
- Chavin
- Paracas
- Mochica
- Nazca
- Tiahuanaco
- Wari
- Chimu
These cultures developed relatively advanced techniques of cultivation, gold and silver work, pottery, metallurgy and knitting. Around 700 B.C.E. they also developed systems of social organization that were the precursors of the Inca civilization.
Minor civilizations on the edge of the eastern Andes that were largely integrated into the Incan empire include:
- Malbecs
- Hu-Tyus
- Punos
- Mari-Tiu-Tie
- Olbraqeus
Not all Andean cultures were willing to offer their loyalty to the Incas as they expanded their empire, and many were openly hostile. The people of the Chachapoyas culture were later conquered and integrated into the Inca empire, albeit with much difficulty.
The Incas
The Incas created the most vast and powerful empire of pre-Columbian America. The Tahuantinsuyo reached its greatest extension at the beginning of the sixteenth century. It dominated a territory that included from north to south Ecuador, part of Colombia, the northern half of Chile and the northeast part of Argentina; and from west to east, from Bolivia to the Amazon rainforest.
The empire originated from a tribe based in Cuzco, which became the capital. Pachacuti was the first ruler to considerably expand the boundaries of the Cuzco state. His offspring later ruled an empire by violent and peaceful conquest.
In Cuzco, the royal city was created to resemble a puma; the head, the main royal structure, formed what is now known as Sacsayhuaman. The empire's administrative, political, and military center was located in Cuzco. The empire was divided into four quarters: Chinchasuyu, Antisuyu, Contisuyu, and Collasuyu.
Quechua was the official language, imposed on the citizens. It was the language of a tribe neighboring the original tribe of the empire. Conquered populations—tribes, kingdoms, states, and cities—were allowed to practice their own religions and lifestyles but had to recognize Inca cultural practices as superior to their own. Inti, the sun god, was to be worshiped as one of the most important gods of the empire. His representative on earth was the "Inca," the emperor.
The Tahuantinsuyo was organized in “señoríos” (dominions) with a stratified society, in which the ruler was the Inca. It was also supported by an economy based on the collective property of the land. In fact, the Inca Empire was conceived like an ambitious and audacious civilizing project, based on a mythical thought, in which the harmony of the relationships among the human being, nature, and gods was truly essential.
Many strange and interesting customs were observed, for example the extravagant feast of Inti Raymi which gave thanks to Inti, and the young women who comprised the Virgins of the Sun, sacrificial virgins devoted to the sun god, Inti. The empire, for being so large, also had an impressive transportation system of roads to all points of the empire called the Inca Trail, and chasquis, message carriers who relayed information from anywhere in the empire to Cuzco.
Colonial Peru (Spanish rule)
Francisco Pizarro and his brothers were attracted by the news of a rich and fabulous kingdom. In 1531, they arrived in the country, which they called Peru. (The forms Biru, Pirú, and Berú are also seen in early records.) According to Raul Porras Barrenechea, Peru is not a Quechuan nor Caribbean word, but Indo-Hispanic or hybrid.
At that moment, the Inca Empire was sunk in a five-year civil war between two princes, Huáscar and Atahualpa. Taking advantage of this, Pizarro carried out a “coup d’état.” On November 16, 1532, while the natives were in a celebration in Cajamarca, the Spanish took Atahualpa prisoner by surprise, causing great consternation among the natives and conditioning the future course of the fight. When Huascar was murdered, the Spanish tried and convicted Atahualpa of the crime, executing him by strangulation.
For a period, Pizarro maintained the authority of the Inca, recognizing Tupac Huallpa as the Inca after Atahualpa's death. But the conqueror’s abuses made this fiction all too apparent. Spanish domination consolidated itself as successive indigenous rebellions were bloodily repressed. The situation was complicated by a power struggle between the Pizarro family and Diego de Almagro. A long civil war developed, from which Pizarros emerged victorious.
Despite this, the Spaniards did not neglect the colonizing process. Their most significant act was the foundation of Lima in January, 1535, from which the political and administrative institutions were organized. The necessity of consolidating Spanish royal authority over these territories, led to the creation of a Real Audiencia (Royal Audience). In 1542, the Spanish created the Viceroyalty of New Castilla, that shortly after would be called Viceroyalty of Peru. Nevertheless, the Viceroyalty of Peru was not organized until the arrival of the Viceroy Francisco de Toledo in 1572.
Toledo ended the indigenous state of Vilcabamba, executing the Inca Tupac Amaru. He also promoted economic development from the commercial monopoly and mineral extraction, mainly from argentiferous mines of Potosí. He took advantage of the Inca institution called “mita” to put the native communities under a cruel economic enslavement.
The Viceroyalty of Peru became the richest and most powerful Spanish Viceroyalty of America in the eighteenth century. The creation of the Viceroyalties of New Granada and Rio de la Plata (at the expense of its territory), the commerce exemptions that moved the commercial center from Lima to Caracas and Buenos Aires, and the decline of mining and textile production determined the progressive decay of the Viceroyalty of Peru. These events created a favorable climate so that emancipating ideas had an effect on the Creoles.
Wars of independence
The economic crisis favored the indigenous rebellion that erupted from 1780 to 1781. This rebellion was headed by Tupac Amaru II. At this time, Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of the Iberian Peninsula and the degradation of royal power took place. The Creole rebellion of Huánuco arose in 1812 and the rebellion of Cuzco arose between 1814 and 1816. These rebellions defended the liberal principles sanctioned by the Constitution of Cadiz of 1812.
Supported by the power of the Creole oligarchy, the Viceroyalty of Peru became the last redoubt of Spanish dominion in South America. This Viceroyalty succumbed after the decisive continental campaigns of Simón Bolivar and Jose de San Martin. San Martin, who had displaced the realists of Chile after the magnificent battle of the Andes, and who had disembarked in Paracas in 1819, proclaimed the independence of Peru in Lima on July 28, 1821. Three years later, Spanish dominion was eliminated definitively after the battles of Junín and Ayacucho. The first elected president, however, was not in power until 1827.
Early republican period
The conflict of interests that faced different sectors of the Creole society and the particular ambitions of the caudillos, made the organization of the country excessively difficult. Only three civilians could accede to the presidency in the first seventy-five years of independent life.
After the splitting of Alto Peru in 1815, Bolivia was created. In 1828 Peru fought a war against Gran Colombia over control of Jaén and Maynas territory called the Gran Colombia-Peru War. After the war, Peru retained control over the territory. This was its first international conflict as a new nation. In 1837, the Peru-Bolivian Confederation was also created but, it was dissolved two years later due to Chilean military intervention.
Between these years, political unrest continued, and the army was an important political force. Peru initiated a period of political and economic stability in the middle of the nineteenth century, under General Ramon Castilla's caudillista hegemony. The complete depletion of guano, the main foreign currency source, and the war of the Pacific with Chile because of the dispute over the saltpeter deposits of Tarapacá, caused economic bankruptcy and stirred up social and political agitation.
In 1864, Spain organized a so-called naval science expedition, whose main objective was to recover control of its former colonies. Spain started occupying the Chinchas Islands and arresting Peruvian citizens in 1864, claiming that Spaniards were mistreated on Peruvian soil. After that, the Spanish fleet destroyed the Chilean harbor of Valparaiso. Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru signed an alliance to defeat Spain.
War and reconstruction
In 1879 Peru entered the War of the Pacific, which lasted until 1884. Bolivia invoked its alliance with Peru against Chile. The Peruvian government tried to mediate the dispute by sending a diplomatic team to negotiate with the Chilean government, but the committee concluded that war was inevitable. Chile declared war on April 5, 1879. Almost five years of war ended with the loss of the department of Tarapacá and the provinces of Tacna and Arica in the Atacama region.
After the war, an extraordinary effort of reconstruction began. Political stability was achieved only in the early 1900s. The civilist movement headed by Nicolas de Piérola opposed the military caudillismo that arose from the military defeat and economic collapse. He came to power with the 1895 revolution. The reformist character of Pierola’s dictatorship had continuity in Augusto B. Leguía’s.
During Leguia’s government periods (1908-1912 and 1919-1930), the entrance of American capitals became general and the bourgeoisie was favored. This politics along with the increase of the foreign capital dependency, contributed to generate opposition focuses between the landowner oligarchy as much as the most progressive sectors of the Peruvian society.
In 1929 Peru and Chile signed a final peace treaty, Treaty of Ancon by which Tacna returned to Peru and Peru yielded permanently the rich provinces of Arica and Tarapaca but kept certain rights to the port activities in Arica and decisions of what Chile can do on those territories.
After the worldwide economic crisis of 1929, numerous brief governments followed one another. The APRA party had the opportunity to cause system reforms by means of political actions, but it was not successful. By this time, it begins a sudden population growth and an urbanization increase. During World War II, Peru was the first South American nation to align with the United States and its allies against Germany and Japan.
Between these two periods of time, it should be underlined the constitution of the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA). This is a nationalistic movement, populist and anti-imperialist headed by Victor Raul Haya de la Torre in 1924. The communist party was created four years later, led by Jose C. Mariategui.
Modern politics
General Manuel A. Odría lead a dictatorial military government that lasted for eight years (1948–1956). Inequitable land tenure (latifundia) and wide-spread social marginalization provided the impetus in the early 1960s for the emergence of Peru's armed left.
Meanwhile, the reformist attempt of Fernando Belaunde Terry’s first government failed to address the structural nature of social pathology, which continues to plague Peru. Belaunde's Government embraced numerous projects, including the Carretera Marginal de la Selva, a highway linking Chiclayo on the Pacific coast with previously "isolated" northern regions of Amazonas, San Martín and Loreto. However, Belaunde was saddled with the popular perception that he was too close to foreign capital, moreover his economic decisions lead to the devaluation of the sol, and generalized unrest - both in the countryside and in Lima.
In 1968, General Juan Velasco Alvarado’s lead a coup d'etat replacing the Belaunde government. Under the title of "President of the Revolutionary Government," the nationalist and left-leaning tone of Velasco was manifest by his government's promulgation of Peru's first substantial agrarian reform, which was aimed at stemming the tide of civil unrest, particularly in the Andes where land ownership patterns were profoundly inequitable. Velasco's government is credited with promoting peasant's rights, including the recognition of Quechua as a national language, communal land ownership, and populist social mobilization (SINAMOS).
Invariably, this gave rise to conflict with Peru's small elite, those with foreign capital interests and local oligarchs. Velasco's failing health, changed global conditions and poor planning resulted in a counter-reaction to Velasco's nationalist program. In 1975 General Francisco Morales Bermúdez’s lead a coup d’etat, replacing Velasco as President. Morales Bermúdez's regime was characterized by a return to elite oriented politics, which did little to stem civil unrest from a populace largely excluded from the social benefits of national citizenship.
Frustrated by their inability to "rule" Peru, the Peruvian Armed Forces were forced to call for elections. Fernando Belaúnde Terry was re-elected in 1980 to the Presidency. However, by the end of his term in 1985, Peru yet again faced a crisis that has gripped Peru for the past two decades: mounting external debt has stymied the actions of successive Peruvian governments. Moreover, Belaúnde was impotent in halting the progressive impoverishment of the vast majority of population, and incapable of halting the massive increase in drug trafficking operations, or the insurgent revolts of the Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA).
With much optimism, the leader of Peru's APRA Party, Alan Garcia was elected President in 1985. Like his predecessor, García relinquished power leaving the country in a worse state than when he entered office. The Peruvian economy was crippled by hyperinflation, isolated from the international financial community, and was in the throes of a bloody civil-war pitting the Shining Path and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement against the State and its allies. In a climate of generalized chaos, terror and political violence, the electoral victory of Alberto Fujimori took place in 1990, when the virtually unknown University Rector narrowly defeated the famous Peruvian novelist and cultural icon Mario Vargas Llosa. After a promising start, García left power in 1990.
Two years after he was elected, President Alberto Fujimori summarily closed Congress and convened a referendum for elaborating a new Constitution (1992). Credited by sectors of Peruvian society and the international financial community with restoring macroeconomic "stability" to Peru after the turbulent Garcia years, Fujimori was widely criticized for what his opponents describe as an authoritarian regime, aided by the now imprisoned Vladimiro Montesinos, the former head of SIN.
Following a controversial third "re-election," mounting corruption, wide-spread political violence and gross human rights violations, Fujimori was forced to resign the Presidency of Peru. Fujimori then requested political asylum in Japan on the grounds of his Japanese citizenship.
In the turmoil following Fujimori's precipitous fall from power, Valentín Paniagua was selected as the transitional President. Following a hotly contested election,Alejandro Toledo became President (2001-2006), narrowly defeating Alan García (2006). In 2006, Alan García was once again elected President, defeating nationalist candidate Ollanta Humala.
Politics of Peru
The formal politics of Peru takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Peru is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Congress. The Judiciary is supposed to be independent of the executive and the legislature.
Administrative divisions
Peru is divided into 25 regions (regiones; sg. – región), and subdivided into 180 provinces, and 1,747 districts.
The Lima Province is located in the central coast of the country, is unique in that it doesn't belong to any of the twenty-five regions. The city of Lima is located in this province, which is also known as Lima Metropolitana (Lima Metropolitan Area).
Until 2002, Peru was divided into 24 departments (departamentos) plus one constitutional province (Callao), and many people still use this term when referring to today's regions, although it is now obsolete.
| The regions include: | |||
| 1 Amazonas | 9 Huánuco | 17 Moquegua | |
| 2 Ancash | 10 Ica | 18 Pasco | |
| 3 Arequipa | 11 Junín | 19 Piura | |
| 4 Apurímac | 12 La Libertad | 20 Puno | |
| 5 Ayacucho | 13 Lambayeque | 21 San Martín | |
| 6 Cajamarca | 14 Lima | 22 Tacna | |
| 7 Cusco | 15 Madre de Dios | 23 Tumbes | |
| 8 Huancavelica | 16 Loreto | 24 Ucayali | |
Cities
The primary urban centers include:
- Lima (the capital and the primary economic and cultural center)
- Arequipa
- Trujillo
- Chiclayo
- Callao (the largest port)
- Cusco (the modern capital of the ancient Inca Empire)
- Piura
- Tacna
- Ica
- Puno
- Chimbote
- Huancayo
- Huacho
- Cajamarca
- Pucallpa
- Iquitos
- Yurimaguas
- Tarapoto
- Moyobamba
Geography
Peru's territory has an area of 1,285,216 km². It is bordered by Ecuador and Colombia on the north, Brazil and Bolivia to the east, and finally Chile and Bolivia to the south. To the west lies the Pacific Ocean. Its population has more than 27 million inhabitants that speak Spanish, with others bilingual in Quechua or Aymara and other native languages.
Eastern Peru consists mostly of the moist tropical jungles of the Amazon Rainforest, the largest on Earth. In the southeast along the border with Bolivia lies Lake Titicaca — the highest navigable lake in the world. The Altiplano plateau is a dry basin located along the slopes of the Andes in southeastern Peru. Along the border with Chile, the Atacama Desert is the driest place on the planet.
The Peruvian Sea is home to a large amount and variety of fish life. The Sechura Desert is located in northwestern Peru along the Pacific coastline.
The main rivers of Peru include the Ucayali, Marañón, Amazon (which is formed by the confluence of the Marañón and the Ucayali), Putumayo, Pastaza, Napo, Jurua, and the Purus.
Physiographic regions
When the Spanish arrived, they divided Peru (because of political reasons) into three main regions: the Coastal region, which is bounded by the Pacific Ocean; the Highlands, that is located in the Andean Heights, and the Jungle, which is located on the Amazonian Jungle. These words are still used in Peru. However, Javier Pulgar Vidal, a geographer who studied the biogeographic reality of the Peruvian territory for a long time, proposed the creation of eight Natural Regions. In 1941, the III General Assembly of the Pan-American Institute of Geography and History approved this motion.
These eight Peruvian regions are:
- Chala or Coast (a subtropical desert in the central and southern coast and a changing tropical savanna in the north coast)
- Yunga (consisting of subtropical arid fertile valleyes)
- Quechua
- Suni or Jalca
- Puna
- Janca
- Rupa - Rupa or High Jungle
- Omagua or Low Jungle
Natural and cultural Peruvian heritage
The Peruvian constitution of 1993 recognised the natural resources and ecosystem variety of its country as a heritage. In 1900, the National System of Natural Areas that are protected by the Peruvian Government (SINANPE) was created. This entity depends on the National Institute of Natural Resources (INRENA). They also created a map of protection and preservation of historical – cultural heritage and nature.
This map has 49 natural areas (10% of the country surface) that are preserved by the Government: 8 national parks, 8 national reservations, 6 national sanctuaries, 3 historical sanctuaries, 4 national forests, 6 protection forests, 1 communal reservation, 2 hunting enclosed lands and 11 reserved zones.
National Parks are places where the wild flora and fauna are protected and preserved. Natural resources exploitation and human settlements are forbidden.
National parks
- Cutervo It is the oldest Peruvian National Park. It was created in 1961 and is located in Cajamarca. There are many caves in this park such as San Andres Cave, where the guacharo lives - a bird in danger of extinction.
- Tingo Maria It is located in Huanuco. Its principal attraction is the Cueva de las Lechuzas (Owl Cave) where the guacharos live.
- Manu It is located in Madre de Dios and Cuzco. Its the most representative area of the Amazon biodiversity. In 1977, UNESCO recognised it as a Reserve of Biosphere and in 1987, it was pronounced as Natural Heritage of Humanity.
- Huascaran It is located in Ancash. It was also pronounced as Natural Heritage of Humanity and recognised as Reserve of Biosphere Core. The highest snow-covered mountain is here (which name is also Huascaran and has 6 768 m.). This park is the habitat of the Puya Raimondi, the American panther or puma, the jaguar, the llama, the guanaco, the Marsh Deer, the Peruvian tapir, the Peruvian Piedtail, a hummingbird species, and many kinds of ducks.
- Cerros de Amotape (Amotape Hills) It is located in Piura and Tumbes. It has a lot of dry-climate forests and some endangered species like the American Crocodile.
- Abiseo River It is located in San Martín. UNESCO pronounced it as Natural and Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
- Yanachaga-Chemillen It is located in Pasco. It is a preservation zone of tropical forests that are at 4 800 m. The Palcazu river, Huancabamba river, Pozuzo river and their affluents flows through this National Park. Some native communities still live in here. There are also some archaeological fields from the Inca and Yanesha cultures.
- Bahuaja-Sonene It is located in Madre de Dios. It has the tropical forests of Puno, the Heath Pampas and a part from the Reservation Zone Tambopata-Candamo.
National reservations, protection and spreading areas of wild fauna
- Pampa Galeras – Barbara D’Achille It is located in Ayacucho and it is the habitat of the vicuña.
- Junin It is located in Junin. One of its main purposes is to protect the ecosystem and biodiversity of Junin lake.
- Paracas It is located in Ica. Its main purpose is to preserve the sea ecosystem and protect the historical - cultural heritage.
- Lachay It is located in Lima. Its main purpose is to restore and protect the ecosystem of the Lomas de Lachay (Lachay hills).
- Pacaya-Samiria It is located in Loreto. Its main purpose is to preserve the ecosystems of the Omagua Region and to promote the indigenous towns.
- Salinas and Aguada Blanca They are located in Arequipa and Moquegua. Their main purpose is to preserve the flora, fauna and the landscapes formation.
- Calipuy It is located in La Libertad. Its main purpose is to protect the guanaco’s populations.
- Titicaca It is located in Puno. Its main purpose is to preserve the ecosystems and landscapes of the Titicaca lake.
National sanctuaries
- Huayllay
- Calipuy
- Lagunas de Mejia (The Mejia lagoon)
- Ampay
- Manglares de Tumbes (The mangrove swamps of Tumbes)
- Tabacones Namballe
Historical sanctuaries
- Chacramarca
- Pampas de Ayacucho (The Pampas of Ayacucho)
- Machu Picchu
National forests
- Biabo Cordillera Azul (The Biabo Blue Mountain Range)
- Mariscal Cáceres
- Pastaza–Morona–Marañon
- Alexander von Humboldt
Protection forests
- Aledaño Bocatoma del Canal Nuevo Imperial (Aledaño Intake of the New Imperial Canal)
- Puquio Santa Rosa (Santa Rosa spring of water)
- Pui–Pui
- San Matías–San Carlos
- Alto Mayo
- Pagaibamba
Communal reservation
- Yanesha
Hunting enclosed lands
- Sunchubamba
- El Angolo
Reserved zones
- Manu
- Laquipampa
- Apurimac
- Pantanos de Villa (The swamps of Villa)
- Tambopata–Candamo
- Batán Grande
- Algarrobal El Moro (El Moro carob tree groved)
- Tumbes
- Güeppí
- Chancaybaños
- Aymuru Lupaca
Economy
Since 1990, the Peruvian economy has undergone considerable free market reforms, from legalizing parts of the informal sector to significant privatizations in the mining, electric/power, and telecommunications industries. Aided by foreign investment and cooperation between the former Fujimori administration, the IMF, and the World Bank, economic growth was rapid in 1994–97 and inflation was kept low.
Still, some say that Peru's reforms have not led to sustained economic progress. According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a U.S.-based think tank, "Income per person in Peru – the most basic economic measure of living standards – is currently about the same as it was 25 years ago. This is a remarkable long-term economic failure."[1]
In 1998, El Niño's impact on agriculture, the financial crisis in Asia, and instability in Brazilian markets undercut growth. 1999 was another lean year for Peru, with the aftermath of El Niño and the Asian financial crisis having an avdersely effect on the market economy. Lima did manage to complete negotiations for an Extended Fund Facility with the IMF in June 1999, although it subsequently had to renegotiate the targets. Pressure on spending grew in the run-up to the 2000 elections.
Growth up to the year 2005 has been realized by construction, investment, domestic demand and exports. Peru's economy has become one of the most liberal market economies in Latin America. The country's petroleum, natural gas and power industries are expected to increase due to relatively high domestic and foreign influx of capital in the tourism, agriculture, mining and construction sectors since 1995.
In April 2006, Peru signed a trade agreement with the United States (known as the Peru Trade Promotion Agreement, becoming the first country in the Andean Community of Nations (Comunidad Andina de Naciones,CAN) to sign it.[2] As of June 2006, Peru's Congress has already approved the agreement and the pact awaits approval by the U.S. Congress. Peru is currently negotiating trade agreements with Chile, Mexico, Singapore and India.
Peru has free trade agreements with the Andean Community, which is composed of Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela. It also has free trade agreements with many of the countries in Mercosur as well as Thailand, and during the recent APEC summit, Peru declared intentions to sign free trade agreements with China, Japan, and South Korea.
Peru is also seeking a free trade agreement with the European Union. These negotiations will greatly expand the markets in which the Peruvian products are traded. Peru has potential to export agricultural products, textiles, clothing, shoes, petroleum derivatives, natural gas, minerals, as well as fish and seafood products, tourism, and manufactured goods.
In 2005 Peruvian exports were worth US$ 17.1 billion (an increase of 34.6% compared to 2004) and it is expected to grow 35% for this year reaching US$ 23.5 billion at the end of 2006. The markets of Peru have grown in all sectors (energy, construction, commerce, fishing, manufacturing, tourism, etc) in 2005 growing over 6.67% (one the fastest growth rates of market economies in South America) and it is projected to grow 7% for 2006.
For the next five years (until 2010) the Peruvian government has registered more than US$ 10 billion in private investment (both domestic and foreign) in the mining and energy sectors, as well as investments of US$ 15 billion in other sectors such as industry, commerce, tourism, seafood and agriculture, which will keep the economy growing annually at levels of 5% or more.
Poverty in Peru is high, with a poverty threshold level of 51.2% of the total population. However, the level is reducing slowly and it is expected to diminish to 20% of the population within 10 years.
Military
| Peruvian Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
| File:DivisionBlindada.jpg T-55 Tanks from the Armored Division | |
| Military manpower | |
| Military age | 18 years of age for non-compulsory military service (1999) |
| Availability | males age 18-49: 6,647,874 females age 18-49: 6,544,408 (2005 est.) |
| Fit for military service | males age 18-49: 4,938,417 females age 18-49: 5,278,511 (2005 est.) |
| Reaching military age annually | males: 277,105 females: 269,799 (2005 est.) |
| Military expenditures | |
| Dollar figure | $829.3 million (2003 est.) |
| Percent of GDP | 1.4% (2003 est.) |
The Military branches of the Republic of Peru are as follows:
- Ejército del Perú (Peruvian Army)
- Marina de Guerra del Perú (Peruvian Navy, includes Naval Air, Naval Infantry and Coast Guard)
- Fuerza Aérea del Perú (Peruvian Air Force)
The Peruvian Armed Forces was the second most powerful army of South America[3]. In the last few years social stability has brought the army back to its original objectives - control of the national sovereignty on the sea, land and air, as well as to protect the people, economy, and infrastructure from threats from both inside and outside of the country.
Peruvian Army
Headquartered in Lima, it has a strength of 75 thousand troops divided in four military regions with headquarters in Piura, Lima, Arequipa and Iquitos. Every military region assigned several brigades of which there are different types, including infantry, cavalry and armored. There are also several groups and batallions which operate independently.
The equipment of the Peruvian Army includes several types of tanks (T-55 and AMX-13),armoured personnel carriers (M-113, UR-416), artillery (D30 howitzer, M101 howitzer, M109 howitzer, M114 howitzer), antiaircraft systems (ZSU-23-4 Shilka) and helicopters (Mil Mi-2, Mil Mi-17).
Peruvian Navy (Marina de Guerra del Perú) is organized in five naval zones headquartered in Piura, Lima, Arequipa, Iquitos and Pucallpa. It has a strength of around 25 thousand troops divided between the Pacific Operations and the Amazon Operations General Commands and the Coast Guard.
The Pacific fleet flagship is the cruiser BAP Almirante Grau (CLM-81), named for the XIX-century Peruvian Admiral which fought in the War of the Pacific (1879-1883). The fleet also includes 8 Lupo class frigates (two of which were built in Peru during the 80's), 1 Daring class destroyer, 6 PR-72 class corvettes, 4 Terrebonne Parish class landing ships, 6 Type 209/1200 class German-built diesel submarines (the biggest submarine force in South America), as well as patrol vessels, tankers and cargo ships.
Peruvian Navy has also a naval aviation force, several naval infantry batallions and special forces units.
Peruvian Air Force
On May 20, 1929, the aviation divisions of the Peruvian army and navy were merged into the Peruvian Aviation Corps (CAP, Cuerpo de Aviación del Peru). In 1950, the corps was reorganized again and became the Peruvian Air Force (FAP, Fuerza Aerea del Peru).
The Peruvian Air Force (Fuerza Aerea del Peru - FAP) is divided into 6 wing areas, headquartered in Piura, Chiclayo, Lima, Arequipa, Rioja and Iquitos. With a strong of 35 thousand troops, the FAP counts in its arsenal with MiG-29, MiG-25, Mirage 2000, Mirage M5 and SU-22 supersonic aircraft.
Also, it counts with SU-25 antitank aircraft, as well as MI-24 antitank helicopters, MI-8, MI-17 transport helicopters, and Aermacchi, A-37 Cessna and SuperTucano Embraer subsonic aircraft.
In 1995, the FAP took part in the Cenepa War against Ecuador covering operations by the army and navy. After the war, the FAP began acquiring new material, especially MiG-29 fighters and Su-25 attack fighters which are, along with the Mirage 2000 fighters, the main combat elements of the FAP.
Demographics
Cultural diversity
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Peru is one of the four Latin America whom have a large population segment consisting of unmixed indigenous peoples. Around 35% of all Peruvians, are classified as Indigenous peoples, and most are found in the southern Andes, though a large portion are also found in the southern and central coast due to displaced persons during the Civil war (1985-2000), and the massive internal labor migration from remote Andean and Amazonian regions to coastal cities, especially Lima. While the Andes are the "heart" of indigenous Peru, Amazonia's rich biodiversity is matched by the wide variety of Indigenous peoples residing in the region that comprises the Peruvian nations greatest cultural diversity.
The two major indigenous or ethnic groups are the various Quechua-speaking populations, followed closely by the Aymará (mostly found in the extreme southern Andes of Peru), as well as literally dozens of indigenous cultures dispersed throughout the country beyond the Andes Mountains and in the Amazon basin.
A large proportion of Peru's indigenous peoples who live in the Andean highlands still speak Quechua or Aymara, and have vibrant cultural traditions, some which were part of the Inca Empire, arguably the most advanced agricultural civilisation in the world. In the tropical Andes and lowlands of the Amazon, which represents nearly 60% of Peruvian national territory, one notes some of the planet's greatest cultural and biological diversity.
The Peruvian Amazonia is rapidly becoming urbanized. Important urban centers include Iquitos, Nauta, Puerto Maldonado, Pucallpa and Yurimaguas. In Peruvian Amazonia is home to nomerous indigenous peoples tribes yet they are not a large part of the total consisting population. Examples of amazon tribes are the Ashianikas, Urarina, Cocama, and Aguaruna, to name just a few.
In the north coast (La Libertad-Tumbes) there are still indengeous peoples that are rooted as being ancestors of cultures like the Chimu, Chan Chan, Mochica, Tallan and Tumpis. All of these tribes where ethnically closley related to high jungle, amazonian and caribbean peoples that migrated here before the Incas-quechuas conquered the northern regions of Peru and Ecuador. Most of these northern coast had a strong spanish prescence since most of the Spanish settled in the central and north coast and Andes, so there are few purely unmixed indigenous inhabitants im the north coast.
At the national level, mestizos constitute the largest segment of the population, 45% of the total population. The term denotes people of mixed ancestry be it European with indigenous, African or Asian. Most of the mestizos, around 75%, come from a mixed ancestry of European (basically spanish descent) and indigenous descent. The remaning 25% of the mestizo grupo is basically rooted in mestizos of African (black) ancestry such as mulatos, zambos, cuarteron and and a small asian (chinese-cantonese) 3% at the most.
Around 17% of the population is classified as "White" (Blanco), mostly the descendants of Spanish colonizers (called criollos), though there are also descendants of inmigrant families like Italians in the cental coast, Germans in the cenral jungle, Chinese in the central-northern coast and Japanese in the central coast.
The majority of the creole communities live in Peru's largest cities and basically the northern coast such as Trujillo, Chiclayo, Piura, Lima, Cajamarca, San Martin and in the south only Arequipa shows important spanish influence.
Between 5% to 6% of Peruvians are classified as purely "black" (Afro-Peruvian), most of them live in coastal cities found south of Lima such as that of those found in the Ica Region, in cities like Cañete, Chincha, Ica, Nazca and Acari in the border with the Arequipa Region.
The other large but poorley promoted segement of Afro-peruvian presence is found yunga reginos (west and just below the Andean chain of northern Peru) where sugarcane, lemon and mango production is still of importance, that is Piura and Lambayeque. Important communities are found all over the Morropon Province, such as in the city of Chulucanas, Yapatera town of the same city, and other even smaller farming towns like Pabur, La Matanza, San Juan de Bigote, Chapica del Carmelo, Malacasi, Salitral, Buenos Aires of Morropon and even in the mountainous region near Canchaque. Further south, the colonial city of Zaña or farming towns like Capote and Tuman in Lambayeque are also important regions with Afro-peruvian prescence.
There is also a smaller segment of Afro-peruvian communities in Tumbes, Sullana and Tambogrande, yet most have mixed with either indigenous peoples, Spanish or others.
In the Amazonia, some Afro-peruvian families trace their origins to workers brought from the "British" Caribbean to participate in the Rubber Boom (1880-1920), as noted by their presence in cities like Iquitos. But the only Amazon region where there is visible black prescence is the Huanuco Region and Cerro de Pasco´s jungle valleyes, since african slaves fled to these tropical valleys from the Andes where they worked as miners.
Peru has the second largest population of people of Japanese descent in Latin America after Brazil. Many of them traveled to Japan in the 1980's and early 90s as the economic situation in Peru got worse. Some, however, came back after Peruvian-Japanese Alberto Fujimori was elected President of Peru in 1990. Peru has the largest community of Chinese descent mainly living in Lima, where Peruvian-Chinese restaurants (called chifas) are acommonplace. Historic communities of Chinese people are found throughout the Peruvian upper Amazon, including cities such as Yurimaguas, Nauta, and Iquitos. In contrast to the Japanese community in Peru, the Chinese appear to have intermarried much more. "Unmixed" Asians make up roughly 3% of the population of Peru; the largest percentage of any Latin American nation-state.
Language
Peru has established as official languages Spanish and - in the areas where they are predominant - Quechua, Aymara and other native languages¹. Spanish is understood by virtually all Peruvians and is used by government, media, and in education and formal commerce. There has been an increasing and organized effort to teach Quechua in public schools in the areas where Quechua is spoken.
The major obstacle to a more widespread use of the Quechua language is the fact that multiple dialects of this language exist. The variations among these Quechua dialects are as pronounced as - for example - the differences between Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. Quechua, along with Aymara and the minor indigenous languages, was originally and remains essentially an oral language. Therefore, there is a lack of modern media which use it: for example books, newspapers, software, magazines, technical journals, etc. However, non-governmental organizations as well as state sponsored groups are involved in projects to edit and translate major works into the Quechua language; for instance, in late 2005 a superb version of Don Quixote was presented in Quechua.
The percentage of native speakers of Quechua who are illiterate has been decreasing lately as 86.87% of the Peruvian population is literate². More encouraging, the youth literacy nationwide (15 - 24 years old) is 96.8%³.
¹Peruvian Constitution, 1993 ²Peruvian National Census, 2005 ³UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2004
Culture
Like its rich national history, the popular culture of contemporary Peru is the result of a fusion of cultures, constituted primarily from the cultural legacy of the indigenous groups, and Spanish and African colonists. This cultural mixture has been further enriched by the contributions of other immigrant groups, particularly Asians and non-Iberian Europeans.
Peruvian artistic creation
Peruvian cultural patrimony has its origin in the magnificent Andean civilizations, which flourished before the Spaniards’ arrival. Peru's archaeological treasures are evidence of many significant achievements comparable to those of other great civilizations.
Some of the first artistic manifestations reflecting more advanced intellectual and technological evolution are artifacts found in the deposits of Chavín de Huántar and Cupisnique. These are examples of symbolic and religious art including gold and silver work, ceramics,architecture and stone sculpture. These sites date as far back as the 14th century B.C.E. and 11th century B.C.E., respectively.
Between the 8th century B.C.E. and 1st century AD, the Paracas Cavernas and Paracas Necrópolis cultures developed. The Paracas Cavernas culture produced beautiful polychrome ceramics with religious representations as well as monochrome ceramics. The Paracas Necrópolis culture is characterized by its delicate fabrics in complex styles.
In the period between the 3rd century B.C.E. and 7th century AD, the urban culture known as Mochica developed in Lambayeque. Nazca culture also developed in this period in the valley of río Grande, in Ica. In Mochica culture, the magnificent Huaca del Sol and Huaca de la Luna and the Huaca Rajada of Sipan are worth mentioning. They are notable for their cultivation in terraces and hydraulic engineering, as well as some of the most original ceramics, textiles, and pictorial and sculptural art in the Andean world.
The Wari civilization, which flourished between the 8th century and 12th century AD, was based in Ayacucho. This civilization may have been the first Andean culture to define a planned urban layout. Such a concept was later expanded to zones like Pachacamac, Cajamarquilla, Wari Willca and others. Tiahuanaco culture developed by the borders of lake Titicaca between the 9th century and 13th century AD. This culture introduced monumental lithic architecture and sculpture as well as military urbanism. These advances in architecture were possible thanks to the discovery of bronze for making tools.
The Chimú town improvement on the principle of urban architecture. This civilization built the city of Chan Chan in the valley of the Moche river, in La Libertad, between the 14th and 15th centuries AD. The chimú were also skillful goldsmiths and made remarkable works of hydraulic engineering.
The Inca Civilization incorporated, and in many cases perfected, many of the cultural techniques of the civilizations that preceded it. There are many examples of original Inca architecture and engineering that have outlasted later Spanish colonial structures. In this regard, the rich Inca heritage can still be observed in cities like Cuzco, the fortress of Sacsahuaman, Ollantaytambo, Machu Picchu, and extensive stone roads that united Cuzco with the four cardinal points of the Inca Empire. The Spanish conquest displaced, not without violence, native artistic practices and concepts, although in many cases, it made for enriching hybrids of traditional Spanish and native art.
Architecture
Peruvian architecture is a conjunction of European styles exposed to the influence of indigenous imagery. Two of the most well-known examples of the Renaissance period are the Cathedral and the church of Santa Clara of Cuzco. After this period, the mestization reached its richer expression in the Baroque. Some examples of this Baroque period are the convent of San Francisco de Lima, the church of the Compañía and the facade of the University of Cuzco and, overall, the churches of San Agustín and Santa Rosa of Arequipa, its more beautiful exponents.
The independence war left a creative emptiness that Neoclassicism of French inspiration could just fill. The XX century is characterized by the eclecticism, to which the constructive functionalism has been against. The most considerable example is San Martin Plaza in Lima.
Sculpture and painting
Peruvian sculpture and painting began to define themselves from the ateliers founded by monks, who were strongly influenced by the Sevillian Baroque School. In this background, the stalls of the Cathedral choir, the fountain of the Main Square of Lima and great part of the colonial production were registered.
The artistic crossbreeding was more intense in the pictorial creation. This crossbreeding gathered, without ambages, the native heritage and materialized, without incisions, the historical continuity. You are able to see this in the portrait of prisoner Atahualpa, from Diego de Mora, or in the linens of the Italians Mateo Pérez de Alesio and Angelino Medoro, the Spanish Francisco Bejarano and J. de Illescas and the Creole J. Rodriguez.
During XVII and XVIII centuries, the Baroque also dominated the field of plastic arts. In the XIX century, the French neoclassic and romantic currents found his best representatives in L. Montero, the Ignacio Merino and Francisco Masias.
In the XX century, the establishment of the Fine Arts School of Lima (1919) printed the decisive impulse on Peruvian sculpture and painting. In sculpture, we have some remarkable names like Luis Agurto, L. Valdettaro, Joaquin Roca Rey, J. Piqueras, Alberto Guzmán, Victor Delfín and F. Sánchez. Between the painters, we have Daniel Hernández, R. Grau, Cesar Quispez Asin and Jose Sabogal. Sabogal headed the indigenous movement. This movemevent was one of the props of the Peruvian contemporary painting, which more representative names are Fernando de Szyszlo, Alberto Davila, Armando Villegas, Sabino Springett, Victor Humareda, M. A. Cuadros, Angel Chavez, Milner Cajahuaringa, Arturo Kubotta, Venancio Shinki, Alberto Quintanilla, G. Chavez, Tilsa Tsuchiya, David Herskowitz, Oscar Allain and Carlos Revilla.
Literature
In the history of Peruvian literature, the oral indigenous tradition and the technical resources of writing (incorporated by Spaniards) converge in each other. From the beginning, it was possible to gather and to express the different and complex cultural realities that entered in conflict immediately after the conquest.
Quechua and Aymara literature was transmitted in an oral way. It was linked to religious, agrarian, affectionate, festive or funeral rites. These characteristics became into certain forms of poetry or prose, as it is observed in the first historical chronicles of the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (Los comentarios reales) or Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala (la Nueva crónica y buen gobierno) and in the identification between the yaravies and the patriotic and romantic poetry. One of the most outstanding exponents here was Mariano Melgar.
Later, the hegemony of Creole oligarchy in the Peruvian society favored the abandonment of the indigenous forms in favor of the European ones. Then the neoclassicists arose like Manuel Asencio y Segura and Felipe Pardo y Aliaga. They held themselves almost until the end of the XIX century. At this time, the romantic current was imposed thanked to the works of Carlos Augusto Salaverry and Jose Arnaldo Marquez, between others. The general crisis derived from the War of the Pacific gave place to the Modernism. Its best exponents were Jose Santos Chocano and José María Eguren. After them, the Avant-gardism current popped up strongly impelled by the magazines: Colónida and Amauta. Amauta magazine was founded in 1926 by José Carlos Mariátegui. Between its collaborators was César Vallejo. Meanwhile the Indigenous current in poetry was reborn thanked to Luis Fabio Xammar. The avant-gardist writers were fragmenting in different lyric proposals like the ones of Xavier Abril, Alberto Hidalgo, Sebastian Salazar Bondy, Carlos Germán Belli, and others. They were opening new and diverse expressive fields.
In the XIX century, Peruvian prose passed from the costumbrismo current: Manuel Ascensio Segura and Ricardo Palma, to the Modernism current: Manuel González Prada and José Santos Chocano. In the XX century, the indigenous prose reached some of its culminating moments with Ciro Alegría and José María Arguedas, Sebastián Salazar Bondy, Manuel Scorza and Julio Ramón Ribeyro. Without leaving the realistic approach, Mario Vargas Llosa and Alfredo Bryce Echenique incorporated new narrative techniques. Some of the most remarkable names in poetry are Emilio Adolfo Westphalen, Jorge Eduardo Eielson, Carlos Germán Belli, Antonio Cisneros, Wáshington Delgado, Marco Martos, Carmen Ollé and in narrative: Miguel Gutiérrez, Gregorio Martínez, Alonso Cueto, Guillermo Niño de Guzmán, between others.
Art
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The art of Peru was shaped by the melting between Spanish and Amerindian cultures. During pre-Columbian times, Peru was one of the major centers of artistic expression in The Americas, where Pre-Inca cultures, such as Chavín, Moche, Paracas, Huari (Wari), Nazca, Chimu, and Tiahuanaco developed high-quality pottery, textiles, jewelry, and sculpture.
Drawing upon earlier cultures, the Incas continued to maintain these crafts but made even more impressive achievements in architecture. The mountain town of Machu Picchu and the buildings at Cuzco are excellent examples of Inca architectural design.
During the colonial period, Spanish baroque fused with the rich Inca tradition to produce mestizo art. The Cuzco school of largely anonymous Indian artists followed the Spanish baroque tradition with influence from the Italian, Flemish, and French schools.
Painter Francisco Fierro made a distinctive contribution to this school with his portrayals of typical events, manners, and customs of mid-19th-century Peru. Francisco Lazo, forerunner of the indigenous school of painters, also achieved fame for his portraits.
Peru has passed early 20th century brought "indigenismo," expressed in a new awareness of Indian culture. Since World War II, Peruvian writers, artists, and intellectuals such as Cesar Vallejo and José María Arguedas have participated in worldwide intellectual and artistic movements, drawing especially on U.S. and European trends.
In the decade after 1932, the "indigenous school" of painting headed by José Sabogal dominated the cultural scene in Peru. A subsequent reaction among Peruvian artists led to the beginning of modern Peruvian painting. Sabogal's resignation as director of the National School of Arts in 1943 coincided with the return of several Peruvian painters from Europe who revitalised "universal" and international styles of painting in Peru.
During the 1960s, Fernando de Szyszlo, an internationally recognised Peruvian artist, became the main advocate for abstract painting and pushed Peruvian art toward modernism. Peru remains an art-producing center with painters such as Fernando de Szyslo, Gerardo Chavez, José Tola, Alberto Quintanilla, and José Carlos Ramos, along with sculptor Victor Delfín, gaining international stature.
Promising young artists continue to develop now that Peru's economy allows more promotion of the arts.
Crafts
Between the most spread crafts in Peru, there are the ceramics (either artistic or utilitarian), the carving, the silversmiths' work, the leather repoussage, the straw weaving, and of course the textile work, emphasizing the colorful weavings made of alpaca's wool.
Folkloric expressions
Pre-Hispanic Peruvian Andean cultures were especially bound to musical artistic expressions. In fact, almost all agricultural communal works were accompanied by music and singings (generically called in Quechua language: taqui). The ethnic diversity of ancient Peru made diverse traditions and customs coexist across the time. They were strongly determinants of the rich development of Post-Hispanic Peruvian folklore.
At the present time, different musical expressions (dances and songs), folkloric festivities (religious or not), arts and crafts, gastronomy and other activities (that varies according to different regions) are important expressions of Peruvian and Latin-American cultural heritage.
Music
Like its geography (28 of 32 world climates), its cuisine and its various ethnicities, Peruvian music is very diverse. Much of Peru's music is derived from Andean, Andalusian Spanish and African roots. Modern Peruvian music and Amazon influenced music is also common in Peru.
The Pre-Hispanic Andean musicians mostly used wind instruments such as the quena, the pinkillo, the erke, the antara or siku (also called zampoña), the pututo or pototo, etc. They also used diverse membranophone instruments such as the tinya (hand drum), the wankar, instrument of big dimensions, the pomatinyas - made of puma's skin-, and the runatinyas - made of human's skin-. The runatinya was also used in battles.
With the Spanish conquest, new instruments arrived like harps, guitars, vihuelas, bandurrias, lutes, etc. Due to these instruments, new crossbred Andean instruments appeared. These crossbred instruments are still in used nowadays: the Andean harp and the charango. The sounding box of the charango is made of the armadillo's shell.
The cultural crossbreeding did not limit itself to the contact of Indigenous and European cultures. The African slaves' contribution was demonstrated in rhythms and percussion instruments. This influence is visible in musical forms like festejo, zamacueca, etc.
Coastal music is rooted in the haciendas and the callejones of cities such as Lima, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Piura, Tumbes and Ica. It involves a creole version of the Spanish guitar and the famous Peruvian instrument Cajon drum.
Andean Peruvian music
Andean music is rooted in the traditional native music, the Spanish orquestal and European Church musicals. The southern Andean region is famous for the Huayno, a mestizo happy chant that involves Charango guitar, beautifully-toned lamenting vocals and sometimes the Andean Harp. The Huayno Ayacuchano is probably the most famous of its styles since it is played on creole and even Spanish guitar, adding to its feel an even a more soulful and romantic expression.
Cusco, Puno and Apurimac have a more pure native feel to their music whom even incorporate violins. Famous tuens are the Muliza and Valicha Cusqueña, whom are also very romantic and melancolic. Other Andean rhythms involve a fusion of European Church music and Huaynos such as the known song "El Cóndor Pasa," a traditional Peruvian song popularized in the United States by the folk duo Simon & Garfunkel and featured in the movie "The Graduate." The original composition consists of a Yaraví, followed by an Inca "Pasacalle" and a Huayno fugue, three traditional Inca rhythms.
Jorge Bravo de Rueda's famous "Vírgenes del Sol" was popularized in 1951 by Yma Súmac.
Arequipa is region that probably that resembles best the mixing of the Spanish and the Andean cultures. Arequipa city is the proud creator of the famous Yaraví, a melancholy style that involves Spanish or creole guitar that is sung A Capella. It has been popularized to the rest of the Andean comunities after the Pacific War in honor of Mariano Melgar (local hero). The music evokes to the solitude of the mountains, the miners and the Andean farmer. It is a mix of gypsy Zards and Huayno.
The Huaylas of the central Andes, by contrast, is a cheery, rhythmic style mostly popular around Cerro de Pasco, Huanuco Huaraz.
Coastal Peruvian music
The coast has a different feel to its music than its Andean counterpart. It is called musica criolla and its rooted in a fusion that evokes to traditional Spanish, Gypsy (Roma People) and African influence.
It combines traditional European rhythms, strong gypsy emotional flair deriving from Flamenco and eastern European Zards, and also African based chorus and percussion.
This mixture is rooted especially in the central and northern coast, and has provided the wide range of dance and musical styles we hear today. Lima for example, is most well known musical style Peruvian Waltz known elsewhere as valse peruano and valsesito peruano. The rhythm involves a singer, a chorus, creole Guitarr, Peruvian Cajón and spoon players. It is widely popularised by the great Chabuca Granda, who is considered the most important composer of coastal creole music, with such songs as La Flor de La Canela, Fina Estampa, and José Antonio. Other commonly known peruvian valse tunes are Alma Corazon y Vida, Odiame, Propiedad Privada, El Plebeyo, and El Rosario de Mi Madre, some of these songs are twisted to Bolero or Salsa version by Caribbean artists.
Afro Peruvian music is commonly performed by duos of creole guitars, the Cajon, Cajita and the peculiar Quijada de Burro.
Examples of these dances are the Festejo and Landó, which are common to Afro-Peruvian communities of the southern coast. Susana Baca is a renowned singer and composer of Afro Peruvian music. She won a Grammy award in 2002 for her album Lamento Negro.
The Marinera or Zamacueca of the central coast Lima is the current National Dance of Peru, named in honour of the marines who fought against the Chilean military in the War of the Pacific. Among Peruvians of the coast, it is considered as traditional and representative as the Tango is to Argentina. The dance evokes from a mixture of Eastern European gypsy, flamenco and the elegance of the Peruvian Paso Horse. Many people take classes and look forward to the annual Marinera Festival held in the city of Trujillo every July, with thousands in attendance.
In the northern coast especially Lambayeque and Piura, the people are most famous for the Cumananas and the Tondero dance. These are the oldest and most mestizo expressions of Peruvian music and derive from the encounterd mixture of the Gypsies, Africans slaves and migrant Andean cultures.
Peruvian coastal music has in its rich structure the participation of a local instrument called the cajón. This instrument has been mistaken very frequently with an Spanish origin (the cajon was introduced in Spain around the 1980's by Paco de Lucia, but the truth is that the cajon has been utilized in Peruvian music since the colonial times. Although it might also have gypsy influence it has been prooved that the instrument is stricktly of Peruvian origin since it is rooted in the Tondero, the Zamacueca, the Resabalosa and Peruvian coastal creole rythms before any other expressions.
Dances
Between Dances of Native origin, there are the ones that are related to the agricultural work, hunting and war. Some choreographies show certain Christian influence. Two of the most representative Andean dances are the kashua and the wayno or huayno. The kashua has a communal character and it is usually danced in groups in the country or open spaces. The huayno is a "salon ball." It is danced in couples and in closed spaces. The yaravi and the triste have also an Andean origin. They are usually songs with very emotional lyrics.
Dances of Ritual character are the achocallo, the pinkillada, the llamerada (dance that imitates the llama's walk), the kullawada (the spinners' dance), etc. Between the Hunting dances, it can be mentioned: the llipi-puli and choq'elas. They are dances from the altiplano related to the vicuña's hunting.
There are some Dances of War like the chiriguano that has an Aymara origin; the chatripuli that satirizes the Spanish Realist soldiers, and the kenakenas that is about the Chilean soldiers who occupied Peru during the War of the Pacific (1879). There are also Carnival Dances. A Carnival is a western holiday that, in the Peruvian Andes, is celebrated simultaneously with the crops time. Many rural communities celebrate the youths' initiation during these holidays with ancestral rites and crossbred dances. New couples might be established.
The most attractive and internationally known Love Dance in Peru is the Marinera Norteña. This dance represents a man's courting to a young woman. There are local variants of this dance in Lima and the other regions of the country.
Popular celebrations
Popular Celebrations are the product of every town's traditions and legends. These celebrations gather music, dances, meals and typical drinks. In addition to the religious celebrations like Christmas, Corpus Christi or Holy Week, there are others that express the syncretism of the indigenous believes with the Christians'. An example of this kind of celebration is the Alasitas (an Aymara word that, according to some studious people, would mean «buy me») that combines a crafts and miniatures fair with dances, meals and a mass. Another example is the peregrination of the Q'oyllor-riti (Cuzco), that gathers the ancient cult to the apus (tutelary divinities of the mountains) with a peregrination to a Christian Sanctuary in a long trek to the top of a mountain, of more than 5000 m. at sea level, that is covered with snow.
Cuisine
There is a big variety of food, like maize, tomato, potatoes, uchu or ají (Capsicum pubescens), oca, ulluco, avocado, fruits like cherimoya, lúcuma and pineapple (anana), and animals like taruca (Hippocamelus antisensis) (similar to the little red brocket), llama and Guinea pig (cuy). After the combination of the American, European and Moorish culinary traditions, appeared new meals and ways of preparing them. The successive arrivals of the Africans and the Chineses also influenced in the development of the Creole cuisine, that is so diverse and succulent nowadays.
Peruvian cuisine, for years unnoticed abroad, has recently exploded onto the world gastronomic scene. Peruvian cuisine is a blend of Amerindian and Spanish roots, but has also been influenced by other groups, including Africans, Italians, Chinese and Japanese, all of whom have added their own ingredients and traditions to the mix.
Peru's many climate zones also make it possible to grow a wide range of crops. There are the dozens of native potato, maize and chile pepper varieties from the Andes being Rocoto one of the most popular, to the plentiful fish and seafood from the Pacific coast, mangoes and limes from the coastal valleys, and bananas and manioc from the Amazon jungle.
Between the most typical dishes of the Peruvian cuisine, we have the cebiche, which is also spelled "ceviche" (fish and shellfish marinated in lime juice not lemon juice as commonly mistaken for the Spanish word Limòn meaning lime), the chupe de camarones (a soup made of shrimps (Cryphiops caementarius)), the anticuchos (a beef's heart roasted in brochettes), the olluco con charqui (a casserole dish made of ulluco and charqui), the Andean pachamanca (meats, tubers and broad beans cooked in a stone oven), the lomo saltado (cuisine) (meat fried lightly with tomato and onion, served with French fries and rice) that has a Chinese influence, and the picante de cuy (a casserole dish made of fried guinea pig with some spices). Peruvian food can be accompanied by typical drinks like the chicha de jora (it's a chicha made of tender corn dried by the sun). This drink has a very low alcoholic graduation. There are also chichas made of purple corn or peanut. They are very refreshing and do not have any alcoholic content.
The most popular ceviche is a type of seafood cocktail where the fish has been marinated in lime with onions and hot peppers, but not cooked. The lime's acid precipitates the protein and hence turns the fish white, "cooking" it. There are several types of ceviche that include fish only, mixed seafood, mussels, etc. Other typical food include staples from the Andes; humitas (tamales), roasted cuy guinea pig, papa a la Huancaina, Jalea de Mar, Chilcano, Sudado, Aguadito, Tallarin Saltado, Aji de Gallina, Arroz con Pollo, Seco de Res, Chicharrones, Tacu Tacu, Carapulcra (Dry potato), choncholi, Salchipapas, Mondonguito a la Italiana, Chanfainita, Ocopa, different Chifa dishes (Chinese food made with Peruvian ingredients), Estofado, Bistec a la Pobre, Arroz con Pato, Rocoto Relleno, Empanadas, Pollo a la Brasa, Lechon, Picante de Mariscos, Arroz con Leche, Turron de Doña Pepa.
Caramel, also known as Manjar Blanco in Peru, is a very popular dessert. Also Crema Chantilly in very popular in cakes. Other desserts include Mazamorra Morada, Arroz con Leche, Flan, Crema Volteada, Leche Asada, Torta Helada.
The most popular soft drink is called Inca Kola, which is a yellowish cream soda, but other sodas are popular too, such as Kola Inglesa, Guarana Backus, and other very common fruit sodas like oranges, pineapple, and lemon. Peru's most well known beverage is the Pisco which originated in the Peruvian department of Ica.
Travel guide to Peru from Wikitravel
Sports
Chess: Julio Granda is the most famous Peruvian chess player. His epic battle in 1998 with Jorge Useche was one of Peru's most riveting chess matches.
Football: The most popular Peruvian sport is football (soccer) (World Cup appearances: 1930,1970(quarterfinalists),1978(quarterfinalists),1982 and two Copa America trophies). Most of the population of Peru follow the World Cup tournament on television. Soccer legends from Peru include Hugo Sotil, Cesar Cueto, Roberto Challe, and Teofilo Cubillas: Peru's best striker in the World Cup Finals with 10 goals. Current renowned players include midfielder Nolberto Solano (Newcastle United), and strikers Claudio Pizarro, Jose Paolo Guerrero (SV Hamburg) and Jefferson Farfán (PSV Eindhoven). Universitario de Deportes, Alianza Lima, Sporting Cristal, and Cienciano are the biggest teams in Peru. In 2003, Cienciano won the Copa Sudamericana.
Volleyball: Other popular sport is Women’s Volleyball (Silver medal in Seoul 1988 Olympic Games, Runners-up in World Championship in 1982 and 12 times South American champion).
Surfing: Felipe Pomar, 2nd World Surfing Championship, Peru 1965, Sofia Mulanovich, Women’s World Surf Champion in 2004 and 2005.
Sailing: Peru is the only country of the region that has won for six consecutive years the world Cup in the Sunfish Class. In addition, Peru has won the Central American, South American & Caribbean Championships for the same category. In the Optimist Class, it was three times World Champion in Team-Racing in 1997, 1998, and 1999.
Shooting: Peruvian shooters have won 3 of Peru's 4 Olympic medals. Edwin Vásquez won Peru's only gold medal in London 1948 Olympic Games, while Francisco Boza (Los Angeles 1984), and Juan Giha (Barcelona 1992) both won silver medals.
Tennis: Luis Horna and Jaime Yzaga are the most famous Peruvian tennis players. Tennis Hall of Famer and Davis Cup and Wimbledon winner Alejandro Olmedo was born in Peru but he played for the United States.
Paleta Fronton: The only sport truly born in Peru. Has its roots in "Pelota Vasca" and "Hand Ball." Played with a wooden raquet and a hollow rubber ball filled with air, and in a court consisting of a concret wall and floor. Paleta Fronton is growing in popularity and now is played in Costa Rica and Mexico.
International rankings
- Reporters without borders world-wide press freedom index: Rank 116 out of 167 countries (2005)
- UN Human Development Index 2005: Ranked 79 out of 177 countries. Up 6 places from 85 in 2004.
See also
|
Peru Portal |
- Communications in Peru
- Foreign relations of Peru
- List of famous Peruvians
- Military of Peru
- Miss Peru
- Peruvian nationality law
- Public holidays in Peru
- Transport in Peru
- Asociación de Scouts del Perú
External links
- Open Directory Project - Peru directory category
- Peruvian in the world
- Encyclopaedia Britannica - Peru's Country Page
- Peruvians in Germany
- Volunteer in Peru
- Peru country-data.com page
Archaeology
Nature
Politics
- Public Opinion in Peru
- Center for Reproductive Rights Report (PDF format)
- All you need to know about Peru's election
- Local government in Peru
- Council on Foreign Relations: Peru's Elections
- Peru's 2006 Elections
Peru maps
Music
- Peruvian Modern Rock Webzine
- Peru Rock Music
- Peru Net Radio
- Planeta FM Radio - Contemporary Music
- Studio 92 FM Radio - Contemporary Music
- Radio A FM - Ballads
- Z Rock & Pop Radio
- Radio Doble 9 FM - Rock Music
- Radio Telestereo 88.3 FM Adult Contemporary
- Viva FM Radio - Latin Pop
Peruvian TV channels
- Frecuencia Latina (Latin Frequency) In Lima Channel #2 -Online Transmission-
- Cable Magico Deportes (Magic Cable Sports) In Lima Channel #3
- America Television (America Television) In Lima Channel #4
- Panamericana Television (Panamericana Television) In Lima Channel #5
- Panamericana Television (News Website) In Lima Channel #5
- Plus TV In Lima Channel #6
- Television Nacional del Peru (National Channel) In Lima Channel #7
- Canal N (News Channel) In Lima Channel #8
- ATV In Lima Channel #9
- OKTV National Music Channel in Lima Channel #11
- Red Global In Lima Channel #13
- Uranio TV National Music Channel (in Lima Channel #45)
- Congress Channel In Lima Channel #95
Peruvian news
- Diario El Comercio
- Diario La República
- Diario El Bocón
- Portal Peru.com
- Portal Deportivo Estudiantil Todo Futbol Peru
- Internet
- Internet Ideasperu
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