According
to reports on television and in the newspapers we are in the grasp of La Niña…we
being most of costal Peru. We’ve had no rain in Chiclayo but over the past few
months each day has begun cloudy and cool; not at all our usual weather. During
mid-day the sun breaks through but the wind has a slight chill to it. In the
late afternoon the clouds roll in again from the south. The clouds are dark and
ugly. In Wisconsin they would be a sure indicator or an impending storm. Here
their only purpose seems to be to obscure our usually red/orange sunset. Palm
trees and colorful exotic plants just don’t look the same in this icky weather.
The official opening school date for public schools in the north of Peru has
been pushed back to next Monday in because many kids are ill from the effects
of the unusual weather. The only plus for me is that I’m able to wear my old
motorcycle jacket that I rode with for many years and miles in the mid-west. It
is one of the few possessions I couldn’t make myself part with. I’m not looking
forward to the heat of November through February but neither am I enjoying this
visit from La Niña.
The
Peruvian girl’s volleyball team recently won fourth place in the FIVB under 18
tournament in Thailand. Natalia Mâlaga is the team’s coach and could probably
be elected president of Peru right now. Peruvians have a lot of interest and
pride in their sport teams. In fact they display pride in most activities that
have a local or national cultural focus. Every Sunday morning in every town in
Peru there is a ceremonial parade honoring one or several institutions in the
context of the nation. You can see love of country in their eyes and posture as
they sing the national anthem, as opposed to the United States where the
national anthem often becomes an individual spectacle performed by someone
attempting to screech as many notes as possible into a single musical bar.
One
of my values is loyalty to and love of my country and I appreciate the often
fervent pride I see expressed by Peruvians toward Peru, which started me
wondering why Peruvians would be
proud of their country. After all, it’s a third world country with over 30% of
the population living in poverty and in many ways is primitive by western
standards. The more I thought about it the more curious I became and decided there
was no better way to satisfy my
curiosity then by simply asking friends, family and acquaintances why they are
proud to be Peruvian. The overwhelming initial response was, “Because I was
born here.” When asked to be more specific the answers generally fell into
three categories, with history being the most often mentioned.
Peruvians
are intensely proud of their Inca history. Many of the older folks spoke sadly
of the Spanish conquest that imposed by force the acceptance of a different
language, religion and customs. A younger woman teacher wiped away tears up as
she lamented that young people no longer know about Peru’s heroes who fought
for independence and in the Pacific War…equating their names with streets
instead of deeds. I found that comment to be a bit puzzling because in many of
the schools we’ve visited, walls and shelves are decorated with paintings and
craft work with a patriotic theme, including such personages as Miguel Grau and
Francisco Bolognesi. Many people spoke with pride that pockets of pre-Spanish
Peru still exist in the highlands, where clothing, customs and even the Quechua
language have been preserved. There was a time when teaching or even speaking
Quechua was prohibited.
Geography
was the next most common answer. I was several times asked rhetorically, “Where
else can you find costal desert, forested highlands, snow-capped mountains and
jungle?” A fair question and it
dovetails with the rich diversity of plants, animals and birds which was the
third most common answer to my question. With most of the people I spoke with
the conversation stopped there, but with several younger university educated
people I pushed a bit farther, pointing out that what I had heard so far was
either ancient history or a gift of nature….was there nothing of the present
that Peruvians are proud of? This question resulted in a potpourri of answers
ranging from Peruvian writers led by Mario Vargas Llosa to Peruvian cooking to
the potato (and Pisco Sour) originating in Peru, the Peruvian Paso horse and
Peruvian music and the Marinara dance.
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