An American in Lima

Peruvian Hairless Dog Nap, originally uploaded by GitanoLatino.
Photographer GitanoLatino knelt in the dry sands of northern Peru to capture this marvelous dog’s eye view of a sleeping Peruvian hairless (taken in January 2007).
The little dog is sleeping near the ruins of Chan Chan, an adobe city built by the Chimu people around 1300 AD. It [...]

[Read more →]

Laura Bush had an interesting itinerary this past weekend in Peru. I think it merits more public attention than does her husband’s hobnobbing with APEC leaders at the final summit meeting.

Laura Bush looks on as aid worker demonstrates how to decontaminate drinking water in earthquake zone (San Clemente, Peru, Nov. 21)

Of note:
(1) She didn’t come [...]

[Read more →]

The slow-motion collapse of the U.S. economy is harming consumers and businesses across the country – well, almost every business that is.
One industry is enjoying big sales gains thanks to the stress experienced by ordinary working people. North American sales of “savory snacks” (potato chips, Cheetos, etc.) by Frito-Lay are up 9% for the third qurater, reports Potato [...]

[Read more →]

Now it’s U.S. President George W. Bush in his APEC poncho get-up that’s driving traffic to expat blogs like An American in Lima.

Never say I don’t oblige. These shots are all originals by El Fotografo, taken on Nov. 23. I let EF write the captions this time. (You can tell by the sexist joke above that EF wrote it, not me.) If you are going to reproduce the photos on your web site, please give him the proper credit line (photo c. Jorge Vera 2008) and link to this site.

[Read more →]

Here’s a timely article from Eliza Barclay on a topic close to many Peruvians’ hearts: potatoes.

Cover photo from The Potato, Treasure of the Andes

 Extreme weather shifts caused by global warming are interrupting millenia-old agricultural cyles in the high Andes, reports Barclay for the Miami Herald. That turmoil is having a devastating effect on crops of native [...]

[Read more →]

Bush towers over Japanese leader Taro Aso (L) and Korea’s Lee Myung-Bak (R), at the Official Group Photo for the APEC Leaders’ Summit, Nov. 23, Lima, Peru;  photo c. Jorge Vera 2008

El Fotografo snagged this photo of U.S. President George Bush making an incriminating gesture with his hands behind the Japanese and Korean leaders at [...]

[Read more →]

The Texas cowbow-turned-El Chalan, APEC Leaders’ Summit, Nov. 23, 2008; photo c. Jorge Vera

It was 4 p.m. on the final day of the APEC Summit, and most of the leaders and the journalists had left the Minstry of Defense building where the summit had been held.
El Fotógrafo and I were huddled in a cubicle in the [...]

[Read more →]

Peruvian bullfighter Fernando Roca Rey, Acho stadium, Lima, Nov. 2, 2008; photo c. Jorge Vera

My news feature on bullfighting in Peru appears on the front page of today’s Miami Herald (”Many protest bullfighting in Peru“), with photos by El Fotografo. The Herald edited the story and retitled it to put more emphasis on the antitaurinos (bullfighting protestors) than I [...]

[Read more →]

By Barbara R. Drake, with photos by Jorge Vera

Ceviche Fuerza Asiatica, from Pescados Capitales, Lima, Peru

Call it haute cuisine with a political bite.
That’s what some foreign dignitaries are tucking into at a top eatery in Lima this week, when the APEC Leader’s Summit concludes with a special focus on the world economic crisis.
Pescados Capitales, on [...]

[Read more →]

Spanish bullfighter Jose Uceda Leal before his first corrida at Plaza de Acho, Lima, Nov. 1, 2008: , photo c. Jorge Vera 2008

Born and trained in Madrid, José Igacio Uceda Leal ranks among the top toreros in Spain. Tall and slender, the 31-year-old bullfighter moves in the ring with an elegant, commanding presence. When he’s not dancing with [...]

[Read more →]

Just two days ago, El Fotografo and I were talking with El Hijo about the beefed-up security for the APEC Summit, which concludes this week in Lima.
“Are terrorists going to kill the presidents?” EH asked, as we drove by the LarcoMar shopping mall in Miraflores, which was swarming with police.
“Probably not,” I told him. “But [...]

[Read more →]

An American in Lima recommends…

Seafood and rice at La Mar

La Mar (Av. La Mar 770, Miraflores; 421-3365): Gaston Acurio’s chic cevicheria is sure to be on many APEC dignitaries’ “must eat at” lists. There’s always a line at this trendsetting restaurant, so expect even longer waits during APEC week. La Mar’s head chef tells An [...]

[Read more →]

Two Peruvian hairless puppies on the right, with a third puppy of the same breed with hair on left; photo courtesy of Sweet Lucy’s

Last night I tallied the results from Monday’s poll (”Should a Peruvian hairless dog become the new White House pet?“), and it turns out an overwhelming majority (87%) of visitors to this blog want [...]

[Read more →]

19-year-old Peruvian bullfighter Milagros Sanchez kneels in the sands of Acho, Nov. 1, 2008; photo copyright Jorge Vera 2008

This year’s Señor de los Milagros (Lord of the Miracles) bullfight festival (Nov. 1 – 23), held in the historic Plaza de Acho bullring, began in a rather unorthodox way.
(1) One minute prior to the start of the Nov. 1 [...]

[Read more →]