-
Vegan Antitaurino Activist, Plaza San Martin, Lima, Peru
Animal-rights protestor Jessica Santilla, demonstration at Plaza San Martin, Lima, Peru, Nov. 2008 / photo c. Jorge Vera El Fotografo and I met this protestor at an antitaurino (anti-bullfighting) rally held on the opening day of the Plaza de Acho bullfights, last November. Jessica Santillan is 20 years old, a student and an ardent vegan. Unlike many of the antitaurinos I met in Lima that day, Santillan believes that slaughtering animals for food is as morally reprehensible as killing bulls in the bullring. She and her boyfriend were holding up a sign that said “Neither bulls in the Plaza nor cattle in the slaughterhouse.” They were wearing matching toro outfits and chained together. Some of the demonstrators…
-
The Vizcacha: “Little-known Small Animal with a Promising Economic Future”
photo © Joseph Tobias Okay. I didn’t invent that headline. I swiped it from a book about small and miniature animals titled Microlivestock: Little-known Small Animals with Promising Economic Futures (1991), published by the U.S. Office of International Affairs and the National Research Council. The mountain vizcacha, a furry rabbit-like rodent that lives in Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina, is featured in chapter 24 of Microlivestock, which also has a lot to say about small animals you already know about (turkey, rabbit, quail), small animals you may never had heard of (agouti, coypu, hutia) and small animals that sound like the products of dubious genetic experiments (the Giant Rat, micro-cattle, the micro-goat and the micro-pig). I don’t think the northern vizcacha,…
-
Help Save Peru’s Yellow-Tailed Woolly Monkey from Extinction
A baby monkey (related to the yellow-tailed) riding on his adopted father’s back in the tropical forests of northern Peru; monkey protection program run by IKAMA Peru (photo courtesy IKAMA Peru) I could devote this entire blog to news about wildlife in Peru, where new species are discovered weekly and, conversely, where threats to native habitats have eradicated hundreds of existing species in the time that it takes to build a shopping mall. Because I focus on daily life in Lima and climate change in the Andes, however, I have to pass up many newsworthy stories about animals in Peru. The one, however, caught my eye since it concerns one of the world’s rarest (and…
-
No Surprise: Obamas Nix Peruvian Hairless Dog
I knew it wouldn’t happen. Everyone in Peru knew it was a long shot. But somehow, when it was officially announced this month that the Obamas were not adopting a Peruvian hairless dog, I felt keenly let down. No Peruvian in the White House. Rats. The new presidential pooch will be a Labradoodle or a Portuguese water hound sourced from a shelter, Obama’s office says. That seems a tall order — finding a little-known breed in your corner ASPCA — but it’s inevitable that one will be found, or rather, will be taken from a breeder, inserted in a humane shelter and then handed to Obama at a photo op [note of cynicism…
-
Es Hembrita? Owning a Girl Dog in Peru
This post originally appeared on August 9, 2008. I like the piece so I’m running it again while I’m on vacation. Es hembrita? That’s the first question Peruvians ask me when I’m out walking Lola. It doesn’t matter if the person is male or female, young or old, with dog or without. Nine times out of ten, a Peruvian seeing my dog for the first time wants to know if she’s a bitch (hembra). Sometimes, they want to know if she’s a little bitch (hembrita). In contrast, back in the United States the first question people ask is, “What’s your dog’s name?” From the answer, they usually can infer the…
-
Lab in a Cab (photo of the day)
Lola in the front seat, Miraflores We took Lola on an hour-and-a-half walk along the Malecon in Miraflores last week. By the end we all were pooped, so we hailed a cab and convinced the driver to take the four of us back home to San Antonio. Lola sat in the front with El Fotografo, squeezed into the tiny floorspace, her tongue lolling. She appeared to enjoy the ride.
-
Susan Saradon Hugs a Llama to Ease World Hunger
Actress and humanitarian Susan Sarandon hugs a llama pal for Heifer International (Can anyone resist a marketing campaign that features these photogenic Andean camelids?) This is a charity project I like. Actress Susan Sarandon is promoting an organization that battles world hunger by donating dairy cows and other farm animals to subsistence farmers. It’s a simple idea and one that really can help ease poverty in areas where people struggle to nourish themselves. If you have ever visited the puna in Peru, you have seen for yourself how disadvantaged people in far-flung regions scrape by on the paltriest amounts of food. Here is Saradon’s essay from the CNN “Planet in Peril” blog: Susan Sarandon Actress and…
-
Peruvian Hairless Dog Nap
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 is the largest adobe complex of the pre-Columbian Americas. Peruvian hairless dogs roam the Chan Chan complex to this day. Wouldn’t it be remarkable if one of these ancient dogs, who sat on the laps of Moche and Inca rulers, were to take up resident in the U.S. Casa Blanca?
-
Bullfighting Thrives Amid Growing Protests in Peru
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 did in my original version, which I titled, “Bullfighting Thrives Amid Growing Protests in Peru” (see my original below). The subject of bullfighting intrigued me because the tradition is undergoing a curious revival in Lima — curious because while attendance is rising at the Acho bullfights, there’s also a growing countermovement to end bullfighting in…
-
Interview with Bullfighter José Uceda Leal: “Women like to see a man face death”
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 bulls or stabbing them through the aorta, Uceda Leal is prone to giving introspective, rather philosophical answers to questions from the press. “In life and in bullfighting, there are moments that are real trials by fire,” he told a reporter in 1999, “some of which you cannot imagine, but which raise you up as…
-
Vote Shows 87% in Favor of Peruvian Hairless Dog for Obamas
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 the Obamas to adopt a perro sin pelo. An American in Lima Poll Results 83% voted “yes” 17% voted “no” As of 9:30 p.m. Friday night, 151 people had voted. (The poll has since closed.) Note that most visitors to An American in Lima can claim a direct connection to Peruvian culture. They are either Peruvians or foreigners living in Peru; Peruvians living…
-
Photo of the Day: Female Bullfighter Milagros Sanchez at Plaza de Acho
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 novillada, at 3:40 p.m., an earthquake registering 4.3 on the Richter scale shook the city. (2) Two female bullfighters, Milagros Sanchez (Peru) and Lulu de la Vega (Mexico) took their places in the ring. It was the first time in 32 years that women had competed at Acho. Also in the ring that day was little…
-
Because You Need to See Another Picture of a Peruvian Hairless Dog, Don’t You?
Me & the Peruvian hairless wonder dog in Pachacamac, Peru; photo by Jorge Vera c. 2007 El Fotografo shot these images in Pachacamac last year. The Peruvian hairless dog was strolling around the dusty parking lot, looking blase in his yellow t-shirt. (These dogs sunburn easily.) The image on the left is the back of my head. I’m wearing a cotton scarf with a fish printed on it and looking at the dust-covered ruins. That is EF’s idea of a joke — an image of a fish in a desert where it never rains. Ha ha. I’m posting the photo (actually a dyptich from an original tryptich) because for 15…
-
A Peruvian Hairless Dog for Obama’s Family? Vote on It!
Here’s an offbeat story from today’s El Comercio that just begged to be translated into English for this blog: “Peruvian Hairless Dog Offered to Obama’s Family” A Peruvian Tenant in the White House? EFE: An offer of a Peruvian hairless dog has been made to the family of Barack Obama, whose daughter Malia suffers from pet allergies. A hairless Peruvian dog will be offered as a pet to the family of the president-elect of the United States, Barack Obama. Claudia Galvez, president of the Association of Friends of Hairless Peruvian Dogs, reported that tomorrow she will send a letter to the Peruvian Embassy in Washington, D.C., to inquire if the new president is…
