Afro-Peruvian folk singer Susana Baca has been named minister of culture in Peru for the new populist government of President Ollanta Humala, who took office last week.
Ms. Baca, whose CD “Lamento Negro” won a Latin Grammy award in 2002, is the first black Peruvian to be named a cabinet minister in that country since it gained its independence from Spain in 1821, and she provides another example of a recent South American trend to put artists in charge of government cultural policy. Previously, for example, the pop singer-songwriter Gilberto Gil served as culture minister in Brazil, and the actress-director Paulina Urrutia in Chile. Despite her new duties, Ms. Baca intends to go ahead with a tour of the United States and Europe scheduled to begin this month, according to her publicist, Jesse Cutler. The performances are to include one in New York City on Aug. 21, at the City Winery.
Fiestas Patrias started a week early at the University where I work. We had a special event the last day of class. The University provided students and teachers with a criollo treat of anticuchos (beef hearts marinated and barbecued), picarones (dough made with sweet potato and fried in the shape of a donut) and chicha morada, a sweet drink made of purple corn. Yum. Needless to say, the students were delighted, not only with the excellent food, but also because classes were cancelled that night, and, best of all, they looked forward to a long vacation.
In Barranco, my neighborhood, we celebrated as well. Red and white flags, the national colors, were flying from each of the houses as required by law. School children marched through the streets accompanied by music provided by their fellow students. Even the sun cooperated on July 28th since we had a bright, clear sunny day, which is most unusual in the dead of winter. That caused many people to come out in the afternoon and stroll along the malecon or around the main plaza.
At this time of year, I often see my neighbors cleaning and painting their houses. It is a local tradition to spruce up the neighborhood for the national holiday. In this climate, where it rarely rains, a fresh coat of paint really improves the appearance of the houses, some of which also get covered with graffiti during the year. As a result of one of my neighbor’s efforts, for example, the saddest looking house on our block now shines in a brilliant yellow with red trim. It looks great.
During the period of fiestas patrias, Lima is unusually quiet. Traffic is down dramatically and restaurants are not nearly as crowded. Many of our fellow citizens have fled the city, enjoying the opportunity to travel all over Peru. Those who stay behind, stay at home, often organizing family celebrations.
We are one of those families who stay at home. We want to avoid the traffic, higher prices and crowded conditions in our favorite locations outside of Lima. We’ll go another time.
In fact it is nice to be here right now. For me, one good reason is that on the 29th of July, there is always a military parade. I like to settle down in front of the television and watch the many units of the Army, Navy, Air Force and National Police pass by while listening to the martial music.
So, there were no hot dogs or firecrackers for me on Independence Day. Even so, fiestas patrias, is one of my favorite times to be in Peru.
No comments:
Post a Comment