4/15-16/11
So Friday the 15th I again woke up early and prepared myself to go to Caretas. I cleaned up that house a bit and then I went on my way. On the bus I sat next to an old man who asked me for directions. He was from Lima! He thought I was Peruvian too. Limenans don’t immediately assume I’m American, unlike Cusquenans. It’s an odd feeling knowing I don’t stick out as much, but still strange. I told him that I had no idea; I’d only been in Lima for a week. I once again stopped in the Plaza to collect myself and my passport, only this time a random guy sat next to me and struck up a conversation. He was a strange one. He asked to borrow a pen and then asked if I knew English because he was studying for a Spanish exam. His name was Bruce Jotain, neither of which are Peruvian names. He explained that he chose the name Jotain because he wanted to have a last name of “something” in another language. First he chose Latin, “Alquid,” but then for some reason later on chose Finnish instead and came out with the name “Jotain.” Bizarre. It weirded me out a bit that he didn’t use his real name and so I asked him what his real name was, which he did not provide. This particular forward Peruvian man asked me for my email rather than my phone number, so I gave him my secondary email that I don’t check very often. Apparently he’s studying English and will be an elementary English teacher and he told me that he doesn’t want to live in Peru, but in Europe or the US. Interesting. He thought I was Colombian?
I then went to Caretas and picked up where I’d left off the day before. I researched for quite a long time, and then when we had to move for the janitors again I talked to Miguel about music and politics. He told me that he voted for Castaneda and he asked me to go to lunch again and Lauren had said that I shouldn’t pass it up, so I accepted. They were lacquering a cabinet so I spent most of the afternoon trying to read on the couch but suffering from a headache from all those chemicals and Miguel’s distractions. I did find some interesting articles though, so I’m glad that I felt like I’d progressed.
At three we left and went to lunch. When Peruvians, and Spaniards actually, ask you out to something they take it upon themselves to pay for you. Therefore, he took me to…a grocery store. We sat and talked for a long time but god he asked me some silly things. “Have you ever been to a grocery store before? Have you ever tried juice? Have you ever tried watermelon? “ Yes, of course I have. I made it clear that I have a boyfriend, but I think I need to say it again cause he was flirting tooooo much for my taste.
That night we went out to Barranco and most of the discotecs were playing Huayno. They don’t even play huayno is cusco’s discotecs. What is this? Not danceable music at all. However, I did dance around sillily with these two girls. Damn, they had quite the arsenal of silly dance moves. We’d put our fingers on the top of someone’s head and they’d have to go to the middle of the circle and do some moves, then we’d do the same to the next person. We’d spin in circles; form a line, tons of silly stuff. I had fun dancing around with them and I was relieved to find out that they have to defend themselves from the advances of creepy men just as much as we do! Oh god, in the first bar we went to there was this creepy unibrow man, probably about 35, who went out to pick up girls with his uncle and his elderly dad. What? All three of them sort of pinned us at the bar and talked to us in English. He boasted about being a Cosco manager in California. Ok? We really didn’t want to talk to them.
On Saturday the 16th I woke up early once again and headed to the archives. I started out the day with lots of progress, but hit quite a few roadblocks as the day progressed. Miguel sitting so close to me in this space was distracting and taxing, because I can’t chat, I have to read and he wouldn’t allow me to do that. Oy, he gave me a book of poetry. Oh god, this is horrible. I procrastinated quite a bit. It’s interesting but not necessarily useful to me that the majority of articles I’ve read barely mention the Andean zone, nonetheless people who live their or suffer violence there. The articles in Caretas all focus on the economy, politicians, elections, attacks in Lima, etc… with maybe one sentence in every few issues about gente andina. It was interesting to read about the hostage situation at the Japanese ambassador’s residence, but I just kept thinking about Bel Canto. I have noticed that they never ever use the term indigena, and rarely use the term campesina. I think those are old fashioned terms and now they use comunero, poblador, or gente de las Alturas. That’s all well and good, but I don’t feel like I’m making progress! I gave up after a while (Miguel left early, thank god) and went home. I did, however, take some photos of articles that might be useful. I had a stressful hour after that man convinced me that they’d erase all of my photos, so I sort of just slipped out. See ya later Caretas.
That night we went to Yuyachkani again. Yuyachkani is the theater group that we did a workshop with the first time we came to Lima. Ukuku!! This performance was the play they were readying back then. Whoa! It was incredible. It was incredibly patriotic and emotional, but simultaneously highly critical of Peruvian official’s and what has occurred in recent years. It told a story, but without a plot. It was maybe the most innovative use of a black box theater that I’ve ever seen.
First you walked in and the space was set up like a museum. You walk around reading the walls and information they’d posted about the war with Chile in the late 19th century, on to Velasco, and the PCP-SL (Sendero Luminoso) and the corruption of Fujimori and Montesinos. In the center is a small, empty stage elevated above the crowd. All of a sudden you’re startling into realizing that the mannequins in front of those displays are, in fact, actors. They blasted the sound of trains passing and just as the sound stopped, the actors yelled the same words about memory simultaneously. They then made their way through the crowd to the stage and began the play. I’m not sure if I can fully describe this piece, but I found it really impactful. Is that a word? The stage broke apart into five pieces and could be wheeled around. So the story constantly changed, with actors in different costumes, in different parts of the space: elevated, at the same level as the crowd, or high above looking down from a large window. They hoisted up an enormous tattered Peruvian flag and the proceeding scenes all happened under its shadow. They danced, sang, yelled, played accordion, bared their chests, burned wood, poured water, threw paper into the air, blasted music, charged into the crowd making us scatter, wore clothing with words and forced us to come close and read, wore stilts and masks, etc. At times it almost felt like a circus, but a circus of political awareness and with the intention of a certain message. It was highly interactive and I loved that the audience was so much a part of the piece. You never knew from when direction they might come so you had to be alert and aware of yourself, prepared to spring out of your place. I cried at one point and I’m not sure I can even explain why. It was so incredibly patriotic and emotional, reflecting the suffering and history of Peru just as it reflects the disappointment with Peruvian politicians. At least as the limenan press ignores Andean people and their struggles, this theater company will NOT forget it and they do all they can to remind everyone.
xoxo,
Claire
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