Where I wanted to be was at the Lima Film Festival, a truly good thing, but so did everyone else. I could not get in, I was too late in trying to buy my ticket, so I went and got my bangs trimmed. Manicurist: Do you want a manicure? Professor Zero: No, thank you, not … More An Authoritarian Conversation
This is a promotional film from General Motors, but check it out. You see a good mountain road, better than those I have been on recently. You discover that Lima has the oldest traffic laws in the world – ironic now that traffic is so savage, laws are not obeyed, and the discussion of the … More Lima en 1927
My voyage north has been judged daring and dangerous by the people in Lima. I think so too, although not for all of the reasons they cite. They fear assault, robbery and auto accidents, whereas I only fear auto accidents, and/but I fear these increasingly, based on my recent experiences and observations. I am in … More Your Travel Guide Reque-speaks
When this film was made, Lima was “a charming and comfortable place.” Part I is set in winter (it rarely gets above 70F, and there is a heavy fog every day). Lima is 4,000 miles due south of Baltimore: Part II: Part III: Axé.
Now it is time to boycott the HORNA bus company and write letters complaining of their service to the newspaper La Industria in Trujillo, Peru, for their complete disregard for human life and dignity. [Upon proofreading: that sentence does not scan in English, but the syntax works well enough in Spanish, so I will let … More Boicotear la empresa HORNA de transportes
I saw in Sunday’s La República that the Archbishop of Cuzco is canceling the lease the traditional and beautiful Café Allyu, on the Plaza de Armas, has held for decades, so as to lease the space to Starbuck’s. This will of course hurt a high quality Peruvian small business in favor of a mediocre transnational … More Complete Boycott of Starbuck’s and the Catholic Church
I Today´s poem, from Los heraldos negros, is a very good description of the Santiago de Chuco area. It is especially interesting now that we know May is the best time to be there – just after the rains end, when everything is in flower. If you do not read Spanish, skip to the next … More Mayo
Is there really something sinister about Santiago de Chuco, or am I merely too bourgeois to easily handle so many close encounters with the fourth world as I have been having lately? I could write a long narration about this expedition. Details would include: * riding slowly through Quiruvilca, where Vallejo worked for a while … More Ciliado arrecife
I am leaving in the morning, to the Vallejo birthplace and the nearby thermal baths at Cachicadán. I was about to say I was sure there would be Internet access, but not sure the electricity would be reliable enough to permit me to see the Internet. Then I erased the sentence because I realized that … More Junco y capulí
I have at last read The Grass is Singing which is brilliant and impactante, epoch making for many reasons. Of all books mentioned in this post, this is the one most worth discussing. I will therefore discuss it least. I have also been reading The Poisonwood Bible, which is a good book although Kingsolver is … More Reading for Pleasure Wednesday: Doris Lessing
coldhearted scientist وداد 