a bit of history....

Villa el Salvador is known for its urban planning and organization. It has won numerous international prizes and was even nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize! Here is a bit of history for those who are inerested:

Villa is one of 44 districts surrounding the Peruvian capital of Lima. It can best be described as a densely populated shantytown spread out over the sand dunes on the outskirts of Lima. It has a population of some 400,000 people who share approximately 35.5 thousand square kilometers. It is home to 115 thousand children ages 0-14 , who make up 29.3 percent of the population. Culturally and ethnically, Villa is made up mainly of poor first, second and third generation migrants from the indigenous rural villages of Peru.

Specifically, Villa el Salvador is a pueblo joven, or ‘young village'. The term joven (‘young') refers to the fact that most of these neighborhoods were formed no more than 30 to 40 years ago (in the 1960s and 1970s), and the term pueblo (‘village') intimates the people's rural origins. It is worth noting that the migrant background of its first inhabitants continues even today to color much of the identity and culture in Villa el Salvador - for example the Yunza I attended the other day (see 'What a Day!' blog entry).

Villa el Salvador's history is principally one of socio-economic struggle and community effort. This history still underpins many aspects of life in Villa today. Having originally settled in the slum neighborhoods of Lima, the original migrants from the provincias soon longed for a better, safer space. In 1971, 200 families invaded and took over a track of land - empty dessert - south of Lima which was owned by the State. Within days they were joined by over 9,000 people. The government reacted with force, killing two young men and injuring others, but the people were steadfast and refused to be moved from the land. Finally, a settlement was reached and the Peruvian government agreed to give the people a large plot of land some 20 kilometers further to the south. This was the beginning of Villa el Salvador.

Quechua

A few words of Quechua*:

sonco = heart

eyari = sunrise

wasi = house

wawa = baby

(wawa wasi = the housing coorperative!)

Hamucha! = let's go!

kusi = happiness (the name of a girl in the theater group)

*Quechua ('qheshwa') is an indigenous language of the Andean region, spoken today by approximately 13 million people in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Northern Chile, Argentina, and Southern Colombia. It was the official language of Tawantinsuyu, the Inca Empire.

What a Day!

What a Day!!!

6:45 - took the mini bus (combi) to Surco

7:30 - met Anna in Surco

8:30 - Community Center in San Jaun - end of summer school dances and music by children (organized by Aynimundo).

15:30 - Arena y Esteras preformed Midsummer's Night Dream in Miraflores

19:00-22:00 - saw Parque Kennedy, Parque del Amor, Larcomar shopping center.

23:00-05:00 - YUNZA!

1. first 'solo' trip in a combi, from Villa to Surco...doing my best to blend in, looking like I've done this 5,000 times before...success!

(and a little offended that I don't get more attention around here! he-ll-ooo...I'm a foreigner! show some interest, talk to me... but then again... probably safer this way...)

2. Peruvian children don't naturally smile for cameras. They put on serious faces instead.

3. Shakespeare - Midsummer's Night Dream - in Spanish, with Peruvian musicians accompanying, minimalist set. AMAZING!

(photos tomorrow, as I am going to see it again - my hosts are the actors!)

(but for now: http://www.larepublica.pe/files/edicionimpresa/fama/2009/02/06/20090206_2_1547_7_2.jpg )

4. As Anna noted: Does anyone else see the irony in a theater group from Villa el Salvador (poor masses) performing Shakespeare at the Alliance Fancaise (colonialism and all that...) ?

5. Yunza = A transplanted tree (grown especially for the yunza ) is decorated with gifts, then raised up and re-planted in a yard or street. Guests dance around the tree in a circle, holding hands, leaping wildly through the air, pulling and snaking around and around while a traditional band plays loudly... oh, and the dancers take turns hacking away at the tree with an ax, in pairs. When the tree finally (after anywhere form 20-40+ minutes) comes down, everyone standing around runs away shrieking to avoid getting hit by the tree and at the same time there is a mad rush by those who were dancing around it to tear off the presents, young and old and even older alike. The couple who strike the final blow and topples the tree, by the way, are given the honor of organizing next year's celebrations (and paying for the trees and the gifts...) We left at 3 a.m. and there were still 3 trees to dance around and topple... lots of meat still on the BBQ... lots of drink still left to drink.

(no camera with me so for example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM5fcQXcNBc )

6. one final thought: famliar faces and language in the endless myriad of sights and sounds and hustle and bustle of a new place can be really reasuring and calming :)

7. and on that last note: there are the photos (of me and of our day!) that Anna took:

http://annaylima.blogr.com/albums/8006119/

see you all tomorrow!

a. xx.

First Impressions

First Impressions of Villa el Salvador:

1. for those who kwow it - the mosachim street in vadi joz, but then everywhere.

2. sand sidewalks. sand streets. sand. and more sand.

3. partly built, families waiting- for-more-money houses, crooked, mismatched building materials.

see fotos for more.

a. xx.

Santa Barbara

Some impressions:

- palm trees give a constant feeling of vacation, even when you're not.
- people wearing sweaters with shorts and flip flops underneath, ' ‘cuz it's cold out...'
(in summer they wear the same, minus the sweaters...)
- bookstore cafés with free wi-fi, comfortable armchairs and relaxed, friendly people...

Scene: Border's Bookstore café -
I'm settling into one of those comfortable armchairs after having plugged in my computer, and an elderly man strolls by, stops, and when I look up, very nonchalantly asks me:

'so, do you know why the apple kissed the banana?'
'no,' I say, the corner of my mouth already beginning to turn up in the beginning of an anticipated smile, 'why did he?'
'because he thought she had a peel,' the man says, eyes sparkling with delight and quite pleased with himself, nodding to me before strolling casually on...

So Southern California. Stopping to tell a random stranger in a bookstore café a random joke, just because.

a. xx