Mario Serrato
Celeste Estrada
Jason Wos
Joseph Iraggi
General
Perú Flag
Perú Map
Background
Ancient Perú was the seat of several prominent Andean civilizations, most notably that of the Incas whose empire was captured by the Spanish conquistadors in 1533. Peruvian independence was declared in 1821, and remaining Spanish forces defeated in 1824. After a dozen years of military rule, Peru returned to democratic leadership in 1980, but experienced economic problems and the growth of a violent insurgency. President Alberto Fujimori's election in 1990 ushered in a decade that saw a dramatic turnaround in the economy and significant progress in curtailing guerrilla activity. Nevertheless, the president's increasing reliance on authoritarian measures and an economic slump in the late 1990s generated mounting dissatisfaction with his regime, which led to his ouster in 2000. A caretaker government oversaw new elections in the spring of 2001, which ushered in Alejandro Toldedo as the new head of government - Peru's first democratically elected president of Native American ethnicity. The presidential election of 2006 saw the return of Alan Garcia who, after a disappointing presidential term from 1985 to 1990, returned to the presidency with promises to improve social conditions and maintain fiscal responsibility.
Source: CIA World Factbook; https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pe.html#Govt
Perú - People of the Mountains 1940
Population Facts
Population:
29,180,899 (July 2008 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 29.7% (male 4,409,227/female 4,253,836)
15-64 years: 64.7% (male 9,501,597/female 9,381,139)
65 years and over: 5.6% (male 770,389/female 864,711) (2008 est.)
Median age:
total: 25.8 years
male: 25.5 years
female: 26.1 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.264% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
19.77 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate:
6.16 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
-0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 29.53 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 32.02 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 26.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 70.44 years
male: 68.61 years
female: 72.37 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.42 children born/woman (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.5% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
82,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
4,200 (2003 est.)
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: dengue fever, malaria, Oroya fever, and yellow fever
water contact disease: leptospirosis (2008)
Nationality:
noun: Peruvian(s)
adjective: Peruvian
Ethnic groups:
Amerindian 45%, mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 37%, white 15%, black, Japanese, Chinese, and other 3%
Religions:
Roman Catholic 81%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.4%, other Christian 0.7%, other 0.6%, unspecified or none 16.3% (2003 est.)
Languages:
Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara, and a large number of minor Amazonian languages
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87.7%
male: 93.5%
female: 82.1% (2004 est.)
Source: CIA World Factbook; https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pe.html#Govt
Arts
Huaylash of Carnival
This is the representative dance of the center of Peru. Most popular dance of the south region of Huancayo, in the department of Junin. It is executed during the carnivals and in almost all the parties of one patron saint. Folklore indicated that it was initially performed in certain phases of potato farming, in which the movements of agricultural tasks were imitated. It is a traditional dance of the Huanca culture. Source: PerúContact.com
Fiesta Perú - Music and Dance from Peru - Huaylash- Huancayo
Huayno Dance
Huayno is the most popular musical expression of the highland region of Peru; this dance originated in the Inca empire which survived the Spanish colonization and Maintains its popularity to this day. A festive and joyful dance, with colourful llama wool woven and embroidered costumes. It is also a very popular dance, danced collectively (men and women) as opposed to others, which was reserved by the Incas for special ceremonies. Source: PerúContact.com
Perú Huanyo Dance
Environment
Animals
Flora
Historical Places
Machu Picchu
The ruins of Machu Picchu, rediscovered in 1911 by Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham, are one of the most beautiful and enigmatic ancient sites in the world. While the Inca people certainly used the Andean mountain top (9060 feet elevation), erecting many hundreds of stone structures from the early 1400's, legends and myths indicate that Machu Picchu (meaning 'Old Peak' in the Quechua language) was revered as a sacred place from a far earlier time. Whatever its origins, the Inca turned the site into a small (5 square miles) but extraordinary city. Invisible from below and completely self-contained, surrounded by agricultural terraces sufficient to feed the population, and watered by natural springs, Machu Picchu seems to have been utilized by the Inca as a secret ceremonial city. Two thousand feet above the rumbling Urubamba river, the cloud shrouded ruins have palaces, baths, temples, storage rooms and some 150 houses, all in a remarkable state of preservation. These structures, carved from the gray granite of the mountain top are wonders of both architectural and aesthetic genius. Many of the building blocks weigh 50 tons or more yet are so precisely sculpted and fitted together with such exactitude that the mortarless joints will not permit the insertion of even a thin knife blade. Little is known of the social or religious use of the site during Inca times. The skeletal remains of ten females to one male had led to the casual assumption that the site may have been a sanctuary for the training of priestesses and /or brides for the Inca nobility. However, subsequent osteological examination of the bones revealed an equal number of male bones, thereby indicating that Machu Picchu was not exclusively a temple or dwelling place of women.
One of Machu Picchu's primary functions was that of astronomical observatory. The Intihuatana stone (meaning 'Hitching Post of the Sun') has been shown to be a precise indicator of the date of the two equinoxes and other significant celestial periods. The Intihuatana (also called the Saywa or Sukhanka stone) is designed to hitch the sun at the two equinoxes, not at the solstice (as is stated in some tourist literature and new-age books). At midday on March 21st and September 21st, the sun stands almost directly above the pillar, creating no shadow at all. At this precise moment the sun "sits with all his might upon the pillar" and is for a moment "tied" to the rock. At these periods, the Incas held ceremonies at the stone in which they "tied the sun" to halt its northward movement in the sky. There is also an Intihuatana alignment with the December solstice (the summer solstice of the southern hemisphere), when at sunset the sun sinks behind Pumasillo (the Puma's claw), the most sacred mountain of the western Vilcabamba range, but the shrine itself is primarily equinoctial.
Shamanic legends say that when sensitive persons touch their foreheads to the stone, the Intihuatana opens one's vision to the spirit world. Intihuatana stones were the supremely sacred objects of the Inca people and were systematically searched for and destroyed by the Spaniards. When the Intihuatana stone was broken at an Inca shrine, the Inca believed that the deities of the place died or departed. The Spaniards never found Machu Picchu, even though they suspected its existence, thus the Intihuatana stone and its resident spirits remain in their original position. The mountain top sanctuary fell into disuse and was abandoned some forty years after the Spanish took Cuzco in 1533. Supply lines linking the many Inca social centers were disrupted and the great empire came to an end.
*Source: http://www.sacredsites.com/americas/peru/machu_picchu.html
Peruvian Cuisine
From South America.cl
Traditional Dishes
The following are a few of the most traditional dishes to be enjoyed in Perú:
Pachamanca: This is a traditional meal that is served almost exclusively for major celebrations, mainly because it takes hours to prepare. A hole is dug in the earth and heated stones are placed in it. The food is a mixture of meats (lamb, pork, chicken, guinea pig), vegetables (potatoes, corn, beans etc) and herbs and is put in sacking or cloth which then slowly cook in their natural juices. It has a similar preparation to Curanto in Chile and the Hangi in New Zealand.
Cuy Chactado: Here is where Peruvian cuisine might get a little scary for you. Fried Guinea pig! It was once eaten by Incan royalty and today remains a special food in Peru. While some restaurants serve it cut into small pieces and marinated others prefer a more dramatic presentation. It isn't uncommon to see the entire animal, head, feet and all grilled and served on a platter. Beware of the word Cuy (Guinea Pig) on any menu you see.
Ensalada Pallares: A salad of Peruvian Lima butter beans. The beans are first boiled, and then mixed with tomatoes, chilies, onions, lime juice, vinegar and salt once the beans are cooled. It is a very traditional dish that has lasted for thousands of years, probably because it tastes so good!
Papa Rellena: Basically a variation of your stuffed potato. It is mashed potato rolled into balls or ovals and then stuffed with ground meat and spices. They are then deep fried is the outside is a crispy brown.
Desserts
If that doesn't satisfy your daring palate, perhaps you might try a dessert:
Picarones:These look like thin donuts (with a biggish hole in the center) that are not perfectly round. They are a type of pumpkin fritters which are normally served with syrup on top. It is sweet, but not overly so, and it is a filling dessert or snack.
Lucuma:This 'nutty' flavored, orange colored fruit can frequently be found in Peruvian desserts. Peru is the only place in the world that has a large production of the lucuma fruit, although you will also find smaller lucuma farms throughout South America. The most common way to find this unique flavor is in ice-cream.
Mazamorra Morada: This is a purple jelly-like dessert that gets its color from one of its ingredients, maiz morado or purple corn.
Drinks
How about something to help wash it down?
Inca Kola: The drink of the Gods, this golden liquid is consumed all throughout Peru. It is the only national soft drink to outsell Coca-cola. It is a very sweet concoction tasting somewhere in the neighbouring of cream soda or bubble gum. The brand is so famous that you will enjoy returning to your own home country and spotting other travelers who also sport the Inca Kola t-shirt.
Té / Maté de Coca: It is a tea made with the coca leaf, (don't worry, you won't get high). It is often served when you first arrive at a hostel and truly helps if you happen to have one of those pounding headaches from altitude sickness. Many Peruvians chew the leaves in the back of their mouths a they walk around town or climb one of the many Andean mountains. It is completely legal in Peru, and a bag is an incredibly inexpensive purchase, although it does not offer the most pleasant taste
Pisco: The argument between Peru and Chile are many when it come to this subject, and no one really knows where the alcohol was first made, or who invented the pisco sour cocktail drink. Pisco is made from the distillation of white wine. The Peruvian pisco has a stronger flavor than the Chilean pisco, which has a high sugar content and a strong grape flavor. A pisco sour is a mixture of lemon juice, icing sugar, egg white and pisco.
Chicha: The fermentation of all different kinds of products can be made into Peruvian chicha, although corn seems to be the most popular. It is commonly drunk by Peruvians, although it isn't recommended for tourists just passing through, the alcohol content varies largely as the drink is normally homemade and sanitation doesn't seem to be a primary concern in the process.
Nazca Lines
A source of mystery, and sheer magnificence
The Nazca lines are a series of geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert, a high arid plateau that stretches more than 80 km (50 miles) between the towns of Nazca and Palpa on the Pampas de Jumana in Peru. They are believed to have been created by the Nazca culture between 200 BC and AD 700. There are hundreds of individual figures, ranging in complexity from simple lines to stylized hummingbirds, spiders, monkeys, fish, sharks, llamas and lizards.
[edit]Construction
The creator of the lines and why they were created is not known. The leading mainstream theory is that the Nazca people made the lines using simple tools and surveying equipment. Wooden stakes in the ground at the end of some lines (which were used to carbon-date the figures) and ceramics found on the surface support this theory. Furthermore, researchers such as Joe Nickell of the University of Kentucky, have reproduced, without aerial supervision, the figures using the technology available to the Nazca people of the time. With careful planning and simple technologies, a small team of individuals could recreate even the largest figures within days. Contrary to the claims of several commentators, the figures can be observed from the ground by standing on top of nearby foothills.[1]
The lines were made by removing the iron oxide coated pebbles which cover the surface of the Nazca desert. When the gravel is removed, the lines contrast sharply with the surroundings because of the light-colored earth underneath. There are several hundred simple lines and geometric patterns on the Nazca plateau, as well as over seventy curvilinear animal, insect, and human figures. The area encompassing the lines is nearly 500 square kilometers (193 square miles), and the largest figures can be nearly 270 m long (886 feet). The lines persist due to the extremely dry, windless, and constant climate of the Nazca region. The Nazca desert is one of the driest on Earth and maintains a temperature around 25°C (77°F) all year round, and the lack of wind has helped keep the lines uncovered to the present day.
[edit]Purpose
Satellite picture of an area containing lines. (Coordinates: 14°43′S, 75°08′W)
Why the figures were built remains a persistent mystery. A leading theory is that the Nazca people's motivations were religious, that the images were constructed so that gods in the sky could see them. Kosok and Reiche advanced one of the earliest reasons given for the Nazca Lines: that they were intended to point to the places on the distant horizon where the Sun and other celestial bodies rose or set. This hypothesis was evaluated by two different experts in archaeoastronomy, Gerald Hawkins and Anthony Aveni, and they both concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support an astronomical explanation.
In 1985, the archaeologist Johan Reinhard published archaeological, ethnographic, and historical data demonstrating that worship of mountains and other water sources played a dominant role in Nazca religion and economy from ancient to recent times. He presented the theory that the lines and figures can be explained as part of religious practices involving the worship of deities associated with the availability of water and thus the fertility of crops. The lines were interpreted as being primarily used as sacred paths leading to places where these deities could be worshiped and the figures as symbolically representing animals and objects meant to invoke their aid. However, the precise meanings of many of the individual geoglyphs remain unsolved.
Notwithstanding Gerald Hawkins' and Anthony Aveni's dismissal of an astronomical explanation of the Nazca Lines and geoglyphs, astronomer Robin Edgar has theorized that the Nazca Lines, particularly the biomorph geoglyphs that depict animals, human figures, birds and "flowers" are almost certainly an ancient response to the so-called "Eye of God" that is manifested in the sky during a total solar eclipse. An unusual series of total solar eclipses over southern Peru coincided with the time period during which the Nazca Lines and geoglyphs were created. The totally eclipsed sun distinctly resembles the pupil and iris of a gigantic eye looking down from the sky thus providing an explanation as to why the Nazca people created gigantic geoglyph artworks that are best viewed by an "Eye in the Sky".[citation needed]
Some (for example Jim Woodmann) have proposed that the Nazca lines presuppose some form of manned flight (in order to see them) and that a hot air balloon was the only possible available technology. Woodmann actually made a hot air balloon from materials and using techniques that would have been available to people at the time in order to test this hypothesis. The balloon flew (after a fashion) demonstrating that this hypothesis was possible, but there is no hard evidence either way [2] and Woodman's work has been rebutted.[1] Record setting hot air balloon aviator Julian Nott has proposed that Nazca tribal leaders could have been aloft in primitive hot air balloons, as long as two millennia ago, guiding the creation of the Nazca ground figures from above.[3]
Another theory contends that the lines are the remains of "walking temples," where a large group of worshipers walked along a preset pattern dedicated to a particular holy entity, similar to the practice of labyrinth walking. Residents of the local villages say the ancient Nazca conducted rituals on these giant drawings to thank the gods and to ensure that water would continue to flow from the Andes. This view correlates with the purposes of North American geoglyphs.[citation needed]
[edit]Environmental concerns
According to Viktoria Nikitzki of the Maria Reiche Centre, an organization dedicated to protecting the Nazca Lines, pollution and erosion caused by deforestation threaten the continued existence of the Nazca lines. She is quoted as saying "The Lines themselves are superficial, they are only 10 to 30cm deep and could be washed away… Nazca has only ever received a small amount of rain. But now there are great changes to the weather all over the world. The Lines cannot resist heavy rain without being damaged."[4] However, Mario Olaechea Aquije, the archaeological resident from Peru's National Institute of Culture in Nazca, Peru, and a team of specialists surveyed the area after the flooding and mudslides occurring in the area in mid-February of 2007. He announces that "the mudslides and heavy rains did not appear to have caused any significant damage to the Nazca Lines," but that the nearby Southern Pan-American Highway did suffer damage, and "the damage done to the roads should serve as a reminder to just how fragile these figures are."[5]
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazca_Lines
LINEAS DE NAZCA…
Los mas Sobresalientes
geoglifos del Mundo
Líneas de Nazca - © NASA/GSFC/MITI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
Fué durante la década de 1920, cuando comenzaron a operar comercialmente las líneas aéreas, que las líneas de Nazca, Peru, se dieron a conocer al mundo.
Desde entonces, ellas han imspirado un sinnúmero de teorías, que van desde lo fantástico hasta lo mas educado y científico.
Se cree fueron construídas por la cultura Nazca, aunque el porqué y cómo sigue siendo desconocido.
Erich Von Daniken, escritor Suizo y autor de "Chariots of the Gods" (1968), afirma en su libro que ellas evidencian la visita de seres extraterrestres a la Tierra.
Estudios científicos comenzaron en la década de 1940, cuando arribó a Peru Maria Reiche, matemática y astrónoma Alemana.
Dedicó su vida al estudio de las líneas de Nazca hasta el momento de su muerte ocurrida en 1998.
Era conocida como "Señora de las Líneas".
Afirmaba que ellas eran un sofisticado calendario astronómico, sin embargo, el astrónomo Gerald Hawkins concluyó, a través de estudios realizados a finales de 1960, que no existía correlación entre las líneas y estrellas
Peru: Cahuachi
Pocos años atras, arqueólogos descubrieron la ciudad perdida de los constructores de estas misteriosas líneas: Cahuachi.
El sitio de Cahuachi, con 370 acres de extensión, se ubica 75 km tierra adentro de la costa de Peru, en la Pampa Peruana, al Sur de las líneas.
Fué construída hace 2.000 años y abandonada 500 años mas tarde.
De acuerdo al arqueólogo Italiano Giuseppe Orefici y su equipo, Cahuachi era un lugrar dedicado a rituales y ceremonias, ciudad de sumos sacerdotes.
Afirma que las líneas de Nazca eran caminos sagrados entre Cahuachi y Ventilla - gran asentamiento humano ubicado al otro lado de la Pampa - y vitales fuentes de agua.
Encontró evidencia de dos importantes desastres naturales ocurridos entre los años 350 y 350AD: una gran inundación y terremoto, que marcaron la caída del centro ceremonial y su posterior abandono, ocurrido poco despues.
Las líneas de Nazca constituyen los mas sobresalientes geoglifos del mundo.
Figuras y líneas diseminadas en un area de 300 millas cuadradas, cuyos diseños pueden solamente ser observados desde el aire.
Sobre la base de evidencia aportada por cerámica encontrada en la zona, las figuras animales (por ejemplo el mono de la cola curvada, el colibrí o el astronauta) son las de mayor antiguedad.
Diseños de figuras geométricas y líneas rectas fueron construídas posteriormente.
Lineas de Nazca: el astronauta
Fueron creadas por contraste, removiendo las piedras de color negro y tierra de la superficie para mostrar la arena de color claro que se encuentra por debajo.
Siendo este uno de los lugares mas áridos del mundo, con precipitaciones anuales de 20 milímetros y escaso viento, lograron preservarse por mas de 2.000 años.
Están ubicadas unos 400 km al Sur de Lima, en la provincia de Nazca, entre las ciudades de Nazca y Palpa.
Sobrevolar las líneas durante una hora cuesta aproximadamente 50 U$S en un Cessna que despega desde Ica o Nazca.
El mejor momento para hacerlo es en horas de la mañana y es mejor no desayunes ese dia, porque el viaje podría causarte mareos.
Mientras tanto, hagamos un vuelo sobre las líneas desde el confort de tu hogar…
Al arribar a la zona, podrías establecer tu base en la ciudad de Ica y combinar tu visita a las líneas de Nazca con la Reserva Natural de Paracas e Islas Ballestas y el oásis de Huacachina…y por qué no llegar al corazón Afro-Peruano de Chincha y Cañete?
Podrías también continuar viaje al Sur, hacia Arequipa (8 horas en autobus), o a la mítica ciudad de Cusco (12 horas de autobus).
Las líneas de Nazca constituyen otra misteriosa in fantástica experiencia de viajes por Sudamerica, que jamás dejará de sorprenderte…
Como Arribar:
Desde Lima a Nazca debes hacerlo por tierra porque no existen vuelos comerciales entre las dos ciudades. Nazca posee un aeropuerto apto solo para aviones pequeños (tipo Cessna o similar).
Existen autobuses diarios que cubren los 466 km en aproximadamente 6 horas..
Alternativamente, puedes tomar un tour desde Lima para sobrevolar las lineas de Nazca (Aero Condor).
Donde Alojarse:
En Nazca:
WalkOn Inn: José María Mejía 108
Hospedaje Brabant Calle Juan Matta 878
En Ica:
Hotel Ollanta: Urbanizacion, Divino Maestro G-22
Hostal La Florida: Residencial La Florida B-1
