La Huaca de la Luna

On our second day of our visit to Trujillo, we visit the archeological site of the Huaca de la Luna (temple/ tomb of the moon) which is a pyramid that was constructed by the Moche people that lived in the area before the Chimu civilization of Chan Chan. The Moche civilization lived in a valley outside of Trujillo between the 1st and 8th centuries AD and built two huge pyramids (the other one is the Huaca del Sol). When my parents visited in the 1980s, they saw two impressive and massive mounds covered with dirt, but they had no idea what lay hidden beneath them. Archeologists began excavating the Huaca de la luna in 1991 and uncovered incredible murals with the images and paint still intact, as well as incredible pottery and treasures. The pottery from the moche civilization is especially fine and unique and a beautiful museum was opened two years ago that holds many of the pieces found at the site. Many of the pots have very accurate faces sculpted on the top of them; there are sculptures of animals such as warrior ducks and priests chewing cocoa leaves with big puffy cheeks. In moche culture, artisans and specifically potters were very valued and considered higher in status then other workers. After visiting the museum, we took a tour of the site with a very knowledgeable guide who told us a lot about the culture of the people who lived there as well as the process of excavating and conserving the site. They site has received many grants from foundations to create a structure to cover the pyramid to protect it from the elements because unfortunately the government does not have money to support the site. The pyramid is unique because each generation of rulers not only built another new layer on top of the structure, but also built over the entire pyramid so it is like a layered onion. (The photo below is of the back of the pyramid that abuts the volcanic mountain and where human sacrifices took place.)

On top of the pyramid the priests would perform the ritual sacrifice of warriors, mix their blood with the juice of fruits and they even think that the ruler would drink this blood to show his power. Gross stuff, but common in pre-colombian cultures. Inside the pyramid there are many images of what they call "the god of the mountain" or the "god of decapitation." The image of this god is pretty crazy - he looks like a scary monster so no wonder they felt obligated to sacrifice their best men to him! The funny thing is that the murals depict him with different expressions- happy, mad, sad...and it seems like they definitely wanted to stay on the good side of this crazy creature of their imagination.

There are many mysteries that still exist about the moche culture, for example an incredible creation mural on the outside of the pyramid. However, without the funding its very difficult to continue this very costly research. The Huaca del sol which is even larger, is only excavated for 2 months out of the year because of lack of funding. The more Pre-colombian sites I visit, the more I realize how much we still have to learn about the incredibly complex and fascinating cultures that lived in the Americas. There are so many more cultures than just the Aztecs, the Mayas and the Incas and the Moche is definitely one of the most compelling.

(Above is an image of the murals on the outside of the pyramid which depict dancers, spider gods and a serpent.) Unfortunately no photography was allowed inside the museum because I really fell in love with the Moche pottery. I feel very lucky to see this mysterious and magical place and I found myself wishing I had a time machine go back hundreds of generations, but only if I could be a potter, not a warrior because I wouldn't want to risk getting sacrificed to the mountain god!

Chan Chan

After exploring Huanchaco, we took the bus to Chan Chan, an archeological site that was inhabited by the Chimú people from 850 AD to 1470 AD when it was conquered by the Incan Empire. It is considered the largest adobe city in the world and was extremely impressive because of the detailed architecture and decorative carvings. When the bus dropped us off at the entrance to the site, when found ourselves on a long winding road in the middle of a giant dessert with huge adobe walls towering over us. There were no signs or markers, so we began to think that were lost in the giant ruins with no signs of life anywhere around us. However, shortly we saw some European tourists walking towards us and we let out a sigh of relief! It turns out that Chan Chan has many enclosed adobe palaces that were each constructed by a different ruler each generation. We took a tour of the best preserved palace with a guide and learned a lot about the city! The funniest thing that happened was that about 5 minutes after we started the tour, someone came over and asked if we would be willing to be interviewed for a TV program about Chan Chan! We said yes, but when they asked us what we liked and what we had learned...we didn't have much to say! There is no way of knowing if we were actually on TV but it was our little moment of fame! Anyways, the walls of the adobe city are covered in carvings of squirrels, fish, birds and other natural symbols that were important to the Chimu people. The fish design was particularly interesting because archeologists think that the pattern of the fish swimming on the wall is supposed to depict the ocean currents in the pacific ocean by Chan Chan.

Other walls of the building were constructed in the design of a fish net with diamond shaped windows. Many of these walls have been worn down by weather over hundreds of years, but it is incredible to see how this delicate design has survived.

Inside this city, there is a main plaza, storage rooms for grains and other products, special rooms for the priests and rulers as well as tombs. Very tall walls- once all about around 15 feet tall surrounded and protected the city. The biggest surprise was that right in the middle of the fortress was a marsh with green plants growing, water and ducks!

What a surprise to find life in the middle of this dessert city! This is where the Chimu dug for a freshwater well and performed rituals. As in all of the other pre-colombian ruins that I have visited, the life and culture of Chan Chan circled around appeasing the gods and therefore the cycles of nature. What I really liked about this site was how it the streets and rooms inside the fortress felt maze like; it really felt like a miniature city. Furthermore, the carvings were so beautiful and distinctive; the repetition of the patterns almost has a modern aesthetic to it. The incredible thing about this site is that it is so massive; I can't imagine what other treasures lie beneath the desert sand.

Huanchaco, Trujillo

About thirty years ago, my parents traveled to Trujillo, about ten hours north of Lima with my mom's high school friend Hilary and I grew up hearing about their trip and looking at the pictures. So, as soon as I found out I was coming to Peru, one of my goals was to visit Trujillo and see how it has changed since they visited. This past week I took a short, but very sweet trip with two of my fellow volunteers Veronica and Natasha to Trujillo and the nearby fishing village/ surfer tourist town Huanchaco. We took an overnight bus and arrived in Huanchaco on Wednesday morning and it was so nice to feel the ocean breeze! I was very excited to see the traditional reed fishing boats called Caballitos de Totora that fisherman have been using there for more than 3,000 years! (there is evidence in the ancient pottery that the Chimu civilization used similar boats). Fisherman in Huanchaco line up their boats along the beach and I actually got to see the fisherman taking their boats out to sea. They sit on the front part of the boat and use a short paddle to maneuver the waves. However, according to an article, only about 45 fisherman still use these traditional boats in Huanchaco because the younger generation is not interested in learning and prefers surfing. Furthermore, the marshes where the reeds grow to make the boats are disappearing. I believe that when my parents visited Huanchaco, it was still more of a fishing village. Today it has become a tourist attraction filled with surfers, tourist trinkets and hotels lining the beach. However, it still has a feeling of a small, calm town and it was so nice to be somewhere more relaxing than Huaycan! We stayed in a really adorable hostel which had an outdoor kitchen, flowers and palm trees. We could see the waves crashing from the view outside our window! In the afternoon, Natasha and I explored the town. We met an amazing woman named Laura who was selling her handmade jewelry along the beach. Many people sell jewelry to tourists, but her pieces were incredibly artistic and beautiful! We struck up a conversation with her and learned that she has traveled all around Latin America, but she is from Trujillo. I bought a really lovely necklace pendant from her.

We also ate a cremelada- Peruvian version of Italian ice, walked along the pier and saw people fishing and put our feet in the water. Because its still spring here, the water is still pretty chilly. Furthermore, it was very sad to see how littered the beach was. At night, it was so lovely to hear the sound of breaking waves and sleep without the sound of a roaster crowing at all hours of the night!

A Spontaneous Parade

Last weekend, one of my students invited me to her school dance show and competition in Huaycán and it was so fun to see of the kids dressed up in all different kinds of traditional Peruvian costumes! I unfortunately didn't have time to see the dance performances because I had to teach a class, but I did get to join the schools parade! After I arrived at the school and took some pictures with Shayla in her beautiful skirt and outfit, one of the teachers shoved a banner into my hand and asked me to join their parade! I ended up marching down the main street of Huaycan with a bunch of children all dressed in elaborate traditional costumes and all asking me TONS of questions! I am sure any passerby was quite confused to see this "gringa" girl surrounded by school children, completely out of place! I had no idea where we were going, but we ended up just walking around the neighborhood, stopping traffic and giving the kids a chance to show off their outfits. For some reason, schools are really into parading in the streets of Huaycan, so I felt pretty lucky to finally be part of one of these events! Once we arrived back at the school, I took a bunch of pictures with the kids. Its really interesting to see how every class, from the kindergarten to the high school, learns a different dance from a different area of the country. There were costumes from the jungle, the andes, the coast, and more Spanish looking costumes and the classes all compete. It made me wish that we had Dance classes like that in my schools growing up! Before coming to Peru, I didn't really what a central role dance has in Peruvian culture and I find it really inspiring to see how these dances are being passed down to the next generation!

The Day of the Dead (and the Living!)

The day after Halloween is All Saints Day or "Day of the Dead" in many countries in Latin America. I have always been fascinated by this tradition. I'm not an expert on the holiday, but from what I can gather, it is the time when families return to the graves of their family members to clean and decorate them. Instead of a somber, dark event, the holiday is a celebration of their loved ones' lives and quite frankly, an opportunity to party! It just so happens that the cemetery in Huaycan is located right behind the classroom where we teach in English in Zone Z, so we were able to experience the holiday here in Peru in a very authentic setting. The morning of November 1st, I headed up to Zone Z to teach a student and I stopped on the way to check out the early morning preparations for this all day party (people stay late into the night and light candles on the graves.) Lots and lots of vendors selling food, flowers, candles, candy, beer and many other random things were lining the entrance to the cemetery.

People were already cleaning off the graves (most are made of cement or stone and are quite large- big enough to sit on top of!), painting them with a fresh coat of bright paint and decorating them with flowers. I ran into several of my students helping their families with the cleaning or taking advantage of the economic opportunity to sell food or water. When I returned in the afternoon with some of my fellow volunteers, the street was crammed with people and police were directing traffic! The cemetery was packed with people drinking beer, eating, brass bands playing music and people selling bright pink cotton candy displayed on poles. I could hardly believe that I was in a cemetery- my limited cemetery experience in the US has usually been pensive, sad and certainly much quieter and much less of a marketplace. Can you imagine people having a party in a cemetery in the US? Although it certainly felt foreign for me- and I think we all felt a little lost, with no family to join or grave to decorate- I really appreciate the fact that there seems to be a much different relationship with death and mourning here that in the US. As we climbed up through the cemetery and passed families sitting on the little benches incorporated into the graves, we got lots of whistles from the drunk revelers and many people asked to take their picture with us. It only makes sense- after all we were there to observe people practicing their traditions but they were just as curious in us. When we reached the top of the steep hill, we sat on some rocks and looked out at the incredible view. The sound of about five different brass bans tooting away all at different rhymes combined with the sight of a giant bouncy house down below to entertain the children and on top of it all, people carrying huge crates of beer on their shoulders was yet another reminder to me of how Peruvian culture, like all cultures, is filled with conflicting narratives and traditions. However, somehow, all of these things all occur alongside each other and create a reminder of the diversity of human experience and the value of celebrating life and death along side each other.

Hacienda San Jose: El Carmen pt 3

I am finally writing the last post in my series about our trip to Chincha a couple weekends ago. The morning after visiting the Ballumbrosio family (which I wrote about in my previous post), we woke up to a bright sunny day and headed off down the road to the Hacienda San Jose, the location of the previous slave plantation in El Carmen and now the location of a elegant hotel. We walked down the country road, passing huge fields of grapes and other crops on either side as far as the eye could see. I had read in my guide book that it was possible to have a tour of the old plantation despite the fact that it now costs around $200 US dollars to stay there. We had to pay about 8 dollars for the tour, but it was definitely worth it to see this incredible restored historical mansion and see this very different side to the Afro-Peruvian story. When we first caught sight of the hacienda we all let out a little gasp- it was absolutely gorgeous. The plantation had a central plaza, huge open porches, its own church and gardens. The building has been beautifully restored with portraits of the original slave owners (elite from Spain), traditional farming tools on the walls and other artifacts including a metal brand that was used to mark slave's bodies with an "S" for San Jose plantation.

The whole time I was there I felt very divided about the experience- it was such an beautiful, peaceful place but with such a gruesome and dark past. I don't know it I would feel comfortable staying there. However, I appreciated that they provide the tours and don't try to hide the horrible history. I would be interested to see how a similar plantation in the American south is portrayed today. This plantation was started in 1688 and by 1764 almost 1,000 slaves worked on this sugar and cotton plantation. There was an incredible painting displayed that was painted by a slave of the hacienda cerca the 1830s that depicted the daily life of the plantation including images of slaves being punished, but also slaves dancing in a circle. This was fascinating to see after our visit to El Carmen- to see that the Afro-Peruvian dance was allowed (although I think only Sundays and Catholic holidays.) I find it very interesting to see how the relationship between slaves and their masters varied depending on the location and the dominate culture throughout the Americas.

Anyways, on our tour of the hacienda, we climbed down into the dark basement of the building and we saw some of the cells where slaves were hidden or punished. There also existed a long tunnel to another nearby Hacienda in case the family wanted to escape slave rebellion or war. We also entered into the "Room of Punishment" for slaves which was below the entrance and saw where slaves were chained to a metal pole and forced to stand on one foot for days. It was very painful to see.

The hotel itself is very fancy and furnished in an historically accurate, but elegant way. However, I can't help but notice that the same cycle of inequality has continued to this day; the Hacienda, now a historical monument, makes thousands of dollars from tourism, while the decedents of the slaves still work in agriculture and live in poverty. Furthermore, while Afro-Peruvian dance seems to be foremost an expression of pride, strength and perseverance for the people, it seems that most of Peru still sees it almost as a spectacle and the narrative of Afro-Peruvian culture and identity has not yet been embraced or discussed very much as part of Peruvian history. However, several days ago, I did see a very interesting exhibit of photographs of Afro-Peruvians that was displayed in the National Museum in Lima. This exhibit displayed beautiful portraits of Afro-Peruvians from around the country and I think we even recognized someone from our trip to Chincha in one of the photographs! I definitely felt a very personal connection to the the exhibit after visiting El Carmen and having a small taste of this rich, but not widely known aspect of Peru's multicultural identity.

Visiting the Ballumbrosio family: El Carmen part 2

The highlight of the entire trip for me was visiting the home of the Ballumbrosio family which is essentially the heart of African-Peruvian dance and music, and where my friend Aaron stayed. The father of the family, Amador Ballumbrosio was born in El Carmen in 1936 and died in 2009. His passion for dance came from his catholic faith and he is known for continuing the tradition of the Afro-Peruvian dance called "hatajo de negritos" which is performed on December 24 in El Carmen in honor of baby Jesus. He also welcomed people from all over the world to his home to share Afro-Peruvian dance and music; he played the violin, cajón and danced Zapateo (foot work similar to tap, but with barefoot.) He had 15 children and passed down the tradition to them; currently many of them live around the world teaching dance but his daughter Lucy still lives in the house with her children and she grew very close with my friend Aaron when he was staying there. It was so amazing to be welcomed into the home and to see the walls of the house covered in photographs and paintings honoring their father and the family. The front room of the house is where the family performs dances, but has also become a kind of very authentic and personal museum celebrating Afro-Peruvian culture.

Lucy was very generous and talked to us for a while around her friendship with my friend Aaron, her father and the dances. She told us that her father always looked for the hardest part of the floor to dance on barefooted so that it would make the best sound when dancing Zapateo. She also expressed the fact that passing down the authentic dances and preserving this tradition is the legacy that her father left and that his children want to continue. Traditionally women were not allowed to play the cajón drum, but she showed us how to play a rhythm on the drum and how to play the donkey's jawbone, another instrument used in Afro-Peruvian music.

We also tried totuma, a special kind of pisco which is infused with the fruit of a local tree that is supposed to be a natural medicine. By this time, we were all ready to dance, so I asked Lucy to teach us the dance that goes with the rhythm that one of the volunteers named Natasha had learned how to play. So, right there, on the floor where generations of people have danced, we tried our best to move our hips to the music and follow Lucy and of course it was so fun! Several years ago I took a West African dance class in college which I loved and I could definitely see the similarities. After we had somewhat learned the danced and didn't look like complete fools, we took a video of us performing and Lucy's young daughter of about 7 years old joined us and of course was much better than any of us! She was shy at first, but but the time we left, she gave us a picture she had drawn and told us to say hi to Aaron for her- so sweet! Lucy told us that their door is always open and as we were leaving, I found myself hoping that I someday I will return to that house, so filled with pride, love and joy. Music and dance are some of the most powerful forms of expression, communication and community building that we have and it is incredible that despite years of oppression and suffering, this culture is still thriving and bringing people together to celebrate life.