Holidays, Marches and Quechua

We really enjoyed staying put in Cusco last weekend and loved listening to the LDS General Conference. We attended all but one of the sessions at church so we heard it in Spanish. After the morning session on Sunday the rain and hail hit with a vengeance so we stayed home and were able to watch the last session in English on the computer.  We are always a little sad when it’s over but have enjoyed listening to the talks again as we work in the archives.

Monday and Tuesday were holidays remembering the Battle of Angamos.  Here’s a little history lesson: The Battle of Angamos was fought on October 8, 1879, during the naval stage of the War of the Pacific. The Chilean Navy, commanded by Captain Galvarino Riveros and Captain Juan Jose Latorre surrounded and captured the Peruvian ironclad Huáscar, commanded by Rear Admiral Miguel Grau Seminario, who died heroically in combat. After the battle, the crippled Peruvian Navy was unable to prevent the invasion of its territory. The decisive victory at Angamos allowed the Chilean Army to freely decide the course of action to attack the Allies, and the land invasion of Peru and Bolivia began.

Peru and Bolivia still have hard feelings over this battle, especially Bolivia because the Chileans took their seaport and they are now land-locked and one of the poorest countries in South America because of it.  Every city in Peru has a Miguel Grau street, statue or park. The days were marked with parades, speeches and lots of happy, legitimately truant, school kids roaming the streets.  Since we couldn’t work, we relaxed, enjoyed walking around town and tried to ignore the constant barrage of firecrackers!

There is usually something interesting going on in the “Plaza de Armas,” the big central plaza in Cusco. It has two big catholic churches and is very pretty.  The Plaza has changed a bit since we were here five years ago. There is now a Starbucks, McDonald’s and KFC! Happily, they are housed in beautiful old colonial buildings so they are not obtrusive in any way to the Plaza.  We go to Starbuck’s to download books on our Nooks because they have Wi-Fi and really good hot chocolate. We haven’t been to McDonald’s or KFC because the Peruvian food is SO MUCH BETTER! The police now prohibit any car that is over 5 years old from entering the Plaza. They want to keep it nice looking for the tourists.  That really eliminates a huge number of cars around the Plaza, so you can actually cross the streets and walk without too much fear for your life. Pedestrians technically have the right-of-way, but no one, not even the police obey that law. You really have to be on your toes when you cross the streets and of course no one uses turn signals so it’s a total guessing game when there is traffic coming in all directions! It’s always an adventure when we go out!

Along with Aymara and a host of indigenous jungle  languages, Peru has two recognized, official languages: Spanish and Quechua. Quechua is a spoken language and therefore spelling of it engenders a kind of linguistic schizophrenia and much debate. Further, the Quechua spoken in Cusco is different from that spoken in Huaraz, which differs from that spoken in Ayacucho, which differs from that spoken in Ecuador and that from Bolivia etc. The word for water is Onu or Unu in some areas and Yaku in others, for  example. Anyway, Cusqueños figure that theirs is the only true language and the same goes for those in Quito, Ecuador, both of these being the two capitals of the Inca Empire. You get the picture. We have seen Cusco spelled: Cuzco, Qosco, Quosco, Qusoqo, Cusco and so on. The other day, we noticed that the  street name Huayna Ccapac, on street signs, spelled three different ways in two blocks, revealing older to newest iterations of the spelling. Small wonder tourists cluster around with maps trying to find their way to their various destinations.


Another little history lesson - Cusco was founded about 1100 AD and the Inca ruled from the 13th century to about 1532 AD. A lot of the buildings are from that era and are literally trying to fall down. There are wooden posts propping up walls all over town and we try to avoid them whenever possible! We have also found many streets to avoid in an earthquake because of the precarious rock walls that line them.

Cusco is also very hilly so we walk up or down regardless of where we are going. San Francisco has nothing on this place… We walk every morning up to the center and into another plaza then make our way to the steps on Amargura Street (Bitterness). The steps are killer but Julie is feeling much better about her ascent as the school kids go slowly and are out of breath at the top too! We’re both getting faster and it is a definite feeling of accomplishment when we reach the top!


Little girls with halos and wings marching in the plaza

What do you think is wrong with this picture?

This menu stands outside of a little restaurant that we do not frequent. We thought you might enjoy seeing a few delicacies not commonly found in North American breakfast menus.
From top to somewhere around the middle we read:
Canchino Flavor
Offers
Sheep's Head Soup (Sheep is understood)
in the mornings

• Tongue
• Eye
• Ear
• Hoof
• Stomach

Breakfasts
 

Choclo con Queso - Yum!



Many Cusquenos like to dress their dogs up in little jackets  and sweat suits on brisk mornings.

Dog with tusks in camo

Peruvians have the practice of referring to the half-liter sized soft drinks as, “Personal,” drinks. As a result the latest Coca Cola campaign has taken advantage of this expression, putting personal names on each of their full-test Cokes. We liked this in honor of our eldest daughter.

School Kids on their way to school up the Amargura road steps

Wanchaq fruit market

Also, though we have mentioned this before, we include the photo of Aywamanto fruit complete with their little husks for those interested in such things. They taste a little like cherry flavored cranberries with the little seeds inside.

Previously mentioned car names...

Tourist fashion sense?