This is an essay I wrote for my English Comp class. Funny how Peruvian creativity seems to follow me months after I have left Peru.

Here’s a bit of inspiration that came from my stint in Lima…

“Tía Delia’s Bags”

by Rachel Gamarra

Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap. A Morse code like rasping gently emits from the front door, telegraphing to the occupants of the home a visitor’s presence.

My two young daughters jet down the hallway excitedly, practically ricocheting off of every concrete wall in sight. “ Tía, Tía, Tíííííaaaaa!” They cheer in unison.

Pulling the deadbolt latch with one hand and turning the doorknob in synchronization with the other, I slowly open the door to reveal the mystery tapper.

“Tíííííaaaaa!” my girls shout again. They rush toward the woman in the doorway, innocently shoving me out of the way to embrace her. It’s their aunt or “Tía” Delia making her weekly rounds.

Tía Delia is a plain, unassuming woman yet she possesses a beauty in her subtlety. Her dark, midnight hair is long, thick and curly…and seemingly in a perpetual state of dishevelment.

Her rich, mahogany brown doe eyes frame her elongated nose. Her complexion is olive and her frame is slender. She moves and speaks with a saintly quality.

Delia lived in the same seaside district of Lima as we did, but our small, eighth floor flat preceded her stop. She would usually visit us late at night on her way back from work; several districts and two bus routes over.

The girls were already tucked in bed before they acutely heard the rasping on the door. Greeting their Tía Delia was a justifiable excuse to stay up late a few extra minutes.

“What’s in your bag?” Asked my youngest, tugging at her Tia’s hand. She was curious to find out what Tía Delia had brought for us this week.

Delia always toted along plastic bags filled with unknowns when visiting.

Normally the plastic bags would contain another plastic bag inside, tucked in like a little Russian matryoshka doll.

Oddly enough, the bags would transform in appearance and mood almost in parallel to Tía Delia’s own.

You knew when life was good for Delia; during such times the bags would be robust, crisp, and merry in color.

A round and bulging bag during the holiday season almost certainly meant it contained Panetón inside; a traditional Christmas staple of Peruvian-Italian fruitcake.

If she drew out a smaller transparent bag, then conceivably it contained little edible treats such as freshly baked bread rolls or juicy, mouth watering mandarin oranges.

However, when Delia was sad or going through a difficult time in her life then the bags she would bring would be full of worry, they were furrowed and tristful.

It wasn’t always food and cheer that Tía Delia toted along with her in the plastic bags. A small, black garbage like bag indicated something more direful or morose. It almost always signified someone in the family was ill and the bag contained a prescription or two for the ailment.

She came over one night with one of these little black bags. Inside it contained an ointment for lupus. A young doctor had diagnosed her with the disease after she began losing hair and developing dark, blotchy patches of skin where the hair had fallen out.

Fortunately, It resulted that the young doctor was inexperienced and in reality her diagnosis was a less severe case of stress from a broken heart.

Then there were other times when the bags were just as surprising as Tía Delia. She came to visit us one weekend with a large, oddly shaped bag. It was solid and cumbersome, requiring the use of both hands.

She lugged the lumpy bag into the kitchen and set it upon the table next to the refrigerator. It sounded on the wood with a light thud.

“I need to store this in your freezer,” she told me with a mild urgency in her voice.

I figured it was yet another turkey she had received from work, but didn’t have the room in her own freezer to conserve it.

Slowly Delia began to peel the white plastic bag down towards the table’s surface revealing to my gastronomic horror a lechón.

“A lechón?!” I exclaimed as she carefully tried to set it in the middle of my freezer.

The eccentrically shaped, white plastic bag turned out to be the head of a young pig! Tía Delia certainly had an innocent sense of humor to her.

My youngest daughter tugged at Delia’s hand again and asked, “What did you bring us, Tía?”

“I’ve brought you a surprise.” She responded taking the bag towards the kitchen.

Tonight the bag was not lumpy, it was not bulgy nor was it sullen. Tía Delia carefully grabbed the top of a clear, crispy bag from inside with her fingers. It crackled as she pulled it out.

“Alfajoreeeeees!” The girls cheered in celebration, jumping up and down for the sweet confection that their Tía Delia had brought for them this visit.

An alfajor is a special Peruvian cookie filled with blancmange and coated with a white, sugary powder.

“Yes, I brought alfajores for you” affirmed Tía Delia. “But if you two don’t go to bed and get some sleep then you won’t be able to eat your alfajores tomorrow.”

Tía Delia walked the girls back to their beds and tucked them in goodnight, promising them that they’d be able to indulge in the treats when they woke up the next morning.

She kissed them both goodnight before hugging me farewell. The front door closed behind her, the lock latched back into its place and her journey home continued, eight flights down and one more late night bus ride to go.

The girls and I could only speculate what wonderments Tía Delia would be carrying with her in next week’s plastic bags.

Posted in Cultural Experiences, Entertainment, Gastronomy, Holidays & Special Occasions, Random Stuff Tagged: alfajor, alfajores, blancmange, dulce de leche, dulces peruanos, essays, la creatividad peruana, lechon, lima, mandarina, mandarina dulce, manjar blanco, pan frances, paneton, Peru, Peruvian confections, Peruvian desserts, peruvian gastronomy, Peruvian inspiration, Spanish confections, Tía ]]> http://rachelinperu.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/tia-delias-bags/feed/ 0 rachelinperu http://rachelinperu.wordpress.com/2009/10/30/who-is-la-perrichola/ http://rachelinperu.wordpress.com/2009/10/30/who-is-la-perrichola/#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:38:10 +0000 rachelinperu http://rachelinperu.wordpress.com/?p=1253 ]]>

You may have heard of her, you may not have, but the scandalous seductress, “La Perrichola,” is one of Colonial Peru’s most infamous women.

Micaela Villegas was the woman, actress and royal lover famously known as “La Perrichola” or “Half blood bitch” (excuse the wordage) in Spanish.

Here’s an interesting article about the story and movie(s) inspired by the legendary “Perrichola.”

http://screened.blogspot.com/2009/01/bridge-of-san-luis-rey.html

AMERICAN IN LIMA

“It’s mes morado(purple month) again in Lima, and the faithful are dressed head-to-toe in purple clothing, a sign of their devotion to El Señor de los Milagros. This miracle-working Christ figure is housed in the Church of the Nazarenes, in downtown Lima (see photo above), where thousands of worshippers come to pray and make offerings each October.”

>> Read more at Barbara Drake’s Blog: American in Lima <<

The popularity of drywall has soared in Peru over the past couple of years due to its low cost and quick build time compared to the traditional brick and mortar.

Earlier this 2009 the government of Peru signed a Free Trade Agreement with China which opens up Peruvian markets to Chinese goods duty free.

With the “TLC” (as it’s known in its Spanish acronym) en force, Chinese drywall will be amongst the multiple number of goods that the Chinese will be able to import into Peru feeding into a yet to be satiated drywall supply and construction industry.

The TLC hasn’t come without its protests from Peruvian manufacturers and business owners who know that they cannot equally compete against the much larger, richer and cheaper Chinese.

“Buy Peruvian, Don’t buy Chinese” is the war cry, but when it comes down to it, Peruvians are not going to pay the extra Sol (PEN) to “Buy Peruvian” just because the product is of better quality or out of a sense of national pride.

“Buy American” really hasn’t worked much, even in a dull economy. Rich or poor consumers are going to buy the product that gives them more quantity not “bang” for their buck.

Case-in-point: During the U.S. Real Estate boom Florida was one of the States with the hottest and most hyper-inflated housing markets. Builders initially couldn’t keep pace with the demand and homes were popping up all over the State.

To cut costs and maximize profits builders utilized Chinese drywall in their construction. Four years later and homeowners are crying foul.

The Chinese drywall used to construct Florida homes is plagued with a string of problems and has homeowners claiming that it emits toxic fumes that corrode pipes, destroys home electronics and produces illness causing mold and foul odors.

Peru’s capital city of Lima has a climate similar to Florida with high humidity levels that enable mold to grow.

The introduction of Chinese drywall could also prove toxic to Peruvians who purchase this product to remodel or add onto their homes.

Unfortunately special interests and lack of viable legal recourse will leave Peruvians holding the bill for demolition and repairs associated with bad drywall.

Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan came under fire when he stated, “If I need to buy a TV, I’ll definitely buy a Japanese TV. A Chinese TV might explode.”

It may have incensed many Chinese around the world, but Jackie Chan was right on point – A point that Peruvians should keep in mind with new, incoming Chinese TLC goods:

“¡No Compres Chino!”

In the end it will prove bad for your financial and physical health!

“We always had this sense of inferiority, of not being important. We always thought that we couldn’t do what the others could.” – Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (President of Brazil)

President “Lula” not only made a statement that spoke for the people of Brazil (South America’s largest country) after it was announced that Rio de Janeiro would be host to the 2016 Summer Olympic Games; He had also touched upon a sentiment that many Peruvians share.

Taking a look at my Peruvian sister-in-law’s Facebook profile I glanced at the one and only sentence in her Interests section: “Salir del País,” which translates into English as “Leave the country.”

It is a phrase you often see and hear from many Peruvians who feel that their country has little future or success to offer them. The general (albeit misinformed) consensus is that pastures are greener abroad in North America, Europe and Asia.

Lula’s quote brought me back to the thought of Peru’s long standing conflict with Chile stemming from the 19th century War of the Pacific.

The conflict continues today over Pisco (a brandy), wine, desserts, the potato, music, retail chains, energy sources, raw materials and maritime borders.

It is safe for me to argue that: A.) Pisco and the Potato originated in Peru; and B.) Chilean wine is poisonous per the warnings on humurous Peruvian T-shirts.

Needless to say I did not heed the T-shirt’s warning and learned the truth about Chilean wine the hard way.

Sadly it seems that only Peruvians and a few privileged foreigners are aware of Peru’s rich culture, history, gastronomy, eco systems, landscapes, products and resources….Phew! Did I omit anything?!

Unfortunately, Chileans have the one up when it comes to marketing and that is why they can sell their pet rocks in the form of wine, produce and tourism to the international market.

Argentina has its gauchos, glaciers, tango, Evita and Buenos Aires.

Brazil has its supermodels in thongs, festive samba music, the world’s largest carnaval party, and sexy beaches.

Chile has its success thanks to Pinochet and the marketing of Peruvian products falsely labeled as Chilean.

Peru has Llamas, Machu Picchu and the Incas….sure there’s a whole lot more to Peru, but It’s like the Vegas saying – “What happens in Peru, stays in Peru.”

One day Peruvians, like my sister-in-law, will realize that not only is the grass greener right where they are standing, but it is infinitely more diverse, beautiful and richer than any other nation on earth.

As living Criolla legend Eva Ayllon sang:

“Es la tierra del Inca / que el sol ilumina/ porque Dios lo manda / que ese Dios a la gloria / le cambió de nombre / y le puso ¡Perú!”