Yesterday marked the beginning of the annual art exhibition Noche de Arte which was created and is run by the US Embassy Association of Lima.  The goal of this art exhibition for the past years has been to promote Peru's art culture, this is done through the support of over 400 local artists who collaborate each year close to 500 pieces of artwork. 


Noche de Arte has existed for more than 41 years in Peru with the goal of generating funds to support the needs of several social institutions that lack the necessary resources crucial for their development.  A charitable cultural event that has had great success over the years.

This the event was held in the BBVA Banco Continental headquarters office in San Isidro and will continue its exhibition until this Sunday.  Tickets can be purchased through their website and the times for the event are listed below.

Viernes 22 de octubre 7:00 – 11:00 p.m.
Noche de estreno
S/. 50
Sábado 23 de octubre, 7:00 – 11:00 p.m.
Noche del artistas
S/. 25
Domingo 24 de octubre, 2:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Tarde Popular
S/. 10 (niños y tercera edad S/. 5.00)


I managed to take a few photos while inside the bank though I did not have a ticket since I was teaching English there but I might just go this weekend.

Today while reading one of my favorite local photography blogs PeruFotoLibre, I came across this YouTube video about Photojournalism in Mexico.  The video is in Spanish but the photographs are amazing and well worth a look in my opinion.

Watching it makes me want to dedicate even more time to photography if I could only figure out how.

I found this rather cool promotional video put together by the Spanish bank BBVA, who is owner and operator of the Peruvian bank Banco Continental.  The video is about an educational program that was created a few years ago by BBVA to help promote reading in Peru, which would help to increase the literacy rate in Peru.

The artist in the video has some amazing drawing skills and it's fairly entertaining just to watch it, even if some of you don't speak Spanish.  Check it out!

These were but a few of the photos that I took during the week which I manage by lugging around my camera along with all my teaching supplies.  The fact that Lima is such a busy and active city makes it a perfect place for street photography, as each day provides something new to photograph.

 The fairly hippie man came on to the bus in an attempt to sale health food and preach the horrors of an unsanitary diet and lifestyle which, in his opinion most Limeñans have.  His approach was rather crude and somewhat offensive, all of which made it difficult for him to sell to anyone on the bus.  In the end the passengers who had grown tired of his rants insulted him until he was left with no other option but to retreat from the bus all while trying to hold onto whatever shread of dignity he had left.

 Traffic is so chaotic in the downtown area of Lima that it isn't uncommon to see transit police guiding traffic the old fashion way in spite of all the functioning traffic lights.

It´s 6am in the morning as the sun slowly rises over the Pacific, meanwhile in the district of Chorrillos the first wave of people have crawled out of their dwellings in a zombie state, barely ready to take on the arduous work week.  The street lights have just turned off and the various street vendors have begun setting up shop on their designated street corner (serving all the breakfast essentials like hot emolientes with artisanal breads to fresh squeezed orange juices).  It´s a typical scene that is quite common all over the city but one that is not witnessed by everyone.  The buses at this hour are one time since there is hardly any traffic.....yet, and even better is the availability of a place to sit once onboard.  If your unlucky you might find yourself on a bus that has several missing windows or broken ones which means you get to ride air-conditioned whether you want to or not. 

In the early morning the bus is like a bed on wheels where it´s nap time onboard for most who haven´t slept off the 12 to 14 hour work from yesterday yet.  Everyone is dressed in a wide variety of outfits suited to meet the needs of their job and it´s clear where their destination is.  Silence dominates on the bus almost like a private meditation session perfect for getting prepared for the long day ahead, a practice which is often visible on the bus ride home at night.  The only sounds audible are the ones generated by the bus itself as in it´s old deteriorated age rattles while it drives through the streets at full speed.  The horn is not necessary at this hour and is uncommon which helps the passengers rest somewhat peacefully.  Read More >>

Lima like many large cities all over the world are reservoirs of cultural, historical, artistic, and visual wealth for the traveling photographer, yet one major pain about most large cities is figuring out how to get from point A to point B.  For many this could mean a ride in a taxi cab (of which there are many in Lima) or it could mean renting a car, but if your a traveler on a low-budget or a recent expat residing in Lima you probably need a more inexpensive form of transportation.  Luckily Lima has hundreds of bus and combi routes that are spread throughout the city like a spider's web, which is great except when you don't know which bus to take.

In the past, I have resorted to age old practice (often loathed by men and advocated by women) of asking for directions which usually worked well when you wanted to figure out which bus to take, granted it helps if you at least know in what direction your destination is.  This methods seems practical enough however for a tourist it can be to their disadvantage as it isn't usually safe to announce that "your not from here" (overlooking the fact that your thick accent doesn't help much either).

Unfortunately the public transportation in Lima is privatized which might not sound like a bad thing at first until you either see it in action or come to the realization that there exists over 600 hundred (roughly, could be more) bus and combi routes run by several syndicates companies.  Fortunately, now there exists an option for those who want to find the best route/bus line to take to get to their destination thanks to Jeroen Prinsen's useful website called Rutas Recomendables or Recommended Routes.

Rutas Recomendables is Prinsen's realized vision of a functional transit map for Lima similar to that used for the London Tube.  His website and map are the products of a project that took him over a year in field research to finalize, but is now available to the public and is well worth a look for those who are not familiarized yet.


I was recently contacted by Prinsen who had found my blog through an article I wrote earlier about public transportation in Lima, anyways he told about his project and website which i found amazing so I decided to post it here.  His website is put together well and is very easy to navigate with clear and concise information about some Lima's most important bus routes.  You can purchase a high resolution version of his map for ONLY $5 USD or download his low-res map from his site for FREE, either way you should check it out!


WEBSITE: RUTAS RECOMENDABLES

The second installment of what is possibly the best independent filmed short series ever, has finally been released!  As always this one is just a funny as the first.


English Teachers - Episode 2 "(Un)equilibrium" from Nameless Media and Productions on Vimeo.

Since election day last Sunday the news media has been covering the ballot counting and the possibility of election fraud.  The allegations and rumors floating around in Lima currently suggest that the right-wing (derechista) candidate Lourdes Flores with the support of the political parties UN-PPC and APRA, along with the government and private local and international investors, have or are attempting to manipulate the outcome of the election results to favor Lourdes over Villaran.  While I'm not going to go into detail or speculation about what is currently going on, others in the community both locally and abroad have been voicing their concerns.

At this point it is uncertain whether a case of fraud is at hand or whether this is just a case of poor government organization and planning (especially when it takes over 50 hours to count votes from Sunday).  Here is what few others have said regarding this fiasco... Read More >>

Over the past few months Peruvians have been caught up in the political fever that has swept the nation.  In every department of Peru political talk and campaigns have been at the forefront of social interest.  Citizens in each district of the 24 departments (including the constitutional province of Callao) have been preparing to elect their next mayor, with Lima dominating the attention of the public media (which is common of a centralized country)

The streets of the nation´s capital over this period of time have been literally littered with ads, flyers, and billboards, which like graffiti have been everywhere (the comment "leave no stone unturned" is an understatement to quantity of advertising that can be found in Lima)!  Everywhere you went it was impossible to escape someone who wasn´t discussing the candidates, while the newspapers and TV media milked the political race in standard textbook fashion.  Perhaps the most talked about and speculated election was over who would take the coveted seat as mayor of Lima.  For those living in Lima the decision as to who would replace current mayor Luis Castañeda has been of great importance especially with popular candidates like Lourdes Flores (who represents the political right) and Susana Villaran (who represents the "far" political left).  This interest has even manifested fear in many Limeños as well as foreign investors who believe that a politically leftist mayor could hurt the countries improving economical situation.   Read More >>