Here is a photo that was taken last night while I was shooting the Tricky (former member of the group Massive Attack) concert in the upscale Miraflores nightclub, Gotica (located in Larcomar).  The event lasted about an hour and a half but for me flew by in a matter of minutes.

I will post more photos of the event latter.

There were some things that I came to realize while shooting this event, one was that I realized just how difficult flash photography can be in a very poorly light and fast moving environment, another was the technical limitations of my camera in low light situations, and my overall surprisingly shocking low self-esteem while rubbing shoulders and competing for good shots with veteran professional photographers.  The culmination of these three things made last nights event a real nightmarish fiasco for this photographer.  More about this to come....

Some photos from the popular cajón festival that takes place every year in Lima to celebrate the lively and upbeat percussion sounds of the wooden cajón (it's basically a box with a hole in the back, simple yet wonderful).  The event is amazing because it's open to anyone who is a fan of the instrument and provides a great experience for those learning or experienced to gather and play.  This year had a great turnout, though smaller than the previous years. 

All the photos were also posted on Living in Peru.com

Well things have been a little slow around here mostly due to the holidays but to keep you entertained until I finish some the projects I have been working on please enjoy this hilarious song.

As most of you know the "political correctness" movement has really progressed over the last 10 years or so and while understandable in some respects it has also managed to get a little carried away.  Luckily here in Peru, political correctness hasn't quite taken off yet which isn't all that bad, although things like this tend to be commonly excepted.

So enjoy this favorite Christmas country song by Brad Paisley (yes I LIKE COUNTRY, big deal).

Today I was checking my mailbox and I happened to get a rather interesting email from the Peruvian Consulate in Seattle, Washington (I guess I gave them my email address of something, not really sure when I would have done that though?).  The email from the Consulate was sent to inform me a special musical concert being given by none other than the famous and popular Peruvian singer, Gian Marco!

According to the email the concert is going to be held at China Harbor in Lake Union-Seattle on the 27th of March (that's THIS SATURDAY).  To make this concert even better the cost of admission is ONLY $35 per person!!!!

While this might be great news for those who are fans of Gian Marco it is unfortunately only GREAT if you live in the upper Northwest Region.  For those who do live in northern Portland or near the Seattle area I highly encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity.  Details have been included below for those who are interested.

Cost of Admission:  35.00 dólares
Place: China Harbor in Lake Union-Seattle
Date: Saturday, 27th of March. ONE DAY ONLY!!!!!!
Time: Entrance is at 8:30PM
Tickets can be purchased in the following Peruvian stores:

Plaza Latina: 206 533 9440 

La Selva: 253 856 1512

Tickets can also be purchased on-line at peruanosenseattle.com    

I was watching the colbert report on my computer when Colbert and Woody ended the show by singing the Star Spangled Banner (US NATIONAL ANTHEM), while Stephen shaved Woody's head in a show of support for the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.


GOOD MORNING AMERICA! (I hope I don't get in trouble for copyright infringement).  GOD BLESS THE USA!

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Sign Off - Stephen Shaves Woody's Head
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor U.S. Speedskating

Here is a song that was posted by brother Steve Wasson up in Portland, Oregon.  The song should put that extra boost of energy that might be missing from your day and remember Keep on Smiling!

Okay, so the title was a mouthful but it gets the point across.  A few days ago I was on my Flickr account uploading more photos when I saw that I had an email.  The email was from a Peruvian Violinist by the name of Daniel Zamalloa who was born in Cuzco, Peru.  He had seen some of my photos on my Flickr page and wanted to know if he could post two of my photos on his website, I of course agreed and now the two following photos are currently on display with many others on his site:

In case the photos don't appear use this link to check them out: http://www.danielzamalloa.com/photos.html

These two photos were taken back in May when I went to Comas to visit my grandmother for Mother's day.  The photos depict what went down when I travelled with my father and a friend to Comas's Cementary that day.  If you want to read about what CRAZY events took place that day CLICK HERE!

For those of you who are not familiar with Daniel Zamalloa's work I highly recommend checking out his website.  Here is a little snippet that I took from his bio page:

"Daniel Zamalloa was born in Cusco, Peru, the ancient capital of the Inca civilization, and grew up in the old neighborhood of San Blas, renowned for its craftspeople and musicians. He began performing in a violin orchestra at the age of 7 and learned folk fiddle playing from master Eliseo Yare."

I also managed to find a few YouTube videos from some of his performances for those who might be curious or interested in watching.  He plays the violin beautifully and I love his interpretations of Peruvian Folkloric music.  Enjoy!

For most today is Halloween however, here in Peru the 31st of October is also Dia de La Cancion Criolla/Cancion Peruana (Day of Criolla Music/Peruvian Music...I have seen both used interchangably).  Since 1944 this day has been used to pay tribute to musica criolla as well as many of Peru's famous musical artists.

Most bars and peñas in Peru will definately be celebrating the holiday and it is unfortunate that I will not be attending one because my friends would rather celebrate Halloween instead, SIGH......

Well in the spirit of the holiday I posted a few songs below from some famous Peruvian musicians, enjoy!





















There are so many others I could have posted but this should do for now.  If I think of any others I will surely post them.

Here is a classic country favorite of mine from Gary Allan.  I think we can all relate to the song.  Enjoy.

Ok for those of you who don't know (either because your not in Peru or because you live under a rock)since last Friday the city of Lima has been celebrating the Grand Week of Lima, a FREE 9 day event that encourages Lima's citizens to take back the streets in recognition of the City of Kings.  The festivities are being hosted by the Municipalidad de Lima and are sponsored by various established Peruvian businesses (Inka Cola, RPP, Cristal, etc.).

Most of the events will take place in the Plaza de Armas and surrounding areas including Jiron de La Union.  The Festivies include exhibitions of various local and regional art and artisan craftworks, as well as music and entertainment (from a dog show to a surprise concert to be held in the Plaza de Armas, word has it that Hermanos Yaipen and Grupo 5 will be there but don't quote me on that).

Here is a link to the main website where you can see the calender of events scheduled to take place.

Also for those currently in Lima, Chilean Artist Francisca Sánchez has setup a huge platform around the statue of Independence hero José de San Martín in the Plaza San Martin.  She titles it: "Yo y San Martín (Me and San Martín)".  This allows citizens and tourists the opportunity to get up close to the statue as well as receive a spectacular view of the city below.  The exhibit is available to the public up until the 1st of November and is open from 9am to 6pm.

Here is a cool video that talks about the project



IMPORTANT: LADIES IF YOU WANT TO CLIMB THE PLATFORM DO NOT WEAR HIGH HEELS.  THE SECURITY AT THE EXHIBIT IS STRICT AND WILL NOT LET YOU CLIMB THE STAIRS OF THE PLATFORM IF ARE WEARING HEELS!

Exhausted from a late saturday night of drinking and tom foolery, I chose to spend most of Sunday hibernating in an attempt to rejunenate my aging body.  When I did finally manage to crawl out of bed I decided to go get some outdoor exercise and headed with my dad to the local soccer stadium here in Chorrillos where the regular Sunday match was already underway.  There I found a few wonderful little ma and pa food stands selling the perfect Sunday morning meal Ceviche with Chicharron de Calamar (Ceviche with Fried Calamari).  Not really 100% in the mood for Ceviche I decided to go for the straight Chicharron platter instead, which was tender and delicious with just a hint of lime and ginger.

I then packed my camera gear as I normally do when I plan my weekend excursions and hailed a ride in a collectivo.  Once in Lima I met up with Zdenka and we headed over to the Plaza de San Martin where I rushed over to the monument platform eager to climb it to the top where I would undoubtly take several photos only to later rejoice at my photographic evidence.  Unfortuantely.........I was unaware of the NO HIGH HEELS policy and thanks to my beloved girlfriend was unable to wait in what was probably a 1 hour line.

Disappointed and anxious to take cool artsy photos we continued along Jiron de La Union which due to the festivities was packed.  It was there in Jiron that I spotted the most beautiful of all houses, a true work of art.  The ARCHITECTURE was like an architechs wet dream, I still have dreams about those columns and the 19th century hard wood floors. Saddly the beautiful shrine to artistic design and possible good old fashion slave labor had been converted as with most buildings on Jiron, into a god damn SHOE STORE of all things!
The thought still haunts me.




I managed to snap a few decent photos while in the Plaza de Armas and even passed through an open art exhibit in the Municipal building.  I really liked this painting.



The night finally ended in Jesus Maria where a craving for great, down to earth cooking came in the form of anticuchos and picarones.  The meal was put together by the local Catholic church on Av. Cuba as a fundraiser for some recently initiated sisters or something.

This song is dedicated to my good friend HJ Cho who is currently serving in Iraq as an Army Combat Medic in the Oregon National Guard.  "I know man life sucks, huh"



Good Luck Cho and I wish you a safe return home.  Keep Our Soldiers Alive Out There.

If the answer is YES and you have access to the internet (or live in Portland, OR) then you will love listening to KMHD Radio.  It is one of my absolute favorite stations for Jazz and Blues and everytime I listen to that station I am reminded of all the fond memories of weekends up in the mountains by Mt. Hood listening to this station in the car.

If your interested then check out KMHD's website and listen to their live feed.

Peru-Lima, 29 November 1940 - † Peru-Lima, 9 October 2009

Today the Famous musician Zambo Cavero died at 12:55 in the Rebagliati Hospital after several painful days battling against infectious sepsis that had consumed his body.

Zambo Cavero was known for his wonderful and soulful voice as well as his amazing ability to interpret some of Peru's most traditional songs. Cavero was seen as a representative of Afro-Peruvian criolla music.



Not only was he a musician, he was an artist whose music captivated many Peruvians who admired and loved him. It's tragic to have to lose someone that was important to us but the memory of Zambo Cavero's music will continue to live on in the hearts of his followers. He is that of Legend now.

I thought I will post a few video's for those who might not be familiar with his work and to pay respect to Zambo Cavero. He's playing that Cajón in heaven now.

If you can recall about a week ago I wrote an article about a Peña (a club that hosts folkloric music shows) in Barranco that I visited well I recently came across some more information on several other Peñas located in the city of Lima. Here is a list with their addresses:

Asociación Cultural Brisas del Titicaca
Walkuski 168, Lima Cercado.
Tel.: (511) 332-1901.

De Rompe y Raja
Manuel Segura 127, Barranco.
Tel.: (511) 247-3271.

Del Carajo
Catalino Mirando 158, Barranco
Tel.: (511) 241-8904

Don Jijuna
Plaza Butters 291, Barranco.
Tel.: (511) 247-2242.

Don Porfirio
Manuel Segura 115, Barranco.
Tel.: (511) 477-3119.

El Caballero de Fina Estampa
Av. Del Ejército 800, Santa Cruz, Miraflores.
Tel.: (511) 441-0552.

El Eslabón
Av. Aviación 3390, San Borja.
Tel.: (511) 476-2419.

El Plebeyo
Jr. Succha 247, Breña.
Tel.: (511) 330-9235.

El Rastro Canto Bar
Berlín 536, Miraflores.
Tel.: (511) 242-1022.

La Candelaria
Av. Bolognesi 292, Barranco.
Tel.: (511) 247-2941.

Las Guitarras
Jr. Manuel Segura 295, Barranco.
Tel.: (511) 247-3924.

Perico's
Pedro De Osma, cuadra 1, esquina con Castilla, Barranco.
Tel.: (511) 477-1311

Sachún
Av. del Ejército 657, Miraflores.
Tel.: (511) 441-4465.

Tradiciones Peruanas
Av. José de la Torre Ugarte s/n. (Boulevard del Retablo), Comas. Tel.: (511) 536-6072.

Now I haven't been to many of these Peñas but I have certainly read and heard good things about many of them. The Peru Guide has some descriptions and more detailed info about some of the Peñas.

So last Saturday I had the house to my self, what with my father in Chicago for the International Plastics Convention. Everything was going great, I was just relaxing in the living room when I get a call from my girlfriend to go to a friend's (Carlos) birthday party. Since nothing else was going on I decided to get off my lazy @$$ and go enjoy the evening.

The birthday bash was planned to take place in a Peña (Peña, a grass-roots community meeting place where popular folklore - usually Nueva Cancion - and other artistic expressions accompanied by food and drink are showcased) called Del Carajo! in Barranco, near Chorrillos where I live. Having never been to a peña before I was quite excited, I had heard and seen so much about them and was really looking forward to it.

After getting lost driving through side streets and dark alleyways that could make the hairs on the back of anyone's neck stand up, I arrive at the peña. It was located in a very narrow and poorly lit street. The sidewalk was full of people from all walks of life and social classes waiting in a large line. Since no one that I knew had arrived yet I was forced to wait in line. Finally my girlfriend (Zdenka) arrives just as the line begins to move. The fee for entrance is S./20 (soles) per person before 11pm and S./3o after. As we approach entrance we are greeted by two huge bamboo doors that open to revel a large tropical interior filled with rows of tables, two seperate bars, a fairly moderate (at first sight) dance floor, and a large stage. We are seated at our reserved table and soon after the birthday boy and all his friends arrive. Beers are purchased and then consumed as the band sets up the sound equipment. 30 minutes later (Midnight) the house is packed with no empty table in sight, then our attention is commanded by the sounds of Criollo music.

The host, an older woman welcomes the patrons and introduces the band and establishment. Then we are treated to a presentation of the Afro-Peruvian dance, after all that's what a peña is all about. It is truly amazing to watch them dance and move their bodies in ways that most people wish that alcohol could do for them. After the performance we were encouraged to get out on the dance floor as the band played a medley of latin, cumbia, salsa, and criollo music. I can't begin to tell you how great it is to dance to your favorite songs with that live band sound. The only real downside was the dance floor, it got so packed that at times you were stepping on toes and heals left and right, back and forth.