Saturday, May 14, 2005

Resources


Un libro con informacion de nuestro bello y hermoso pais.

Peru (Travel Daily News)



Destination of the month : Peru: Land of the
Inkas


Destination of the
Month” is a “how to sell” special column which aims to fulfil the travel
agents need of information. Tourism Authorities can give useful hints and
tips that will help a travel agent to better sell the destination and as
well as enlighten him with the pros and cons that he needs to know to better
inform its customers.


Peru occupies the central western side of South America. It is the third
largest country in the region (larger than Spain, France and Germany
together), covering an area of 1,285,215.6 square kilometers. It borders
with Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Chile to the south, Brazil and
Bolivia to the east, and with the Pacific Ocean to the west.

Peru’s population is approximately 27 million. It has three different
geographical regions: coast, highlands and jungle or rainforest. The coast
is home to 52 percent of the population and covers 12 percent of the
national territory. Here, along a narrow desert strip (which is 180 km at
its widest), are the main cities of Lima, Ica, Trujillo, Chiclayo and Piura.
And, of course, 3,080 kilometers of beaches, some of them very beautiful.

The highlands, an area covering 28 percent of the country and home to 36
percent of the population, is dominated by the Andes mountain range which
runs the length of Peru like a backbone. The terrain is of sharp contrasts
with deep, narrow canyons and broad, fertile valleys. The average altitude
of the mountains varies between three to four thousand meters, with the
highest, Huascarán, reaching 6,768 meters (22,204 feet).

The rainforest is home to 12 percent of the population and covers 60 percent
of the country’s territory. It is the least populated area of Peru. It has
an extraordinarily rich wildlife and is the source of the Amazon, the
planet’s longest, widest and deepest river. There are also mountain ranges
covered in tropical forests: the eastern slopes of the Andes where
exhuberant vegetation kept hidden for centuries such extraordinary
archaeological sites as Machu Picchu.

History

Mankind first inhabited the Andes some 20,000 years ago, at the time that
Paleolithic man lived in Europe. There was a long period of hunters and
gatherers that was followed by the domestication of plants such as the
potato, maize and cotton, and of animals such as llamas and alpacas.

Peru is known as the land of the Incas, and it is. But there were many
civilizations that existed prior to the Incas. The oldest prehispanic city
in the Americas (5,000 years old) is Caral, four hours north of Lima. Over
3,300 years ago the Chavín civilization reached its peak, with its centre in
the highlands of the department of Ancash. Later, and also in the north, the
Moche civilization flourished and is famous the world over for its royal
tombs of Sipan. Meanwhile, on the southern coast, the very important
civilizations were that of Paracas, with unparalleled textiles, and Nazca,
known for the gigantic drawings in the desert. The Incas only consolidated
their empire around A.D. 1400. In fact, they were in the process of full
expansion when Francisco Pizarro interrupted their plans in 1532.

The Spanish governed Peru by appointing viceroys. Between the 16th and 17th
centuries there were two viceroyalties in the Americas: Mexico and Peru.In
the 18th century, the viceroyalties of Buenos Aires and Nueva Granada were
created. Colonial society was governed by hierarchy and elitism, marking a
difference between the Spanish, the creoles and the native indian
population.

In the second half of the 18th century there were two strong rebellions: one
led by Juan Santos Atahuallpa (1742-1752) in the central jungle, and the
other by Tupac Amaru (1780-1781) in Cuzco. Some forty years later, on
November 8th, the Argentine general José de San Martín landed at the bay of
Paracas, in Ica. He declared Peru’s independence on July 28th, 1821 but in
fact, independence only became a reality after the battle of Ayacucho in
1824, when the troops commanded by the visionary Simón Bolivar defeated the
royalist army.

The first years of the republic were turbulent. There was a great deal of
internal fighting and numerous military leaders jostling for power.
President Ramón Castilla, in the mid 19th century, brought an end to this
chaos and began the harvesting of guano, repealed the tax charged to the
indian population, and abolished slavery. In 1879, because of its commitment
to an agreement made with Bolivia, Peru was dragged into a war against Chile
that brought misfortune and the loss of part of its southern territory. In
more recent years, the well-known fight against terrorist groups such as
Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) led to tension in Peru between 1980 and
1993, when the group’s leader Abimael Guzmán was captured and the messianic
organization collapsed.

Today there is peace in Peru, and President Alejandro Toledo governs the
country until 2006 when new general elections will be held.

Population and Political System

Peru has a population of approximately 27 million people. The coast is home
to 52% of the total population, while 36% live in the highlands and 12% in
the jungle. The population is predominantly mestizo or racially mixed, and
most speak Spanish, although there are two important minorities: the Quechua
and Aymara, and the native population of Amazonia, which is subdivided into
14 linguistic families and 42 ethnic groups. Peru is politically divided
into 25 regions (Amazonas, Ancash, Apurimac, Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cajamarca,
Callao, Cusco, Huancavelica, Huanuco, Ica, Junin, Lambayeque, La Libertad,
Lima-Provinces, Loreto, Madre de Dios, Moquegua, Pasco, Piura, Puno, San
Martin, Tacna, Tumbes and Ucayali) as well as the capital, Metropolitan
Lima, which has no regional status. Peru is a democracy whose public powers
are the Executive, headed by the President of the Republic; the Legislature,
which is a one-chamber congress; and the Judiciary. General elections, to
elect a President of the Republic and the representatives to Congress, are
held every five years. Regional and municipal elections are held every four
years, the most recent held in 2002. Currently, the Constitutional President
of the Republic is Dr. Alejandro Toledo, whose mandate concludes on July 28,
2006.

Language

Peru has two official languages: Spanish, spoken by 73 percent of the
population, and Quechua, spoken by 24 percent. The Ayamara language is also
spoken, in an area on Peru’s high altiplano on the border with Bolivia.
There are also some 50 Amazon languages, including Ashaninka, Aguaruna, and
Machiguenga.

Religion

Roman Catholicism is Peru’s official religion, although in recent years the
Evangelical Protestant groups have grown considerably. However, it is
estimated that close to 80 percent of Peruvians are Catholic.

However, there is full religious freedom. There is also a marked religious
syncretism, in which Catholicism is practiced without discarding the worship
of the mountains, the sun and the moon in the Andes, and the spirits of
plants and animals in the rainforest.

info: http://www.peru.info


Peru Destino Turistico Mundial Del Mes(Travel Daily News)


Informacion de un lugar tan parecido a un enorme zoologico, con miles de figuras en piedra, y un paisaje de otro mundo. Visite el "Bosque de Piedras de Huayllay" (Cerro de Pasco - Peru)

Thursday, May 12, 2005

Escribiendo...

Lima la grande
Desde la ciudad mas grande del Peru

Un dia como hoy lo recordare mucho mas adelante en
mi vida
Porque me encuentro en una cama sin poder hacer nada que no sea solo pensar y
pen
sar en el futuro, ese futuro que a
muchos nos parece dificil de abordar.
No puedo escribir mas lineas ahora, simplemento quiero dejar que los dedos de
mis manos escriban por si solos, las esperanzas de

mi espiritu
recaen en mi fuerza de volutad, que aveces se vuelve debil, pero que aveces
muestra signos de ser tan poderosa, que nadie en el mundo podria detenerme,
tengo una energia interna que aun no explota en toda su dimension, y no pienso
esperar aca echado en mi cama, y diciendome a mi mismo cuando explotara?

Lo que tengo que hacer lo tengo que hacer pronto, mi vida esta corriendo con
toda velocidad, y no pienso seguir asi por mucho, como dije, pocas palabras y
vamos a la accion.

Eso es todo.

Arkmikael

Sunday, May 08, 2005


Children from Cuzco :) (be careful with them, they always want to take pictures with all the foreing people ;) )


Children from Aguas Calientes Town (Machupicchu - Cuzco)


A curious baby :) (my people, my country, i love it)


Porque aun tenemos ninos trabajando en las calles del Peru, Toledo ni alguien tienen la respuesta, es un gran problema de todo el mundo, que sucede?

Jerga Peruana / Peruvian Slang

If you are learning spanish and you planned to visit Peru, I advice you should read some about peruvian slang!!! (original publication: http://www.jergasdehablahispana.org/)

JERGA PERUANA (PERUVIAN SLANG)

A
afanar : (v.) 1) robar; 2) enamorar, cortejar. Eduardo está afanando a Susana, pero ella no le atracar : (v.) 1) asentir; 2) admitir; 3) creer. Le propusieron un trabajo nuevo y ella atracó . / Espero que atraquen mi solicitud para un préstamo en el banco. / Ese cuento que no tienes plata para pagarme ya nadie te lo atraca .

B
bacán : 1) (adj.) maravilloso, muy positivo, estimulante, agradable; 2) galán. El espectáculo bomba: (f) gran borrachera. Me metí una bomba / Qué tal bomba!

C
caer gordo : resultarle antipático (algo o alguien) a alguien.
calato : 1) (adj.) desnudo; 2) (m.) bebé. Fernando tiene la extraña costumbre de andar calato por caña : (f.) automóvil. Cada vez que salgo con Eugenio me ensucia la caña con la ceniza de sus
...........

More words?? don't hesitate to look the original website... http://www.jergasdehablahispana.org/