Ayacucho: Museo Andrés Avelino Cáceres

Two blocks or so from the market and the archway in downtown Huamanga, on Av. 28 de Julio, there is a small Army-run museum dedicated to the memory of Andrés Avelino Cáceres Dorregaray.

Cáceres was a military officer who rose through the ranks, eventually leading the resistance to the Chilean expeditionary forces invading during the War of the Pacific, and subsequently against the government which signed the Treaty of Ancon, which ended the war.   For these efforts he is regarded as a national hero, and in his own time came to be regarded as an elder statesman, and was called upon to serve as President on three separate occasions.

In 1919 the government awarded Cáceres the rank of Marshall.  He died at Ancon in 1923 at the age of 90.

Though he was born in Huamanga, his home and former estate are in neighboring Huancavelica department.  The museum is located in a casona (colonial mansion) that was the home of the Marquis of Mozobamba, and contains some of the Marquis' belongings in addition to items that belonged to Cáceres and others from the period.

Andrés Avelino Cáceres, wearing the presidential sash

Cáceres' epaulets

Cáceres' medical kit box, used during the Battle of Acuchimay

Cáceres' signature

Casona of the Marquis of Mozobamba

Funerary effigy of either  conquistador Pedro Álvarez Holguín or colonial governor Juan Gutierrez de Quintanilla

Colonial painting, of the Ayacucho School, depicting the Last Supper with guinea pig and chapla-like bread

Museo Andrés Avelino Cáceres
Avenida 28 de Julio #512
Ayacucho, Peru
Tel: +51 066 81 8686

Ayacucho, Day 3: Pikimachay, Huanta, Luricocha

Susana and I decided that for our third and final day (July 29th) in Ayacucho we'd take a tour of the surrounding area.  Skipping Wari and Quinua, which we'd both been to a bunch of times, we opted for heading somewhat it the opposite direction toward Huanta.

On the way, the tour stopped at Pikimachay cave.

Pikimachay is across a small valley from the site of Wari, and is noted for having sheltered humans some 17,000 years ago.  Making it among the oldest, if not the oldest, human habitation known in the Americas (If I recall correctly, there are two other sites with claims to older human remains, one in Chile and one in Brazil, but both have been seriously questioned and are not wholly accepted within the scientific community.)

Considering the types of fauna whose remains were found alongside the human bones and teeth -animals such as glyptodonts and megatheria- I imagine that the climate of the region was wetter back then than it is now.  Today there is no obvious dry-season water supply near the cave and the vegetation is sparse, scrubby, and generally prickly, consisting mainly of cacti, agaves, and molle trees.

Of those the molles are the friendliest.  In Peru the molle is a common shade tree and the small berries it produces are used to make a type of chicha.   In the US, where it was introduced by the Spanish, the molle is known as "California pepper tree" on account of the berries, whereas in Mexico it is called "pirul" because of its origins in Peru.

The area is so dry that there are few animals, or even birds, visible.  One thing that does seem to thrive are insects.  In fact, walking around one was made keenly aware of the difficulties farmers must face, for not only is there the aridity, rockyness, and steepness of  the land to be dealt with, but there is also no shortage of locusts.

As an illustration, in the image below, taken at the base of Pikimachay hill, there are no fewer than six locusts:

After Pikimachay, the van took us to the town on Huanta.

Huanta is located some 50 kilometers from Huamanga, and is nestled in a green, productive valley, that earned the district the nickname of "Emerald of the Andes."

 

My family's history with Huanta goes way back.  Not only was Mama Pali born there, but her father was at one point mayor and several times member of the town council.

I, myself, hadn't been there since Danny and I took a trip to the city with Mama Pali and her driver, Roman, in about 1973 or 1974.  We travelled in my grandparents' old red VW Beetle and carried a litter of kittens to trade and give away along the way.   At one point we traded one or two of the cats for a Peruvian naked-neck chicken or qalakunka.    The kittens rode in the well of the Bug, but the qalakunka decided to perch on the back seat's backrest, and at every bump and lurch in the unpaved road, the bird flapped its wings wildly to keep its balance, sending feathers everywhere and generally agitating everyone, in addition to shitting all over the back of the car.  We arrived at my great-aunt's house in Huanta a lot less put-together than when we left Huamanga, I must say.

This time around, the trip was more sedate.

It being Independence Day weekend, there was to be a bullfight later in the day and the sponsoring committee was out drumming up donations to give away at the event.

After visiting the Plaza of Huanta, we headed down the road to Luricocha district for lunch.

Luricocha is a semi-rural district, with many orchards producing up to 36 varieties of avocado in addition to a host of other fruits and vegetables.

Luricocha district is also known as the hometown of singer and actress Magaly Solier.

At Luricocha we ate at a place called Recreo Hildaria.  A recreo is a country establishment with plenty of outdoor areas, often some games available such as a soccer pitch or a fussball table or sapo, and offering hearty local fare.  Many are open only on weekends and holidays.

Recreo Hildaria, it turns, out was owned and run by a friend and former schoolmate of several of my younger uncles and aunt, Sr. Ernesto Saenz Jauregui.   We had a nice time chatting and catching him up on the news of the family, and meeting him provided a nice ending to a very pleasant day.

Huaráz Market

On Saturday and Sunday mornings we headed to Huaráz's Central Market for some shopping. Needless to say, Peruvian markets, particularly in the mountains, are a riot of colors, sights, sounds, and smells, and one is always guaranteed to find something worthwhile.

Heading toward the market, the yellow building on the left.

The boys playing fussball outside the market,
where tables are available for 50 centimos a game.

Shopping for some of the region's famed ham.

Hams, blood sausages, pork leg, cheeses, and honey at a market stall.

Pig heads.

Guinea pigs.

Buying corn.

Ocas (Oxalis tuberosa)

Ollucos (Ullucus tuberosus)

Ajíes and rocotos. Diego was very glad to find these as, he maintains, the ones produced by small farmers taste better and are hotter than commercially-grown ones.

Diego, in the meat and poultry section of the market

More Cuy

Liz was only in Lima for two days but, of course, we had to take her to Señor Cuy!

Susana, Carlos, Willy, Juancho, Toya, Ceci, Betty, Liz

We arranged to go on Tuesday and were joined by other family members and friends. As I had already eaten there previously, I decided to opt for a combination of flavours that I had not yet tried.

After the obligatory pisco sour, I decided -on Juancho's recommendation- to start with the fiambre de jamón serrano, which was comprised of slices of ham from Huaraz (a region well-known for its hams) over potatoes and topped with salsa criolla. I was very happy that I took Juancho's advice with this dish.

Fiambre de jamón serrano


Papa a la huancaína

Knowing that I'd get to try it, I convinced Liz to order the papa a la huancaína. Papa a la huancaína is a dish developed in Huancayo which consists of potatoes smothered in an ají and cheese sauce, which has become a standard of Peruvian cuisine. At Señor Cuy the papa a la huancaína is prepared the old-fashioned way, in a mortar. This method of preparation gives the dish a thicker, richer consistency and allows the cheese to stand out more than when its is prepared with an electric blender as is more usual these days.

Uchu cuy cusqueño

For my main dish, I opted for the Uchu cuy cusqueño in which the guinea pig is fried and then simmered in spicy sauce of ají, cilantro and parsley in the style of Cusco, and served with potatoes and rice. The flesh was tender and the subsequent simmering had removed the oilyness that one can sometimes get when the guinea pig is simply fried.

I washed this down with a tall glass of chicha de jora, or Andean corn beer.




Jora is sprouted corn. The jora is boiled and then allowed to ferment in water, which sometimes includes spices such as cloves or cinnamon, or fruit such as pineapple. Chicha de jora is a traditional Andean drink which has been made for thousands of years. There are some bottled versions but they suck, and most chicha de jora is made artisanly, for which reason I rarely partake of it. Not having to worry about health issues here, I enjoyed every drop.

Picante de cuy huanuqueño

Liz, on my recommendation, selected a quarter of a guinea pig in the style of Huanuco. In this instance the guinea pig is simmered in a sauce of ají, peanuts, and green onions, and served with boiled potatoes which have been rolled in the sauce. Liz doesn't usually eat cuy, but she enjoyed this one, although having ordered only a quarter she did not get as much meat as she would have liked.



My uncle Willy, one of the owners of the restaurant, joined us for lunch. He had the Arequipa-style cuy chaqtado, which is served with white potatoes and salsa criolla. In this preparation the cuy is deep-fried until it is crispy and the bones crunchy.

Cuy chaqtado arequipeño

All in all, another memorable meal at a truly unique establishment.

¡Salud!

Señor Cuy
Av. Andrés Reyes Nº 144
San Isidro, Lima
441-6568
http://www.senorcuy.com

Señor Cuy

Susana, Willy, Nico, and Toya

Today we had the much-awaited opportunity to lunch at Señor Cuy, the restaurant started by Willy and Toya, my dad's brother and sister.

The restaurant is small and intimate, with a décor that was kept nicely simple, giving the space an open feel, yet managing to keep it cozy and warm. A really nice touch are the reproductions of Colonial era paintings of the Last Supper, done by Indian artists, depicting Jesus and the Apostles dining on guinea pigs. In the picture you can see one there, on a platter in front of Jesus, who being the guest of honor would of course get the best food.

My mom ordered the Ayacucho-style preparation, in which the guinea pig is boiled with aromatic herbs and then fried with a crust of crushed toasted corn kernels. It was served with potatoes and an onion relish.

I figured I'd save Ayacucho-style guinea pig for when I will actually be in Ayacucho, and ordered half a guinea pig Huancayo-style - the front half, so I'd get the head. My dad ordered the same, but only one-quarter of a guinea pig, as he had ordered some qapchi as a starter. Qapchi is an Ayacuchano dish made by mashing fresh cheese with herbs and ají (what chile peppers are called here).

Huancayo is a city in the central Andean department of Junín, and their cuy preparation is very similar to an Ayacuchano dish called puka picante. "Puka" means 'red' in Quechua, and "picante" is 'spicy' in Spanish. The guinea pig was fried and served bathed in a piquant peanut sauce flavored with ají and colored red with ají colorado. The meat was the tenderest cuy flesh I have ever tasted, while the skin and bones were pleasantly crunchy. Simply, awesome.

I washed it down with a glass of chicha de jora - native corn beer- which was a rare treat for me.

Nicolas ordered the "Mister Cuy", which is cooked broaster-style and accompanied by french-fried yellow potatoes and a green salad. Nico just tore that sucker up - except for the vegetables.

Susana, being too tender-hearted to try guinea pig, opted for a chicken milanesa, which came with potatoes and salad as well. She was particularly glad for the salad, for not only the guinea pigs used at Señor Cuy raised organically, but the lettuce used is grown hydroponically, and could thus be eaten without worry.

We finished off lunch with desserts. Nico and Susana had a mousse de algarrobina, which they both really liked.

I opted for a traditional confection made from pumpkin. It was really sweet -almost too sweet for my tooth, as most old-style Peruvian desserts tend to be- but tasty.

OK, I know I am biased, but the food was excellent. Easily the best guinea pig I have eaten.

Señor Cuy
Av. Andrés Reyes Nº 144
San Isidro, Lima
441-6568
http://www.senorcuy.com