Fuerza Godoy!

This is a bit off-topic but it's an important issue that touches the entire Peru blog community.

On Oct. 29, 2010, Peruvian blogger Jose Alejandro Godoy, of Desde el Tercer Piso blog, was sentenced by a Peruvian judge to 3 years of prison (suspended), 120 days of community service, and restitution of US$107,000, in response to a defamation suit brought by former congressman and gov. minister Jorge Mufarech. The plaintiff argued that Godoy had defamed him when he published links to online news articles referencing criminal and ethical accusations against Mufarech.

Peru's entire blogosphere, and many of its civil rights and journalistic communities condemn this as a farcical and illegal sentence, and a dangerous precedent.

Black clam cebiche in Jesus Maria

Conchas negras - black clams- are one of the most prized ingredients for cebiche in Peru.   Native to the warmer waters nearer the equator, where they grow amidst the mangrove roots, black clams are harvested and shipped daily to Lima, which makes them a bit more expensive than other ingredients - at the market one pays for them by the unit.  However, as their flavor is dominant, other blander fishes can be mixed in without significantly reducing the clam flavor in the dish.

However, the best way to have them is alone in a cebiche.  They have an almost effervescent quality to them which seems to increase alertness -no wonder they are reputed to have aphrodisiac qualities. They also are the only shellfish in Peru that is used entire, with no part other than the shell being discarded.    

Aside from the clams themselves, the cebiche included lime juice, chopped aji limo, salt, aji-no-moto (monosodium glutamate), and chopped onion, with some beans, boiled corn, and toasted corn (cancha) added on top.

The "Crazy Cow" - Now With Sound!

Video from Diego's camera of Danny and the Vaca Loca at the pachamanca:

Looking back ...

Well, mostly what I can say is "wow, what a different kind of trip that was".  Eventful, and non-eventful the same time.

Eventful because there was the wedding, and by the end of the trip there were two engagements announced:  Mariana's and Cristy's.

Uneventful because, unlike in other instances, it was marked to a greater extent by what we didn't do this time.   For example, we didn't leave Lima.

Yes, of course, there were the trip to Caral and the overnight one to Chancay for the wedding, but both are basically in the neighborhood.   Normally, we head off to some other part of the country on a multi-day excursion -at least to Ayacucho, even if not elsewhere- but not this time, even though we did try to plan something around 28 de Julio.

Nor was there a to-do list as in other instances.  The apartment is furnished, the taxes paid up for the year, the paperwork apparently in order, so nothing to do on that front.

We did have guests who stayed with us around the wedding, and we showed them around town.  But we didn't hit any museums or ruins on those outings, and we ended up going to the same places -the Centro, Barranco, Miraflores- as each new set of visitors arrived.

The result was that at lot of time was spent as one does when one is at home: chatting, watching TV, reading, waiting one's turn to use the shower, etc.   And, partly due to people's work schedules, most of the outings involved meeting cousins, aunts, and uncles for meals at favorite restaurants or trying new ones.  I guess that's reflected in the amount of posts from this trip that deal with food and restaurants.    However, there were many more worthy restaurants and meals that were not mentioned, even though I had family members telling me "Did you bring the camera?  You've got to tell people about this place!"  Places like Vivaldino, Chala, Merlín de Cabo Blanco, etc.

Heck, I didn't even hit any museums or bookstores until my last three days in Lima!  Now that is a different sort of trip for me.

Miscellaneous Family Pics

Area 7 and Masacre

The night following the Magaly Solier concert, and my last full night in Lima, Jacho and I returned to La Noche, this time for something a bit different.   On Thursday night there were listed two acts of a more subte nature: Masacre and Area 7.

Masacre was the headline act.  I didn't remember this at the time, but Masacre is a metal band that has been around since the 1980s, and is a mainstay of Peru's metal scene along with bands such as Kranium.   Instead, I had half-expected a punkish-type concert.

Masacre is an accomplished band and is likeable enough, but truthfully I found some of their music to be pretty standard metal fare.  I was more impressed with the opening act, Area 7. 

Area 7, it turns out, is a band that was started in 1999 by lead singer Diana Foronda, as a metal cover band.  As the lineup changed, the band began to compose their own songs and evolved into an example of Peruvian "Nu Metal"  (i.e. 'new metal').  

 Area 7 stands out for being one of the few all-female Peruvian rock bands, and they're quite good at what they do, to boot.  They were a lot of fun to listen to.  I'm sure, however, -in fact I know- Jacho would disagree.

It was actually kind of an amusing scene.  We two forty-somethings posted at the end of the bar with an expensive bottle of pisco, surrounded by disheveled teens and twenty-somethings drinking beer out of 1-L plastic tumblers and whirling about the mosh pit.  Jacho's such a good sport for having gone with me!

Here's a video of Area 7 in action that I found on YouTube:

The quality on videos of them on Youtube generally is fairly poor, but good recordings can be listened to here. I specially like "Fuerte, Intenso".

From the stage Diana announced that they'll have an album coming out for download by the end of the month.  I look forward to getting it.