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The Republic of Peru (Spanish: República del Perú), is a country in western South America, bordering Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Brazil to the east, Bolivia to the east, south-east and south, Chile to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west.  Known as the cradle of the Inca empire, Peru is rich in culture and history. It harbors many indigenous ethnic groups, making it a major fieldwork site for cultural anthropologists.

Culture

Like its rich national history, the popular culture of contemporary Peru is the result of a fusion of cultures, constituted primarily from the cultural legacy of the Incas and the culture of Spain. This cultural mixture has been further enriched by the contributions of so many other cultures of the world that have come to call Peru home throughout its history; from African slaves, to non-Hispanic Europeans, and even East Asians. Together they have given rise to one of the richest and varied cultures in the world.

Art

The art of Peru was shaped by the melting between Spanish and Amerindian cultures. During pre-Columbian times, Peru was one of the major centers of artistic expression in The Americas, where Pre-Inca cultures, such as Chavín, Moche, Paracas, Huari (Wari), Nazca, Chimu, and Tiahuanaco developed high-quality pottery, textiles, jewelry, and sculpture.

Drawing upon earlier cultures, the Incas continued to maintain these crafts but made even more impressive achievements in architecture. The mountain town of Machu Picchu and the buildings at Cuzco are excellent examples of Inca architectural design.

During the colonial period, Spanish baroque fused with the rich Inca tradition to produce mestizo art. The Cuzco school of largely anonymous Indian artists followed the Spanish baroque tradition with influence from the Italian, Flemish, and French schools.

Painter Francisco Fierro made a distinctive contribution to this school with his portrayals of typical events, manners, and customs of mid-19th-century Peru. Francisco Lazo, forerunner of the indigenous school of painters, also achieved fame for his portraits.

Peru has passed early 20th century brought "indigenismo," expressed in a new awareness of Indian culture. Since World War II, Peruvian writers, artists, and intellectuals such as Cesar Vallejo and José María Arguedas have participated in worldwide intellectual and artistic movements, drawing especially on U.S. and European trends.

In the decade after 1932, the "indigenous school" of painting headed by José Sabogal dominated the cultural scene in Peru. A subsequent reaction among Peruvian artists led to the beginning of modern Peruvian painting. Sabogal's resignation as director of the National School of Arts in 1943 coincided with the return of several Peruvian painters from Europe who revitalized "universal" and international styles of painting in Peru.

During the 1960s, Fernando de Szyszlo, an internationally recognized Peruvian artist, became the main advocate for abstract painting and pushed Peruvian art toward modernism. Peru remains an art-producing center with painters such as Fernando de Szyslo, Gerardo Chavez, José Tola, Alberto Quintanilla, and José Carlos Ramos, along with sculptor Victor Delfín, gaining international stature.  Promising young artists continue to develop now that Peru's economy allows more promotion of the arts.

Music

Typical instruments include the Andean flute and pan-pipes (Quena and Zampoña), the Cajon drum used in Afro Peruvian music, and the traditional Spanish guitar. Peru is home to thousands of dances of pre Inca, Andean and mestizo origin. The southern Andean region is famous for the Huayno.

Arequipa is the proud creator of the famous Yaraví, a melancholy style of A Capella that evokes the solitude of the mountains. Probably the most well known song of this style is "El Condor Pasa", a traditional Peruvian song popularized in the United States by the folk duo Simon & Garfunkel and featured in the movie "The Graduate". The original composition consists of a Yaraví, followed by an Inca "Pasacalle" and a Huayno fugue, three traditional Inca rhythms. The Huaylas, by contrast, is a cheery, rhythmic style from the central Andes.

The coast has a different feel to its music than its Andean counterpart. Primarily Spanish in origin, coastal culture combines traditional European rhythms such as the flamenco and the waltz with Creole, African and Gypsy influences to create the wide range of styles we hear today. Lima's most well known musical style is the Vals Peruano (Peruvian Waltz), popularized by the great Chabuca Granda. She is widely considered the most important composer of Coastal Creole music, with such songs as La Flor de La Canela, Fina Estampa, and José Antonio. Other commonly known Vals Peruano tunes are: Alma Corazon y Vida, Odiame, Mi Propiedad Privada, El Plebeyo, and Devuelveme El Rosario de Mi Madre, some of which are sung by Caribbean artists in the Bolero or Salsa version.

Afro Peruvian music is most commonly performed by duos of Creole guitars, the Cajon and spoon rhythms. African derived rhythms like the Festejo and Landó are common among the Afro-Peruvian communities of the southern coast. Susana Baca is a renowned singer and composer of Afro Peruvian music. She won a Grammy award in 2002 for her album Lamento Negro.

The Marinera is the National Dance of Peru, named in honor of the marines who fought against the Chilean military in the War of the Pacific. Among Peruvians of the coast, it is considered as traditional and representative as the Tango is to Argentina. Many people take classes and look forward to the annual Marinera Festival held in the city of Trujillo every July, with thousands in attendance. Lambayeque and Piura are also known for their marineras and tonderos.

Lima is famous for the Señor de los Milagros Procession and Bullfighting, which takes place in Plaza de Toros Acho ? the oldest bullfighting venue of the Americas. Considered the largest procession in South America, congregating devotees from all over the country, the Señor de los Milagros or Lord of Miracles Procession takes place during October. During the whole month, known as the mes morado (purple month), minor observations are celebrated in honor of the patron saint whose color is purple. The main event occurs the 18th: dressed in purple habits, hundreds of thousands of devotees sing and pray while accompanying the image on its 24-hour route from the Nazarenas temple to La Merced church in the Barrios Altos district.

Cuisine

Peruvian cuisine, for years unnoticed abroad, has recently exploded onto the world gastronomic scene. Peruvian cuisine is a blend of Amerindian and Spanish roots, but has also been influenced by other groups, including Africans, Italians, Chinese and Japanese, all of whom have added their own ingredients and traditions to the mix.

Peru's many climate zones also make it possible to grow a wide range of crops. There are the dozens of native potato, maize and chili pepper varieties from the Andes, to the plentiful fish and seafood from the Pacific coast, mangoes and limes from the coastal valleys, and bananas and manioc from the Amazon jungle.

One of Peru's most known dishes is the ceviche, which is a type of seafood cocktail where the fish has been cooked in lemon. Other typical food include staples from the Andes; chicha (maize beer), humitas (tamales), roast guinea pig, criolla, etc.

History

Peru was home to various Pre-Inca cultures and later, to the Inca Empire. Francisco Pizarro landed on the Peruvian coast in 1532, and by the end of the 1530s the Viceroyalty of Peru encompassed all of Spain's territories in South America.  The Viceroyalty was a major source of gold and silver for the Spanish Empire. Lima was one of the two most important cities in Spain's empire in America, the other being Mexico City. It is said that the country received its name from a Spaniard pronunciation of the Belu River.

Peru declared its independence from Spain on July 28, 1821 thanks to an alliance between the Army of José de San Martín, and the Army of Simón Bolívar. Its first elected president, however, was not in power until 1827.

From 1836 to 1839 Peru and Bolivia were united in the Peru-Bolivian Confederacy lead by Andrés de Santa Cruz. The confederation dissolved due to internal conflicts and finally in a war with Chile with the support of Peruvian expatriates. Between these years, political unrest did not fade away, with the Army as an important political force.

In 1864, Spain organized a naval so called science expedition, which it's main objective was to recover control of its former colonies. Spain started occupying the Chinchas Islands and arresting Peruvian citizens in 1864, and legitimated this act based on that Spaniards were mistreated on Peruvian ground.

After that incident, the Spaniard Fleet destroyed the Chilean harbor of Valparaiso. Following this, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru officially signed an alliance to defeat Spain by the end of December 1865. The Spaniard Fleet tried to destroy the harbor of Callao, but they failed. Main naval battles fought where the Battle of Papudo in 1865, Battle of Abtao and Battle of Callao in 1866.

In 1879 Peru entered into the so-called War of the Pacific, which would last until 1884. Bolivia invoked its alliance with Peru against Chile. The Peruvian Government attempted to mediate the dispute by sending a diplomatic team to negotiate with the Chilean government; however, the committee concluded that war was inevitable. Chile declared war on April 5, 1879.

After almost five years of war, it ended with the loss of the department of Tarapacá and the provinces of Tacna and Arica, in the Atacama region. After the war, an extraordinary effort of reconstruction began. Political stability was achieved only during the early years of the 1900s.

In 1929 Peru and Chile signed a final peace treaty, (Treaty of Ancon) by which Tacna was to be returned to Peru and Peru yielded permanently the rich provinces of Arica and Tarapaca, although keeping certain rights to the port activities in Arica and decisions of what Chile can do on those territories.

During World War II, Peru aligned to the Unites States and its allies in the war against Germany and Japan.  Between 1941 and 1995 there were a series of three wars between Peru and Ecuador over the control of the territory in the northern part of modern-day Peru.  The dispute officially ended in 1998, when Peru was awarded most of the disputed territory.

Government

Geography

Peru is bordered by Ecuador and Colombia on the north, Brazil to the east, and Bolivia and Chile to the southeast and south, respectively. To the west lies the Pacific Ocean. Eastern Peru consists mostly of the moist tropical jungles of the Amazon Rain Forest, the largest on Earth.

In the southeast along the border with Bolivia lies Lake Titicaca ? the highest navigable lake in the world. The Altiplano plateau is a dry basin located along the slopes of the Andes in southeastern Peru. Along the border with Chile, the Atacama Desert is the driest place on the planet.

The Pacific Ocean is home to a large amount and variety of fish life. The Sechura Desert is located in northwestern Peru along the Pacific coastline.

The main rivers of the Peru include the Ucayali, Marañon, Amazon (which is formed by the confluence of the Marañon and the Ucayali), Putumayo, Pastaza, Napo, Jurua, and the Purus.

The largest cities include Lima (the capital and the economic and cultural centre), Arequipa, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Callao (a suburb of Lima), Piura, Iquitos, Chimbote, Huancayo, Cusco (the capital of the ancient Inca Empire), Pucallpa, and Cajamarca.

Economy

The Peruvian economy has become increasingly market oriented, with major privatizations completed since 1990 in the mining, electric/power, and telecommunications industries. Thanks to strong foreign investment and the cooperation between the former Fujimori administration, the IMF, and the World Bank, growth was strong in 1994-97 and inflation was brought under control.

In 1998, El Niño's impact on agriculture, the financial crisis in Asia, and instability in Brazilian markets undercut growth. 1999 was another lean year for Peru, with the aftermath of El Niño and the Asian financial crisis working its way through the economy. Lima did manage to complete negotiations for an Extended Fund Facility with the IMF in June 1999, although it subsequently had to renegotiate the targets. Pressure on spending grew in the run-up to the 2000 elections.

Growth up to the year 2005 has been driven by construction, investment, domestic demand, and exports to different world regions. Peru's economy is one of the better-managed in Latin America. Over the next few years, the country is likely to attract both domestic and foreign investment in the tourism, agriculture, mining, construction, industry, petroleum and natural gas, and power industries.

It has taken steps to consolidate a possible free trade agreement with United States of America by April 2006; both countries wait for the approval of the terms by their respective congresses. Peru is negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with Chile, Mexico and Singapore which may be finished between March and April 2006.

Peru currently has a free trade agreements with the Andean Community, which is composed of Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela. It also holds free trade agreements with many of the countries in Mercosur as well as Thailand, and during the recent APEC summit, Peru voiced intentions to sign free trade agreements with China, Japan, South Korea.

It is also pushing for a free trade agreement with the European Union. All these negotiations will broadly expand the markets in which the Peruvian products are traded. Peru has a great export potential in agricultural products, textiles, clothing, shoes, petroleum derivatives, natural gas, minerals, as well as fish and seafood products, tourism, and manufacturing.

In 2005 Peruvian exports reached US$ 17.1 billion (an increase of 34.6% compared to 2004) and it is expected to grow 35% for this year reaching US$23.5 billion at the end of 2006. Also, the economy has shown a healthy grow in all its sectors (energy, construction, commerce, fishing, manufacturing, tourism, etc) in 2005 growing over 6.67% (one the fastest growth rates in South America) and it is projected to grow a strong 7% for 2006 considering that commodity prices, which Peru is a great producer, will have an estimated increment of 25% on average.

For the next five years (until 2010) the Peruvian government has registered over US$ 10 billion in private investment (both domestic and foreign) in the mining and energy sectors, as well as investments of US$ 15 billion in other sectors such as industry, commerce, tourism, seafood and agriculture, which will keep the economy growing at healthy levels of 5% or more, annually.

Unfortunately poverty in Peru is still very high, with a rate of 51.6% of the total population, however the poverty rate is being reduced slowly and it is expected to be reduced to 25% of the population in 15 years.

Demographics

Ethnography

Peru is one of only three countries in Latin America whose largest segment of the population is comprised of Amerindians - where almost half of all Peruvians, or 45 percent, is Amerindian.

Mestizos, a term that denotes people of mixed European and Amerindian ancestry, constitute around 37% of the people. Another 15% is of unmixed European ancestry, the majority living in Peru's largest cities, including Trujillo, Arequipa and Lima.

The two major indigenous ethnic groups are the various Quechua-speaking populations, followed closely by the Aymará, as well as several dozen small Amerindian ethnic tribes scattered throughout the country beyond the Andes Mountains and in the Amazon basin.

A large proportion of Amerindians who live in the Andean highlands still speak Quechua or Aymara, and have a rich culture which was part of the Inca Empire, the most advanced agricultural civilization in the world. In the low lands of the Amazon Jungle there are thousands of indigenous Amazonians dispersed over thousands of square miles of inexpugnable jungles and 3 large cities (Iquitos, Puerto Maldonado, and Pucallpa) with a population of more than one million and an area larger than the US states of Texas and West Virginia combined.

Language

Peru has two official languages - Spanish and the foremost indigenous language, Quechua. Spanish is used by all coastal Peruvians, the government, the media, and in education and formal commerce; although there is an increasing and organized effort to teach Quechua in public schools.

The major obstacle to a more widespread use of the Quechua language is the lack of modern media which use it: for example books, newspapers, software, magazines, technical journals, etc. However, non-governmental organizations as well as state sponsored groups are involved in projects to edit and translate major works into the Quechua language; for instance, in late 2005 a superb version of Don Quixote was presented in Quechua.

Despite this work an even more fundamental problem remains: most of the native speakers of Quechua are illiterate. Thus, Quechua, along with Aymara and the minor indigenous languages, remains essentially an oral language. Until more work is done in terms of teaching written Quechua, it is unlikely to rival Spanish as the major language of the country.

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Peru is a presidential representative democratic republic with a multi-party system. Under the current constitution, the President is the head of state and government; he or she is elected for five years and may not immediately be re-elected. The President designates the Prime Minister and, with his advice, the rest of the Council of Ministers. There is a unicameral Congress with 120 members, also elected for a five-year period. Bills, which may be proposed by either the executive or the legislative branch, become law if approved by Congress and promulgated by the President. The judiciary is legally independent from the executive and legislative branches, but political intervention into judicial matters has been common throughout history and arguably continues today.

 

The Peruvian government is directly elected; voting is compulsory for all citizens aged eighteen to seventy. Members of the Armed Forces and the Police are not allowed to vote or be elected. General elections held in 2006 ended in a second round victory for presidential candidate Alan García of the Peruvian Aprista Party (52.6% of valid votes) over Ollanta Humala of Union for Peru (47.4%). Congress is currently composed of Union for Peru (45 seats), the Peruvian Aprista Party (35 seats), National Unity (17 seats), Alliance for the Future (13 seats), the Center Front (5 seats), Peru Possible (2 seats), and National Restoration (2 seats).

Foreign relations have historically been dominated by border conflicts with neighboring countries; most of them were settled during the 20th century. There is still an ongoing dispute with Chile over maritime limits in the Pacific Ocean. Peru is an active member of several regional blocs and is one of the founders of the Andean Community of Nations. It is also a participant in international organizations such as the Organization of American States and the United Nations, where it is an elected member of the Security Council for the 2006–2007 term.

Peru's military is composed of an army, a navy and an air force; its primary mission is to safeguard the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. The armed forces are subordinate to the Ministry of Defense and ultimately to the President as Commander-in-Chief. Conscription was abolished in 1999 and replaced by voluntary military service.