Peruvia

MPicchu In Opulence: The New York Times offers a travel story on riding PeruRail's Hiram Bingham, "its new, opulent train that runs between Cuzco and Aguas Calientes, the town from which buses ascend a zigzag nine-mile road to the ruins." Written by Robin Cembalest (editor of ARTnews) on her first trip to Machu Picchu, compares the cost of the Hiram Bingham ("a whopping $416.50 per person, round trip") to the Vistadome ($89.25 roundtrip), "and the aptly named Backpacker is just $59.50." However, while the Vistadome leaves Cuzco at 6 a.m., and the Backpacker at 6:15, "the Hiram Bingham departs at the civil hour of 9 a.m. It also leaves [Machu Picchu] several hours later than the other two." She takes note of her boyfriend accompanying her, the Peruvian artist, Moico Yaker, who saw a Myiotheretes striaticollis. ALSO: The Times includes a correction on their story (the Travel section is printed several days earlier than the rest of the paper): "Because of editing errors, [the] article ... gives an incorrect location for the nearby rail station and refers incorrectly to a scene above a hotel. The station is Aguas Calientes, not Machu Picchu. The writer said she saw trails above the hotel, not trains."

Nuevo Continente Still Banned? Several newspapers in California, including the Mercury News and the San Luis Obispo Tribune include this in their Travel sections today: "Peru's largest airline remains off-limits to U.S. citizens. ... More recently, the airline re-emerged as Nuevo Continente, and some travel agents are booking U.S. citizens on its flights. But they and their clients are risking fines and even jail time. Violations of the Kingpin Act carry penalties of up to $10 million and 30 years imprisonment, although penalties would likely be a lot less."

Fliming the Continent: The Arizona Republic profiles documentary filmmaker Cristofer Pereyra who, with his cousin, Andres Rodriguez, will be conducting " 'man on the street' interviews with the people of Latin America" for the next several months. The social and cultural profiles will focus on their daily lives, beliefs and worries." NOTE: According to Pereyra, a Peruvian American and former reporter with Univsion channel KTVW, "the project is titled Pacha Mama." Travelling through 14 countries in Pereyra's 1994 Toyota 4Runner, the film will wrap up in Machu Picchu. Sponsors include: Arizona State University's Center for Latin American Studies and the Organizacion Latinos Unidos.

Comparing Leaders: The Miami Herald's Andres Oppenheimer writes about the referendum in Venezuela in today's column and manages to compare AGarcía to FCastro. "Latin America is full of former populist presidents who destroyed their countries' economies decades ago and are still around, making fiery speeches that make their countries' front pages. Just look at Peru's Alan García, or Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega, not to mention Cuba's Fidel Castro."

Food In Washington: Today's Washington Post magazine features the newly renamed La Flor de la Canela in Gaithersburg (Md) and owned by friends Juan Rodriguez and Lilian Clary. NOTE: "One element of the operation, though, has stayed the same. 'We both basically live here,' jokes Rodriguez." ALSO: "Even people who typically turn up their noses at tripe have been known to become converts to the dish -- let's be frank, it's stomach lining -- the way Clary prepares it."

Designing In Lima: The New York Times offers a fashion story on Laurinda Spear, a founder of the architectural firm Arquitectonica in Miami, and mentions her work on the Banco de Credito in Lima. The article mentiones her Peruvian husband, Bernardo Fort-Brescia, and includes a bit on a surfing trip to Peru. The piece also includes a photograph of Spear by Ana Cecilia Gonzales (El Comercio).

Star Professor: The Independent names Professor Paul Julian Smith (Cambridge University; on leave at Stanford this year) as "a star" on Peruvian literature in a review of Spanish and Latin American Studies degrees. ALSO: "How cool is it? Very. Latin American culture is where it's at these days."

Puno in Art: Florida's Sun-Sentinel profiles Boca Raton artist Patricia Boldizar who received 'Best of Show' at an exhibit in Delray Beach for her Los Turistas, "a watercolor of people browsing in the Puno Market in Peru."