Peruvia

Being Peruvian In Japan: Japan Times reviews Wakaranai ("I don't know" in Japanese) "a new, free-of-charge magazine on Peruvian life in this country that is the brainchild of Mario Castro, Japan correspondent for El Comercio. The initial print run of 6,000 copies went out Sept. 1." Castro has been in Japan for almost 13 years and sees his target audience as "the estimated 70,000 Peruvians in Japan -- as many as a fifth of them illegal immigrants and living across the country, with concentrations in Kanagawa and Tochigi prefectures." NOTE: "The first article, on page 4, discusses the 18-year prison sentence handed out to Enrique Jorge Morales Toguchi, a Peruvian man living in Japan, who was convicted of reckless driving that killed two people. (See 'Peruvian Gets Sentenced' in August 4's Peruvia.) ALSO: "Over 85% of Peruvian immigrants here have Japanese ancestry. No surname is better known than the one on the front cover, beneath a caricature of its bearer: Fujimori ... with an article on his reported relationship with socialite author and hotel-owner Satomi Kataoka, whom The New York Times called his "companion"; a list of spots in Tokyo where Fujimori has stayed; and a brief on Peruvian efforts to have him extradited for alleged human rights violations." The article includes the depiction of Fujimori on the cover of the magazine and a photo of Mario Castro. In Spanish: Read one of Castro’s latest stories in El Comercio.

Peruvian Ex-Pats in Japan, cont.: Interpress News reports that remittances from Japan, "sent home by tens of thousands of foreign workers, both undocumented and those holding working visas, has made Japan a leading source of foreign exchange for developing countries - surpassing Tokyo's foreign aid budget." NOTE: "While illegal immigrants are attracted to the underground banks because they cannot usually open legitimate bank accounts, legal foreign workers in Japan - especially those from Peru - are able to use the services of Convenio Kyodai Japon, one of the country's few banks that operates officially to send remittances to Latin America." ALSO: "Japan has 52,000 registered Peruvian workers, the fifth largest community of migrant workers. Yukiko Horiuchi, a spokesperson, says the bank has 40,000 Peruvian clients who send back on average between 30 to 40 percent of their salaries. See Also: Several newspapers today also run an older story from the Associated Press story on remittances from Peru to Japan. This was included in 'Peruvian Ex-Pats in Japan' in September 13's Peruvia.

Observing (Peruvian) Skies: Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun reports on Japanese-Peruvian astronomer Mutsumi Ishitsuka Komaki and his 44-year-old son Jose K. Ishitsuka Iba and their participation in the construction of Peru's first radio telescope which "will be completed next spring by Japanese-Peruvian, but the observatory's resources are tight, and it cannot afford the 5.5 million yen to fund its first year of operations." The Ishitsukas will be asking "for donations at a meeting of the Astronomical Society of Japan in Morioka on Tuesday, when they unveil the plans for the telescope." NOTE: Mutsumi Ishitsuka is the Director of the Ancón Observatory of the Geophysics Institute of Peru. ALSO: "In 1957, Mutsumi went to Peru as a Kyoto University graduate with plans to build an observatory from which he could track sunspots. ... The observatory was destroyed in 1988 in an act of terrorism." CITED: Japanese National Astronomical Observatory Director General Norio Kaifu who declared, "We hope to make Ishitsukas' plans a reality in Peru, but we need a lot of help." In Spanish: See this September 5, 2004 article in El Comercio.

Newmont’s Troubles, cont.: The Miami Herald offers this one line inside its 'Latin Briefs' column: "Residents who had been protesting South America's largest gold mine have stopped blocking roads, allowing traffic to flow to the U.S.-owned Yanacocha mine on Saturday." See Also: ‘Newmont’s Troubles’ in yesterday’s Peruvia.

NYT Travel Correction #3: The New York Times offers correction Number Three to their August 15 travel story on luxury train rides to Machu Picchu. "An article on Aug. 15 about the Inca ruins at Machu Picchu, in Peru, misspelled the name of the author of "The White Rock," an Andean travelogue. An e-mail message received on Sept. 10 from the book's author, Hugh Thomson, pointed out that his surname is not Thompson." Correction #1 ran the same day the story did (see August 15's Peruvia). Correction #2 ran the following week (see August 22's Peruvia). Last week, the New York Times ran a critical letter on the article (not online; see September 12's Peruvia.) See Also: Hugh Thomson's page which includes information on his 'The White Rock.'

Fluor Gets More Press: The CalTrade Report repeats the press release from the Fluor Corp as a story from Aliso Viejo near Ilo. "The Fluor Corp. has begun work on the first copper smelter modernization of its kind in South America. The smelter - owned and operated by the Southern Peru Copper Corporation (SPCC) near Ilo, Peru - is being modernized to comply with environmental emissions regulations mandated by the Peruvian government and will produce copper that can be sent on to other facilities for further processing." See Also: 'More Mining' in September 13's Peruvia.

EAyllón on USA Tour: The Boston Globe notes that Eva Ayllon's tour arrives locally on October 16 at the Berklee Performance Center. "North American world music fans were likely first introduced to Eva Ayllon when her song Azucar de Cana appeared on the David Byrne-produced compilation (and out-of-print) ‘The Soul of Black Peru.’ Ayllon is considered the ‘Queen of Afro-Peruvian Lando,’ and her eclectic style encompasses African and Spanish music. Born Maria Angelica Ayllon Urbina, she has been making music since the late 1970s and excels at the various rhythms of black Peru, including lando, festejo, and alcatraz." NOTE: The article does not mention her new release,"Eva! Leyenda Peruana," which was released last week. Earlier: Wisconsin's Capital Times interviews Eva Ayllón, "a full-fledged diva in her native Peru." See Also: ‘EAyllón on Tour in USA’ in September 15’s Peruvia. You can review her tour schedule on her official website.

USA Documentary in Cuzco: Several Knight Ridder newspapers run a short review on ‘My Americas’ a PBS travel-adventure series which explores USA Latinos/Hispanics eploring their heritage throughout Latin America. Tonight’s episode (see channel listings around the USA) focuses on a trip to Cuzco where narrator Roberto Alcaraz explains why he set out to explore his Latino heritage – "to find the past in the present.'' ALSO: "Roberto arrives in the capital of the Incan empire just in time to witness the incredible march of saints' statues at the feast of Corpus Christi. He then follows platforms bearing Saint Sebastian and Saint Jerome into the city from a small town, along with masked men with large chunks of ice on their backs brought down from the sacred glacier of Qoylloriti." A September 3 Maryknoll press release says the television show is based Maryknoll-funded Spanish language program Caminante. My Americas is also Maryknoll-funded.

SVillarán in Guatemala: The Associated Press offers photographs of Peruvian Susana Villarán de la Puente, a special observer for human rights from the Organization of American States, speaks during a press conference in Guatemala City. Villaran visited Guatemala for one week to investigate crimes and violence against women." See Also: ‘People’ in yesterday’s Peruvia for a recent speech of hers on human rights.

TV Prize: The Arizona Daily Star and a KUAT-TV press release report that 'Peruvian Journey' won a regional Emmy Award in Phoenix. The television piece was produced by Dan Duncan and Thomas Kleespie and aired by PBS station KUAT on their "Arizona Illustrated" program. NOTE: "The segment "focuses on the Andean region around southern Peru, where in less than 100 miles a traveler can go from sea level to more than 20,000 feet, and from the jungle to the driest desert in the world."

Eating in Queens: New York Newsday reviews El Pisco restaurant in Maspeth, Queens and gives it one-star. The restaurant used to be El Encuentro.

AIDS & TB: The New York Times Magazine has an essay by Tina Rosenberg on AIDS and tuberculosis treatments and reports that through a "strategy known as DOTS (Directly-Observed Treatment, Short-Course)" using TB pills, "Peru and Vietnam cure more than 90 percent of their cases."

Mayor Lynched, cont.: New York Newsday has an investigative piece on the the lynching of a mayor in the Aymara Bolivia town of Ayo Ayo. It cites the lynching last Spring in Ilave, Puno. See Also: "Mayor Lynched' in April 27's Peruvia.

Taking Babies to Cuzco: The Guardian's Travel section offers this Q&A: "Q: My Peruvian wife and I, would like to take our newborn daughter to visit family in Cuzco. We are worried about the altitude and what affect this might have on one so young. Don McCaffrey - - A: A baby will experience everything you will including breathlessness, increased heart-rate and dizziness. This will be a confusing and disorienting experience for a traveller so young, as well as being unpleasant for you as parents. If you have to make this journey, fly into Lima (which is at sea level) and take at least a week, preferably longer, to ascend very slowly to Cuzco."