Peruvia

AToledo At OAS: The Associated Press reports that President Toledo was the only head of state from "a major South American country" to attend the ceremonies around former Costa Rican President Miguel Angel Rodriguez becoming the new Secretary General of the Organization of American States. NOTE: There were "11 hemispheric heads of state and government, the largest such gathering at the OAS since the signing of the Panama Canal treaties in 1977." They were from the Caribbean and Central America. The Associated Press also has photographs of the event.

AFujimori/AToledo Respond: Agence France Press and the Miami Herald (last item) repeat earlier reports that Alberto Fujimori, in an interview from Tokyo, said that he will not be forced to return to Peru to stand trial -- as President Alejandro Toledo wants -- but rather will return on his own schedule. Xinhua News reports that Peru will file a new request for Japan to extradite Alberto Fujimori. "The extradition request was ratified Thursday by Peruvian Foreign Minister Manuel Rodriguez, said Toledo. NOTE: "According to Rodriguez, a new extradition petition against Fujimori will be filed on charges that Fujimori made an irregular payment of US$15 million to Vladimiro Montesinos." See Also: ‘AFujimori Responds’ in yesterday’s Peruvia.

Retiring Shifts, cont.: Dow Jones reports that Alan Garcia "criticized the cabinet's proposals now before Congress aimed at overhauling the nation's pension system. This week, the legislature started a second round of debate on modifications to the heavily subsidized state pension plan known as Law 20530, or the cedula viva." Said Garcia, "We consider that for the moment the bill that the executive branch sent doesn't satisfy the desire to improve pensions for those who receive the least, and doesn't give guarantees there will be annual increases, however small." NOTE: "About 295,000 pensioners are eligible under Law 20530, which ties payments to the salary of the person currently holding the post. The pension also passes to a spouse and subsequently to any unmarried daughter." ALSO: Deputy Finance Minister Fernando Zavala said on CPN radio that, "We believe that if the pension reform is approved in Congress we will in the future have a more viable system and be able to make adjustments for those who receive the least." See Also: ‘Retiring Shifts’ in yesterday’s Peruvia.

Art in NYork: The New York Times reviews and a press release announces The Colonial Andes: Tapestries and Silverwork, 1530-1830, "a sumptuous, groundbreaking exhibition at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art that opens next week." NOTE: "The Spanish influence on Incan crafts began with the books, prints, domestic objects and textiles imported from Spain by the conquerors. It continued with instruction from priests and from European artists and artisans (including Flemish weavers and German silversmiths), as well as with commissions from wealthy colonists. And it was further complicated by the influx of Chinese objects, textiles and even artisans that began when Spain opened sea routes to Asia. By the early 1600's, the Spanish had re-established workshops like those overseen by the Incas (although conditions were much harsher). By late in the century, what scholars now call the Andean Baroque was in full swing." ALSO: The Colonial Andes "is the first in-depth combined examination of the silverwork and textiles that were the fruit of this development. It was organized by Elena Phipps, a textiles conservator at the Met, and Johanna Hecht, an associate curator in its department of European sculpture and decorative arts, in consultation with Cristina Esteras Martín, a specialist in Spanish colonial silver. It presents about 150 examples of tapestry and silverwork from public and private collections on four continents, many of which have never been exhibited before, much less together." NOTE: "Their display is enhanced by a selection of queros, the handsome wood beakers (whose richly colored designs are inlaid, not just painted on) from which the Incans drank maize beer for pleasure and ritually to seal agreements, and by large paintings, almost all depicting objects similar to those in the show." NOTE: "Weaving, having preceded ceramics in the Andes cultures by about 1,000 years (usually it was the other way around), enjoyed an unequaled centrality." See Also: The accompanying catalog of the exhibit; and an article related to the exhibit in the Met Museum’s Met Objectives.

Art in Wash DC: The Washington Post notes that a new exhibit, "New Images: Peru Century XXI," will be at the Art Muesum of the Americas at the Organization of American States from Septembe 27 through October 8.

Saving Penguins: The Associated Press has a photograph of Peruvian biologist Lyda Lizette Bermudez Larrazabal feeding a baby Humboldt penguin in Lima’s Hauchipa Zoo (otherwise known as Centro Ecologico Recreacional Huachipa). "The private zoo is trying to boost the population of the endangered birds, which are native to the coast of southern Peru and northern Chile. The penguins are threatened by coastal dwellers, who eat them, and fishermen, who see them as competitors and kill them off." See Also: A series of photographs of the Huachipa Zoo.

Newmont’s Troubles, cont.: LatinAmerica Press reports from Cerro Quilish, "a mountain that Latin America’s top gold producer estimates has 3.7 million ounces of gold but that residents of Peru’s northern Cajamarca region say harbors a key underground water reserve [which] has been converted into the Achilles heel of a long-standing relationship of mistrust between the miner and the community, observers say." And the New York Times reports on Newmont Mining’s work in Indonesia reporting that "the Indonesian police had detained six of its officials after questioning them about accusations of pollution from a company mine in northern Indonesia." It concludes that "the detentions represent another setback for the company, which has also been accused of causing pollution at a major mine in Yanacocha, Cajamarca." See Also: ‘Newmont’s Troubles’ in September 21’s Peruvia.

More Mining: Canadian Shield Resources announced in a press release that that they "retained First Associates Investments Inc. to act as the Sponsor for the Company in connection with the Company's proposed acquisition of 44.7% in Compania Minera Poderosa, a private Peruvian mining company that operates the Poderosa Mine in Northern Peru.

GGutierrez Honored: Florida’s Barry University awarded Gustavo Gutierrez the Yves Congar Award for Theological Excellence which "recognizes the contributions of contemporary theologians working, writing, and teaching, as did Cardinal Yves Congar, OP (1904-1995), in light of tradition and moving the tradition forward in meeting the challenges of the late Twentieth and early Twenty-first centuries." Gutierrez is the John Cardinal O’Hara Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame (USA) and is a professor at the Universite Catholique de Lyon (France).

LHorna In Davis: Reuters has photographs of Luis Horna, "Peru's top singles player" as he "trains for his team's Davis Cup encounter against Brazil in Brasilia in the Americas Zone Group I playoff from September 24-26.

Which Century? The University of Arizona’s Daily Wildcat suggests that "in eighth and ninth century Peru, a special type of bullfighting was practiced. The matadors fought the bulls on horseback, and the best fighters were women. The women matadors were known as capeadoñas. Juanita Brena, a well-known capeadoña of the 19th century, had a distinctive fighting style: She pursued the bull at full tilt riding sidesaddle."

Tattoo Festival: Reuters has photographs of the 1st International Tattoo and Corporal Art Convention taking place in Lima. "More than 40 tattoo studios from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, France, Peru, Spain and the USA participated in the first event of this type."