Our Christmas Party

The company Christmas party is, of course, a staple of American work culture. This year at Peru Mission, we took our first shot at it, organizing a simple dinner in a local hotel restaurant, followed by the handing out of a Peruvian tradition: "Christmas baskets" containing such useful items as sugar, oil, hot chocolate and of course fruitcake or paneton.

Here are my co-workers, from missionaries to architects & engineers, with volunteers ranging from teachers at our English institute to staff of our medical clinic...

More Dances of Northern Peru

Below are some videos I took at Cananas, a touristy restaurant in Trujillo that features a late-night show of "criolla" singing & dancing. (Peruvian cuisine and music is referred to as "criolla" or creole because of its mixed Spanish, indigenous, African & Asian roots.)

The first video is "marinera", a romantic dance typical of Trujillo; the second and third are of "tondero", a similar dance native to Piura further north.













Incidentally, the true indigenous dancing of Peru (or at least the Andes) is called "huayno", and also features lots of stepping and using a handkerchief or scarf as a prop. And of course, salsa and other styles of Latin dancing are very popular at parties and social gatherings.

Most wedding receptions in Peru start with the Blue Danube as the first waltz of the bride and groom, followed by lots of Latin dancehall music, and wrap up at the end with a marinera followed by a huayno. It's an appropriate tribute to the many cultural traditions here in Peru.