Peruvians in The Hood

The District of El Carmen, the Hub of Afro-Peruvian Culture

 



















The Main Square where people come to relax and simply hang out.

At the end of my first trip to this quiet little town in October 2005, Mamá Adelina of the home where I was staying said to me when I return, I will have a family. I was fortunate enough to have several families. I even adopted a goddaughter since my first trip.

The Ballumbrosio family in whose home I stayed.
I'm in the back, second from the right.

It's a good feeling to be awakened in the morning by roosters, being greeted with buenas dias by strangers, hearing salsa and Cuban music walking the streets, and meeting all kinds of interesting people.

Afro-Peruvian woman dancing to the beat of the cajón.

On my fourth trip to El Carmen, a local doctor was good enough to show me all around the province of Chincha where lies El Carmen. This is a town where poverty prevails, but where everyone is at peace with them one another. I've never heard of any crime taking place. And if there is any drug abuse, it is kept on the down-low.