Peruvian Dinner and Lecture

Went to a UCLA Alumni fundraising event. It included dinner at El Pollo Inka on Wilshire followed by a talk by Professor of Anthropology, Charles Stanish.

The food was okay. Have to confess it wasn't spectacular. It was three courses: salad, choice of chicken with rice or beef with rice followed by Picarones for dessert.

One nice bonus for me was winning TWO raffle prizes!

The talk was a quick overview of Peruvian history. Stanish wanted to study the rise and fall of a pre-modern civilization. He went to Peru to study the Incas.

At the height of their civilization, the Incas covered much of South America from Boliva/Peru to parts of Chile and Argentina. He said imagine an empire that at one end is in Paris and in the other is in Tehran and you get the sense of size of the Inca realm.

One wonders how such a great empire fell so quickly to a relatively small army of Spanish invaders. They arrived at a time when the Inca were weakened by disease and by civil war. The Spanish was able to form alliances with groups that opposed Inca rulership. And to top it off, the Spanish had horses so their mobility proved devestating to the Inca fighters.

Spain's colonial rule in South America was during the height of their powers. But eventually, the Spanish empire lost power and the nations of modern South America came about.

Peru has had its share of turmoil and dictatorships but has experienced more stability than most of South America. It is now growing reasonably well. Probably only Chile and Brazil have stronger economies.

One person asked about the "Shining Path" insurgency. Stanish said at one time these radical Maoists were powerful. But eventually, the Peruvian government was able to find and arrest its leaders and that pretty much disappated the movement.

Another person asked about economic development in Peru. Stanish reports that Lima is a thoroughly modern city and that its university is top notch. However, when you get out into the more rural areas, the disparity in wealth becomes obvious and that Peru in many ways is still a developing country. He commented that for the US talk of free trade, the US still has many trade barriers to South American agricultural products and other manufactured goods. He hopes the US will open up its trade so South American countries can grow more.

As far as tourism, Stanish says that the Peruvians are friendly people and that a non-stop flight can get in a little over 6 hours from LAX to Lima. He cautioned about the coca tea because even though it isn't the active form it will still make a drinker test positive in drug screening. The drug trade isn't as severe as in Columbia. He feels safer in Peru than in Los Angeles! English is spoken by many people so communication is usually not a problem.

Macchu Picchu is the most famous tourist destination. It was hard to find because it was things grew up and over it. Archeological evidence suggest that the location was simply too remote and that eventually the Inca gave up the location. He said the current theory is that Macchu Picchu served as a resort/retreat destination for the ruling Incas.

He had recently been at Yale to lecture and see the touring Macchu Picchu exhibit. He encouraged us to see it when it gets to Los Angeles at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.