Mistura! Todos ReUnidos

 If there is one thing that Peruvians are proud of, it is their food. The second most common question I get (after "where are you from?") is "what do you think of Peruvian food?" The required answer is, of course, "qué rico!" (literally "how rich!")


This week is Mistura, a huge food festival in el Centro de Lima. I went to the festival this past weekend with some friends. This is all of us at the entrance of the fair.

The most famous Peruvian dish is ceviche, a base of raw fish covered with bitter orange or lime juice, different types of peppers, onions, salt and pepper. The dish is considered part of the national identity and heritage of Perú, which means we of course had to try some of it.

Each booth at the fair is hosted by a restaurant, chef or indigenous group. There is food from many of the different regions of Perú, including the coast, selva central, selva sur, Arequipa and more. There also is a grand market with fruits and products from around the country and a stage for cultural performances. One of the really enjoyable and somewhat surprising aspects of Perú is how present the indigenous culture is in everyday life. It is entirely normal for there to be indigenous people walking the streets, selling goods, performing traditional dance or music, cooking, etc. throughout Lima. Unlike in the US, where Native American culture is reserved mainly for exhibitions, the indigenous culture of Perú is alive and present in the country and in Lima.

One more indigenous food that I tried was humita, a tortilla style wrap made of corn and cooked in oil. Mine was stuffed with apple flavoring. Yum!

We passed the band pictured below playing some Peruvian love songs outside a fish restaurant's booth.

We also saw this traditional style of making bread, although I didn't get a chance to try it:

I was ordering thai-Peruvian spring rolls from Bravo, a restaurant owned and run by the famous Peruvian chef Christian Bravo, and who showed up but Chef Bravo himself! To be honest, I didn't recognize him until he stepped out of the booth and got bombarded by people asking for pictures. Luckily, one of my friends snapped this shot on the sly. Here I am waiting for my order with Bravo giving instructions in the background.

Evidence of Peruvian pride was all over the festival. For example, Oxfam set up a booth where people could write messages to the farmers who continue to provide Perú with fresh ingredients for their world-famous food. The message below reads thanks to you "who continue to cultivate the best of our delicious products. Thanks to you we have tasted the best of these products."

The message below reads "to be talented, it is enough to be Peruvian". 

Peruvians also pride themselves on wonderful, fresh chocolate and coffee. The cup below reads "our coffee...another reason to for us to proud"

I have to say I've picked up some of that Peruvian pride. After a day chowing down on seriously delicious Peruvian food, I don't know how I couldn't feel proud of my adopted country.