Central Lima

I live in Miraflores which is about six miles away from Central Lima. Today after school, we went to the center of the city for three very interesting tours. We started at the Congress building. Peru has a multi-party system and a unicameral Congress. There are 130 congressmen (and women) who are each elected to 5-year terms. There is a President of the Congress who is different than the President of the Republic.

The second museum was right next door. It was the Inquisition Museum and it was really interesting. The museum was actually built on the site where the trials and torturings took place. For part of the tour, we walked down these stone stairs where you could see the chambers for prisoners and they looked pretty bleak. The Peruvian Inquisition started in 1570 and lasted until about 1820. Most of the people tried during this time were Africans, Jews, Women, Mestizos and Protestant Europeans seeking refuge from religious prosecution. The museum set up some pretty elaborate displays of the torture methods. People were whipped, choked, stoned, water boarded, drawn and quartered and hung. This museum was the most interesting to me because those events actually took place where we were standing. (Plus the tour guide spoke slowly, so I could understand most of his Spanish)

The final museum was the Museo de Sitio Bodega y Quadra. It is the house of the Bodega y Quadra family. And they found objects from the Colonial and Republic periods under the house. Not only is the museum about the actual archeological site, but it also provides a lot of information about preservation. It has been a struggle for the city to restore and preserve some of it's historical sites. Bodega y Quadra is one example. It's a new site that is still be excavated. The house and part of the site have been turned into a museum.

After the museums, we had a couple minutes to walk around La Plaza Mayor, which is the main square in central Lima. There were so many people and some very beautiful buildings. We didn't have enough time to take it all in, but we are going back later in our program, so that's good.

 

Finalmente:

I mentioned yesterday that it never rains. So there are certain things that can be outside because there is no danger of them getting wet. One thing in particular is pianos. There are pianos in random places (usually parks or open squares) that are available for anyone to use. Anyone can sit down and play a song or two or a whole set. It's a pretty easy way to provide music to the city and usually the performer draws some sort of crowd. I've never heard of any other place having free pianos, but I think it's pretty cool.