The worst hit song ever

The music video was the most popular of 2009--83 million views.  I bet that at least 63 million of those views were in Latin America. 

I hear Pitbull's "I Know You Want Me" about four times a day. I hear it in restaurants, blaring from trucks selling propane and digitized in cell phone rings; this song is a big hit. 

The beat is annoying and the lyrics lack, oh, I don't know, class? It's also shockingly misogynistic. You can get the idea from the English lyrics, but the Spanish chorus is the worst part of the song:

Si es verdad que tu eres guapa

Yeah, it's true that you're sexy.

Yo te voy a poner gozar

I going to make you enjoy it.

Tu tienes la boca grande

You have a big mouth,

Dale, ponte a jugar

So, do it, let's start to play. 

Nap for lunch, bread for dinner

We eat a lot of bread here. And not just because we live at the bakery. 

Breakfast is bread with cheese or butter and tea or coffee. Dinner is more like a late-night snack. Around 7 or 8, we usually have a few slices of--guess what--bread and tea.

I like bread, so I'm not bothered by it. In fact, I sleep better at night not having just chowed down a huge steak hours before bedtime. 

But what is new for me is how important lunch is in Peru. Lunch is when you get your nutrients for the day. Lunch is when you socialize with your family. Lunch is when you take a nap, to recover from eating so much! 

Many stores close or run on low staff from the hours of 1-4 p.m. It's easy to see why, when the food is so good!

Here is a good picture of a traditional lunch:

First, comes your soup. Then your segundo, or main dish, which in this case in caigua rellena. Usually everyone orders a liter of soda to share. I guess we bought some Fanta for the house. 

Caigua (kai-wa) is a vine fruit, says Wikipedia, but I sure thought it was a veggie. Anyway, they boil the caiguas, then stuff them with ground beef, raisins, olives, hard boiled eggs and pecans, if they can find some. Then, with a little bit of tomato sauce and some rice, the dish comes out looking good. 

This picture gives a glimpse of the stuffing:

While you're eating your sandwich and bag of raisins and running back to work, think of me. I'll be bloated and napping.

Give me my yapa!

If you order a drink or food, don't forget to ask for your yapa.  

Dame la yapa por favor (Please give me my extra).  

Tendrías algo de yapa para dar? (Would you have a little extra to give?)

La yapa, por fa. (My gift, please)

You hear these phrases a lot, especially with the emoliente vendors. These folks have a little stand on the corner where they mix for you a special herb tea. Usually it's about 30 cents for a glass. But all the customers expect to receive their yapa, a whole glass extra. 

But yesterday I got my yapa in the form of alcohol! Sergio ordered leche de tigre, or tiger's milk, a drink made from the juice from ceviche. I ordered a pisco sour, a mixed drink with egg, rum (pisco), sugar and lemon juice.  

It took about 20 minutes for our drink order to be served, which wasn't a big deal because we were watching soccer. But when the waiter apologized for it taking so long, Sergio said, "Well, how 'bout the yapa?" To appease us customers, the waiter gave me a whole second glass of pisco sour! 

At the bakery too, most fresh breads sell for at least five per sol (30 cents). Often times, though, people ask for their yapa. The clerk will throw in another piece for free.

The yapa, of course, doesn't apply when you go to buy shoes. They don't throw in another pair. I think the yapa tradition comes with food or drink. 

Because I'm a foodie, gee, do I like this special custom! Maybe I'll be asking for my yapa at McDonald's when I get back. Think they would give me a few extra fries?

Election season in the Andes

Last Sunday, I wrote about the Bolivian elections and the shoe-in second term of Evo Morales. This Sunday, we move to the south for more political decisions. 

Today, Chileans will decide between Sebastian Piñera, a center-right billionaire (that's in U.S. greenbacks, my friend) businessman, and Eduardo Frei, a former president who represents the leftist coalition party, Concertación, of Michelle Bachelet. 

The polls say today Piñera will take the presidency, but 16% of those polled are undecided, a percentage that could tip of the scales for Frei. 

Half of Chileans are registered to vote (8 out of 16.6 million), the same as in the United States. But what's interesting, as this New York Times article on young Chilean voters points out, is that once you sign up, you have to vote or face a large fine.

During the 70s and 80s, dictator Augusto Pinochet rewrote the Constitution and many laws in Chile. While in 1988, the country returned to democracy, Pinochet's legal legacy, including voting regulations an his Constitution, remains largely intact. 

Pinochet also smartly reworked the Congressional system, gerrymandering many districts to ensure right representation. All of the diputados in Chile's "House" will be up for reelection today, as well as about half of its Senate.

It doesn't look like any of the candidates will be making any dramatic economic reforms, which is good news because Chile's stable economy has been the envy of Latin American for a few decades. However, should Piñera win, he would be the first rightist candidate to be elected post-Pinochet--a curious change after leftist Bachelet was the most popular president in Chilean history.

What might explain the fact that Bachelet's popularity doesn't seem to be helping Frei, her party's candidate, is the emergence of Marco Enríquez-Ominami, a leftist candidate representing an off-shoot of the Concertacíon. The Wall Street Journal reported that, as of October, he was running neck and neck with Frei. 

Enríquez-Ominami's numbers, from what I can see, have gone down, but his popularity represents a challenge for the leftist coalition party that has represented the left and successfully won the presidency for two decades.

Scenes from the bakery