Mistura

 
We had first heard about Mistura from last year's students, who said it was a must-see, and they were right!  As the second largest gastronomic festival in the world, there were thousands upon thousands of vendors who converged on the park in downtown Lima.  When we first got there, we were given maps of the different dishes/drinks and regions represented at the festival.  We didn't know where to start, and spent probably an hour just wandering around wide-eyed, trying free samples.

 Eventually, the guys settled on ceviche (the most popular dish in Peru - fresh raw fish marinated in citrus juices) and anticuchos (beef heart kebabs), while Annie and I opted for mixed platters of sausages, juane, and platanos (bananas) from Tarapoto, a town in the Peruvian Amazon.  Later on, we had churros filled with chocolate and manjar blanco (dulce de leche), and smoothies made with exotic fruits.  Que rico! 



But my favourite part of the festival was el mercado, the market that surrounded the monument in the centre of the park.  Unlike the vendors outside who were selling hot dishes, the vendors in the market were selling whole fruits, vegetables, tubors, grains, and drinks.  It was an incredible display of Peru's rich biodiversity, and I learned the names of more foods than I could remember in a lifetime. 

The vendors, many of whom were indigenous folks from the mountains or the Amazon, were dressed in elaborate and beautiful traditional clothing.  Mistura was an amazing opportunity to see a real cross-section of the Peruvian population.  In Peru, la comida nos une.  Food unites us.