On Cats, Street Music and Being Amazonian: Global Voices Instagram is in Stunning Peru · Global Voices
Sahar Habib Ghazi

This week skilled story-teller Juan Arellano has been bringing us stunning pictures and poignant tales from Peru on our Global Voices Instagram account.
“I heard it from blocks away. An Amazonian melody is not something that escapes my ears in the heart of the city, despite the noise there. When I finally could see him I realized he was alone, nobody at his side, nobody watching. [..] He looked at me for a split second and continued playing. I couldn't ask his name or have a brief chat with him. The lively melodies of the jungle emerged unstoppable from his flute while he looked on in a trance, and for me it was as if the sun had risen in that hazy and cold day of my Lima, ever indifferent.” Juan recounts on Instagram. Here's a story he wrote on street music in Lima.
Lima-based Juan is our Spanish Translation Manager and our current guide for #InstaGV, a new initiative to show the beauty, diversity and expansiveness of our community on Instagram.
Every week, you are being introduced to a unique member of our community through our @globalvoicesonline Instagram account. Next week, Pernille from our Sub Saharan Africa team will take us on the road to northern Uganda.
In a couple of months, through the unique lens of the Global Voices community, you will meet people, see places and read stories from Bangladesh, Morocco, Lebanon, Peru, Germany, Spain, and Switzerland.  Within the year, we hope to cover a few dozen countries through our hundreds of contributors from over 160 countries.
Here are seven vibrant photos and stories shared by Juan from Peru on @globalvoicesonline this week. Juan is one Global Voices oldest contributors. He has written more than 500 stories and translated more than 5000 stories for Global Voices since 2005. He has been blogging since 2001 and is the founder of Blogsperu.com, the first directory of Peruvian bloggers.
Half of me is amazonian, not by birth, not by a decision, just life took me there and the land seduced me with her beauty and mystery. But what it is to be Amazonian? in my case it is to feel cold when the temperature is 20 degrees and the other people are hot, is to sense that a friend is near if you hear someone talking with the characteristic accent of the region, is always want to have fun and dance and take some beers. But those are feelings I can’t share with you, so I will share some images, like this one. The image you see is a common sight when reaching the city of Iquitos by plane, the idle meanders the rivers run in its way through the lowland tropical forests. Meanders that when you are navigating them seem to never end, like the Amazonia itself. But sometimes one of this meanders takes you to a desolate place without greenery, then you realize that the Amazon jungle, besides beautiful is fragile, and deforestation caused by man can destroy it. You can read the Global Voices coverage of Amazonia here: https://globalvoices.org/?s=amazonia #Amazon #Amazonia #AmazonJungle #Peru #Loreto  #dayinthelifeofGV #instaGV #instacool #FromAPlane #rivers #jungle #clouds
A post shared by  Global Voices (@globalvoicesonline) on
Another thing I like about the historic center of Lima is that almost any given weekend you can find a parade, procession, or other cultural activities. The photo that I bring now shows a dancer of Huaconada, a ritual dance from the village of Mito in the region of Junin, declared Intangible Cultural Heritage. The dance is a synthesis of several Andean and Spanish elements, and now it has modern elements too, its origin can be traced to over 1,500 years. This dance takes place the first days of January each year. During those days huacones (dancers) become the highest authority in town and supposedly can impart punishment with their "thunderous" (whips). While taking this pictures I accidentally was given a whiplash (by rebound, so it did not hit me so hard), and I can tell you that it still hurts! #dancer #huaconada #mito #Junin #Lima #peru #instagv #dayinthelifeofgv #instacool #streetparade #heritage #tradition #culture
A post shared by  Global Voices (@globalvoicesonline) on
I am a book worm, really. But I rarely go to a bookstore and buy a bestseller. Instead I prefer to go to the second hand stalls and stores that are tucked around parts of downtown Lima. You can find truly jewels there. My Lawrence Durrell collection? Almost all of it came from the vendors at Grau Avenue. My Bernard Cornwell series? Bought in a store that sells bargain books, new and sealed. My Hanif Kureishi books? I got them all in the crowded corridors of the Amazonas Book Fair, and Abelardo sold me all of them. I don’t remember how many years have passed since I met Abelardo the bookseller, but certainly more than the years I have with my girlfriend. No offense intended. But I do remember Abelardo’s belly was not so big when I met him (mine neither). The fact that almost every time I go to his stall he has a beer in his hand must have something to do with that. Now that I think that also must be the reason why every time books are becoming more expensive. I don’t buy anything without a good haggle, but Abelardo is sometimes a hard nut to crack. For die hard collectors like me and also for people who do not have a big reading budget, Abelardo and other booksellers like him keep alive the flames of culture, knowledge and good entertainment in Lima. Read Global Voices posts on books: https://globalvoices.org/?s=books&se=internal #Books #Lima #Peru #bookworm #libros #instagv #dayinthelifeofGV #instabooks #instacool #librero
A post shared by  Global Voices (@globalvoicesonline) on
Iquitos is famous among Peruvians for its warmth and festive atmosphere, but it also hides the long time gone opulence of the rubber barons and the poverty of those who live in outlying areas of the city, usually on the banks of the three rivers that surround Iquitos, periodically flooded areas, if not in the river itself. But even the poorest of the iquiteños can enjoy the beautiful sunsets in this city, as the one I now share with you. Read Global Voices coverage on Iquitos: https://globalvoices.org/?s=iquitos #Iquitos #Loreto #Peru #dayinthelifeofGV #instaGV #instacool #sunset #atardecer #instasunset #sunsetoftheday
A post shared by  Global Voices (@globalvoicesonline) on
This image shows why I love my city, Lima. You got more than 2000 years of history in one single shot. Huaca Pucllana is a pre hispanic remain belonging to several coastal cultures of ancient Peru. It is basically a pyramid made of adobe and clay, and other surrounding structures. Near its left limits, crossing the street, you can see some houses from different years of the 20th century, and at the bottom a very modern building, all glass and steel. Read more about “Huacas” in Global Voices: https://globalvoices.org/?s=huaca #Huaca #Pucllana #Miraflores #Lima #Peru #archaeology #dayinthelifeofGV #instaGV #History #Pyramid #instacool
A post shared by  Global Voices (@globalvoicesonline) on
You all know that Internet was created to share pictures of cats, well, to share other things too but better we get on with cats. The Kennedy park of the touristic Limean district of Miraflores is as if Internet had materialized there. That is, there are cats everywhere, of all possible types. Of course they not appeared out of the blue and hacked the site, their domination plan started long ago. It's almost 20 years now since the first pioneers cats began to sharpen their claws on the trees of the park. Today it is estimated that there are over 100, and they are just that because lately they are sterilized or suffer terrorist attacks of the infidels. Cats rely on hearted neighbors and generous pocket tourists which usually leave offerings, I mean, food, and take photos with them, as in the photo that I now share with you that shows… wait, Isn't that our own @Catirestrepow ? This is embarrasing. Global Voices coverage on Cats: https://globalvoices.org/?s=cats&se=internal Facebook page of Kennedy Park Cats: https://www.facebook.com/gatosparquekennedylima #GatosParqueKennedy #Miraflores #Lima #Peru #dayinthelifeofGV #instaGV  #gatos #cats #catoftheday #instacats #instacool #instagood
A post shared by  Global Voices (@globalvoicesonline) on
In a previous publication I told you that many people in Iquitos live in flood zones. Well, here I show you one. This photo was taken a couple of years ago in the growing season, or winter, when there are more rains and the rivers overflow. What you see is a street of the neighborhood of Belén. This street is like any other in low water season, but with the swollen river it looks like this. Neighbors are usually prepared for these events, but they always need help to strengthen their homes. Besides that, respiratory diseases are prevalent among children and elderly in those seasons. #Belen #Iquitos #Loreto #Peru #dayinthelifeofgv #instagv #amazonia #flood #charapa #river #rios
A post shared by  Global Voices (@globalvoicesonline) on