Tierra Unica is a destination blogsite focusing on world travel, entertainment, cuisine, news, popular culture, sports, business, technology, humor, and events from around the world with an emphasis on the USA and South America (Peru, Argentina, Brazil, etc).
Today's Germany vs. Spain match will be defined by some key individual matchups: Schweinsteiger vs. Xavi and Lahm vs. Villa to name a couple. Goal.com goes in depth to take a look at four key individual encounters that will go a long way towards determining who will face The Netherlands on Sunday.
M & C Sport's wrote ~ "Spain's Carles Puyol (R)
heads the ball in for a goal during the FIFA World Cup 2010 semi final
match between Germany and Spain at the Durban stadium in Durban, South
Africa, 07 July 2010. EPA/HALDEN KROG"
Cooking Up Dreams (Trailer) - Ollas y Sueños: This excellent documentary about the Peruvian Cuisine movement and the hottest food trend world-wide over the last few years was released last Fall in Lima, Peru. It will premierefor the first time in the U.S. this weekend in New
York, Chicago, Texas and Toronto. This movie is about the 500 years of cultural mixture or miscegenation (not fusion) of Peru with respect to it's rich gastronomical history, culture, migration, and it's various foods and cuisines within the country and abroad.
San Francisco Chronicle's SF Gatequote - "NO CON-FUSION HERE: "The very first place there was
fusion cuisine was Peru." -- Chef Patricio Gaston Herrera, relating
how New World and Old World cuisines melded nearly 500 years ago with
arrival of "invaders" -- the Spanish."
The premiere will take place on
Saturday April 17, 2010 at the Havana Film Festival in Manhattan, New York,
an important showcase for Latin American cinema. I've seen this
excellent film about Peru & Peruvian Cuisine. It is a must see!!!!
Details of Cooking Up Dreams (Trailer) - Ollas y Sueños:
Feature Documentary: "Cooking Up Dreams"
Original title: De Ollas y Sueños
Directed by: Ernesto Cabellos
Produced by: Televisión América Latina (TAL) and Guarango Association
Format: HDV 1080i60
Release date: August 2009 (Lima, Peru)
Images of Peruvian Cuisine and the international & domestic chefs in the documentary:
"Mesa de Chefs" (The Chefs Table)
Picture of Teresa Izquierdo (Afro-Criollo Peruvian Cuisine), Gaston Acurio (Haute-Peruvian Cuisine), and Hector Solis (traditional Criollo Peruvian Cuisine).
Bernardo Roca Rey - restaurateur, local newspaper owner, and one of the founders of the "Novo Andino" (New Andean) cuisine movement in Peru and abroad dating back to the early-1980s.
Peru is the birthplace of the potato. The Ancient Peruvians (pre-Inca civilizations) cultivated and domesticated the potato almost 10,000 years ago. Of the roughly 4,500 varieties of potatoeson Earth, 3,000 are indigenous to Peru.
Ernesto Cabello - Peruvian film director of Ollays y Sueños (Cooking Up Dreams)
Johnny Schuler - Pisco (Peruvian Brandy) ambassador, President of the Peruvian Pisco Association, TV personality, Pisco entrepreneur, and big investor of the U.S. Pisco market.
In Peru, there are hundreds of variety of "Choclo" (Peruvian corn).
The world famous "Choclo Blanco Gigante de Cuzco" (giant Peruvian white corn of Cusco). The delicious "Choclo Cusco" is the biggest corn in the world, they grow abundantly around the Valley of the Incas.
Top celebrity chefs leading the Peruvian Cuisine world conquest movement - Peru's Toshiro Konishi (Peruvian-Japanese Mixed Cuisine called "Nikkei"), Spain's Juan Mari Arzak (haute Spanish-Basque Cuisine), and Peru's Gaston Acurio.
Peru's Gaston Acurio- The #1 celebrity chef in all Latin America, owner of La Mar Cebicheria Peruana, Astrid y Gaston, & Tanta restaurant brand, TV personality, and leader of the Peruvian Cuisine movement world-wide.
Ferran Adria(haute Spanish Molecular Cuisine) - The #1 celebrity chef in the world, owner of Bulli (highest Michelin rated restaurant in the world), and now follower of Peru's Gaston Acurioand Pedro Miguel Schiaffino.
Pedro Miguel Schiaffino - Leader of Peru's haute Amazonian Cuisine movement, chef professor, and owner of Malabar in San Isidro, Peru (Food & Wine Magazine's 4th best bar in the world).
Machu Picchu (Old Peak) is a pre-Columbian Inca site located 2,430 metres (8,000 ft) above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is 80 kilometres northwest of Cuzco and through which the Urubamba River flows. Often referred to as "The Lost City of the Incas", Machu Picchu is one of the most familiar symbols of the Inca Empire.
The llama's are the only residents left in Machu Picchu (the lost city).
Today is the 188th Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Peru from Spain! But it has over 10,000 years of scientifically verified history. The domestication of the potato in Peru has
been verified by European and American scientists to be 8,000 years
before Christ! From Alaska, USA to Tierra de Fuego, Argentina, Peru is the oldest civilization in all the Americas. In northern Peru, Caral has been verified by European scientists to be over 2,000 years older than the oldest Mayan civilization in Guatemala and Southern Mexico.
In Latin America, Peru has no rival when it comes its archaeological, biological, historical, religious (Catholicism) and culture influence (especially in South America). When it comes to its historical alliance to Spain, theViceroyalty of Peru or Viceroyalty of New Castile (el Virreinato del Peru o el Virreinato de Nuevo Castilla) was the largest, richest, and most powerful viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire from the 15th, 16th, and 17th century. Lima, Peru was capital of practically all of South America, including Brazil! In world significance, Peru's ancient civilizations are as old as Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), Egypt, China, and India.
On a global scale, Peru is by far the most biologically diverse country in the world with the most animals, fishes, incests, birds, and plant species in the Peruvian Amazon (lowland & highland jungles), tropical Andes, Andean glaciers, and coastal deserts.
Here, in high-definition (HD), is the national anthem of Peru with spectacular scenery of present day Peru. The anthem is not well known like the U.S., French, or English one; but if you hear it to its entirety you will come to the conclusion that it has to be among the most beautiful anthems.
Listen to the instrumental version in the 1st-half and then listen in the 2nd-half to the vocal version by Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Florez, argumentatively the best tenor in the world today and heir to Spanish great Placido Domingo.
Happy Birthday Peru! - ¡Feliz cumpleaños Perú!
Peruvian Anthem in HD cinemascope 2.35:1 ratio - Stereo Sound. New comprehensive English translation subtitles. See spectacular scenery of Machu-Picchu, the
Peruvian coast, Lima and other inland places. Peru - a large Latin American
republic in the mid-west of South America on the equator and south of the equator.
Map of Peru during most of the colonial era - Virreinato/Virreynato del Perú
Viceroyalty of Peru - The "Peruvian Empire" so to speak. Quote - "If Spain is the motherland of Latin America, Peru is the motherland of South American." Originally stated by King Juan Carlos of Spain in 2007 and later used by current President of Peru, Dr. Alan Garcia in 2008.
Present day Peru, Central and South America. Juan Diego Florez and his wife, fashion model Julia Trappe.
In July there were four major independence day celebrations throughout the Americas. First was right here in the United States, followed by Argentina, then Colombia, and finally Peru.
For those that don't know, here is some info of what is Salsa, Festejo, and also Marinera music.
Peru's Independence Day celebration last weekend in London, England!
Here is a Peruvian Salsa performance of this classic song at a concert/dance in London, England last weekend. Listen and look at the band's front man sing and dance:
Festejo is an Afro-Peruvian music genre celebrating Peru's independence from Spain and the emancipation of black slaves in the Viceroyalty of Peru during the early 1900's.
Festejo performance and dance in London, England:
Here is a another Afro-Peruvian performance that has it's roots from a fusion of several music genres of Spanish whites called "Peninsulares" (born in Spain), "Criollos" (Spaniard's born in Peru), and African slaves (born in Peru) during the 18th and 19th century. I am not quite sure if this performance below is either Festejo, Lando, Peru Negro, or even Musica Criolla? It is probably not Musica Criolla since that is a fusion of Spanish, African, and Andean music.
Happy Birthday Peru - If Spain is the motherland of Latin America, Peru is the motherland of South America!
Castillano/Spanish:
"Feliz Cumpleaños Peru - Si España es la Madre Tierra de America Latina, Peru es la Madre Tierra de America del Sur!"
Even though it is not well known globally like our American, or French, or English anthem, the Peruvian National Anthems is definitely right up there among the best in the world. Listen and hear it for yourself. Also look at the imagery of that beautiful country:
A vocal and instrumental version of the Peruvian National Anthem sung by the Peruvian Juan Diego Florez, argumentally the best tenor in the world today.
"Himno Nacional del Peru cantado por Juan Diego Florez":
Juan Diego Florez and his wife, German fashion model Julia Trappe:
The Forez's wedding gala on April 5, 2008 at the Lima National Cathedral, Peru. A celebrity marriage between Europe & South America:
Peruvian National Flag:
Map of the Peru during the first part of the colonial era in the 16th century called Viceroyalty of Peru (aka: Viceroyalty of New Castilla). This was an era where Spain also controlled the other great empire, Portugal. Hence, Spain controlled most of Brazil through Peru. Peru was the largest and richest viceroyalty in the history of the Spain Empire - the first global empire in world history where "The Sun Never Sets".
In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spain was in the vanguard of European global exploration and colonial expansion. Spain opened trade routes across the oceans, with trade flourishing across the Atlantic Ocean between Spain and America and across the Pacific Ocean between Asia-Pacific and Mexico via the Philippines. Conquistadors toppled the Aztec and Inca civilizations, and laid claim to vast stretches of land in North and South America. For a time, the Spanish Empire was the foremost global power, dominating the oceans with its experienced navy and ruling the European battlefield with its infantry (tercios). Spain enjoyed a cultural golden age in the 16th and 17th centuries. During this era, the Spain Empire ruled most of Western Europe (Portugal, Italy, Holland, Austria, etc.).
Map of Peru during most of the colonial era - Virreinato/Virreynato del Perú Viceroyalty of Peru - The "Peruvian Empire" so to speak:
Present day Peru, Central and South America:
PERU:
The Republic of Peru is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.
Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico civilization, the oldest civilization in all of the Americas and one of the oldest in the world, and to the Inca Empire, the largest state in Pre-Columbian America. The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century and established a Viceroyalty, which included most of its South American colonies. After achieving independence in 1821, Peru has undergone periods of political unrest and fiscal crisis as well as periods of stability and economic upswing.
Peru is a representative democratic republic divided into 25 regions. Its geography varies from the arid plains of the Pacific coast to the peaks of the Andes mountains and the tropical forests of the Amazon Basin. It is a developing country with a medium Human Development Index score and a poverty level around 40%. Its main economic activities include agriculture, fishing, mining, and manufacturing of products such as textiles.
The Peruvian population, estimated at 29 & half million, is multi-ethnic, including Amerindians, Europeans, Africans and Asians. The main spoken language is Spanish, although a significant number of Peruvians speak Quechua or other native languages. This mixture of cultural traditions has resulted in a wide diversity of expressions in fields such as art, cuisine, literature, and music.
