First MUSAS Peru Workshop on Gender and Sexuality

MUSAS Peru held our first workshop on gender and sexuality on the 25th of March. I was blown away by the fact that the majority of the 16 participants from this Catholic university were queer. They were a feisty group--not afraid to share their stories of pain and triumph. They were also on top of the latest theories of gender and sexual identity. I was impressed!!

We used tonglen meditation, theater games, drawing, and other creative techniques. We created a safe space where students were able to play hard, go deep, and express themselves. I was thrilled to meet so many courageous, young Peruvian queers. I left the workshop feeling high about the healing, transformational, revolutionary work we are doing through MUSAS Peru, in educating and empowering women and the queer community on issues of gender, sexuality, and sexual health--musasperu.org.

Photo slideshow of Caral

The Oldest City in the Americas

Yesterday I went to Caral with some of Liz's family. Caral is the oldest city/civilization in the Americas (5000+ years), and the 3rd oldest in the world (#1 Mesopotamia, #2 Egypt). Caral was discovered in 1994 and is still in the process of excavation. The archaeologists have found many pyramids, residential areas, an amphitheater (with instruments like pan pipes), and other buildings. Apparently, the civilization was peaceful and subsisted on agriculture and some fishing. Caral is 2 hours north of Lima, near the coast, in a beautiful valley with a little river running through it in the middle of the desert. It reminds me a lot of Ladakh, India, except it's 10,000 feet lower in altitude.

I barely enjoyed the visit as I suffered from bad cramps, dehydration, and other digestive issues from the previous evening's meal and from cramming 6 people in a taxi. Diarrhea and people sitting on each other's laps during transit (hopefully not at the same time) are two things I associate with travel outside the Western world. I opted out of the bumpy horse ride to visit the pyramids, and instead shuffled along the dusty path, held in my bowels, and envisioned mirages in the distance. I spent more time in the bathroom than at the pyramids, but luckily, the restroom is one of the best I've encountered anywhere in the world--clean, spacious, made of beautiful bamboo, and ecologically sensitive.

Peruvian tranny strippers take off your clothes

Last night, my good friend Chris Eden from San Francisco was in Lima. Liz, Chris, and I decided to visit Twin Life, a lesbian bar-club. As the tranny stripper with too perfect breasts entered the dance floor, we noticed that lesbians started to flee, scurrying for the corners of the room and nearly trampling each other as they ran off the dance floor. The stripper came up to us, grabbed Liz´s beer and took a swig, and then started to dance with me. Next thing I knew, she roughly unbuttoned my shirt. Shocked, I shook my training bra size-32A breasts in all my frenzied exhibitionist glory. She then grabbed Chris´s crotch and danced away.

Liz remarked that stripping here is interactive. Hence, the mass exodus of Peruvian lesbians off the dance floor while the unwitting gringos from San Francisco remained. Not a passive spectator sport, nor a mindless peeping tom activity--Peruvian stripping involves removing audience members´ clothing and copping gratuitous feels. How refreshing!

My local natural health food store

Natural Food = Hot Dogs

The day before yesterday a woman enticed customers (including me) into the natural health food store with a tray of potato chips and a dip that turned out to be vegan mayonnaise--with preservatives. My eyes widened as I spotted 3 bright pink hot dog sandwiches perched on the counter. "Hot dogs?" I laughed. Liz replied that some Peruvians consider hot dogs nutritious. I quickly scanned the counter: quinoa, kwicha, ginseng tea, vegan mayonnaise with preservatives, and hot dogs.

So Peru is causing me to expand my definitions of "natural" and "health food."

Peruvian companies love to advertise products as "natural." One morning between spoonfuls of yogurt, I lazily read the cover of my Gloria Natural Yogurt. "Natural--without sugar, without fat."  I then flipped to the back and read the ingredient list that contained preservatives, artificial flavors, colors, and additives. I suddenly longed for some high fat, sugary "artificial" yogurt.

I've had some very tasty, albeit highly salty, food in restaurants in the last week--and then noticed my stomach swelling, and feeling nauseous, dizzy, tired, and weak. In this period, I started obsessively reading ingredients in my food products and noticed that many foods here--including mayonnaise, hot sauce, and soy sauce--contain MSG. I also did some research and discovered that MSG produces all the adverse reactions that I have been experiencing.

At this point, I am foraging for twigs and leaves. . .

Jumping for joy under the Cusco rainbow flag

The first time I arrived in Cusco I was thrilled to see so many rainbow flags flying--"out and proud! queer friendly!" I thought.

"No, no," a Peruvian tour guide defensively responded to my thoughts, "this is the flag of Cusco--not the gay flag."

Oh well. . .

The sun is shining in Lima! I love my Vulva tshirt on Liz on the Day of Feminist Lesbians

Lima impressions

So I arrived in Peru on Feb 15th. To live here. For some time.

If you are wondering why, you're not alone. I have been asking myself the same question pretty much every day since I arrived.

I am in Lima, the capital. I have never been in a city with so many shades of grey in the sky. It is rare to see the sun. This city of 9 million is so congested and polluted from old vehicles--the smog is thick and burns the throat. There is no subway. The government is in the process of building a new fleet of cleaner burning buses and a new bus lane. The problem is that they're not going to ban old vehicles that run on diesel and that would never pass a smog test. Then only the rich would drive.

So back to my question of what am I doing in this smog-filled city? Perhaps it's my migratory pattern established since birth of moving every 2-3 years to a new place. But mainly I'm here because I fell in love with a Peruvian woman, and have always wanted to get fluent in Spanish and live in South America.

For now, I chalk it up to adventure.

After Liz finishes her course in sexual health in 3 weeks, we will move to Cusco in the mountains. Cusco is at 11,000 feet in the Sacred Valley, close to Machu Picchu.

My main dreams here are:

1. to educate and empower Peruvians about sexuality/gender/sexual health through a new organization I am creating with Monica Coronado and my girlfriend Liz Cabrel. Through participatory workshops (incorporating expressive arts and mindfulness practices as well as information about sexual anatomy/STIs/self breast exams/patient empowerment) we hope to give women and the queer community an opportunity to explore topics that are taboo.

2. to learn new music and re-deepen my relationship to my creativity through writing, music, and film

3. to slow down and enjoy life

Hope you enjoy the blog!

Tigresa