The circus is in town

The circus is in town. I can´t wait until they leave. Why? First of all, I hate clowns. I don´t like things with masks or painted faces that make them look maniacal. Second, they have found it necessary to play the same 20-second advertisement sound clip for 3 hours straight every day they are here, from last Sunday to tonight. And then since it´s just down the road from my house, I hear everything that goes on all night long. The only good thing is that they randomly play some Indian music, which I like. That Kenny G version of "My Heart Will Go On" that they play twice in a row (whenever someone plays that song they have to play it more than once)? Not so much.

Yesterday, about 12 mototaxis went by my window in a motorized parade, complete with trumpet players playing from within the mototaxis. They were supporting APRA, one of the 25 political parties that have presidential candidates in the April/May election. APRA´s presidential candidate is Alan Garcia, a former Peruvian President who was responsible for extreme hyperinflation, where the price of everything increased significantly within a few hours. Every Peruvian recounting those days gets understandably animated and dramatic, remembering the impossibly long lines they waited in, hoping to be able to buy some corn before the price went up by 300%. Despite this, the last I heard was that he was pulling at number 3 in the polls. And he´s putting up a good fight. His fans are very organized, and he also is getting suspiciously more air time than other candidates. I think he might have the most walls painted with his name on it. Which is a feat. Almost every wall here is covered in paint supporting either Alan Garcia or the top two candidates (as of a few weeks ago), Ollanta Humalla, who is rumored to possibly join the Hugo Chávez crew if elected, and Lourdes Flores, who was pulling at number one. If she wins, she will join the growing number of female presidents/premiers around the world, such as in Chile and Germany. Unfortunately, she´s very conservative. But, you know, I´m not supposed to take sides here. Not publicly, at least. All in all, Perú has a chaotic and crazy presidential history that will be very interesting to watch as a new chapter unfolds.