Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Last month, when I was taking a short walk in Barranco, I passed by the Municipal Park and was surprised to hear live music coming from the Band Shell. Looking over I saw a brightly covered tent and a large crowd gathered in front of the musicians. Always being a person who enjoys a good Salsa Band I wandered over to see what was going on.

To my delight I saw that it was a celebration for the Senior Citizens of Barranco. It was a day to make them feel special and an outing to enjoy on a beautiful sunny afternoon.

It was a nice surprise for me to find this and see that the citizens of Peru had such an appreciation for the elder population.

The band was playing a lively Latin dance tune and a large group of the seniors were on the dance floor shaking it like a bunch of teenagers. Smiles were on all the faces and those that were sitting were foot tapping to the music. As with senior events in the USA there was a serious shortage of men at this event.
I wondered if it had to do with life expectancies or were the senior men still working and the wives had taken a break from homemaking to enjoy this event. I certainly hoped it was the latter. There were prizes being handed out, large baskets of assorted goodies from food to gift certificates. As I was taking photos one of the ladies tried to get me out on the dance floor. I politely declined fearing that I would not be able to keep up with her. She didn’t miss a beat and merely grabbed her friend’s hand and headed for the dance floor. I watched them briefly and I was right to worry. I don’t think I would have been able to keep up.
There was also a large assortment of cakes and goodies that were going to be cut and passed out a little later. They were beautiful work of art and looked very delicious. Everyone was eyeing them and you could see the anticipation of enjoying those sweet delights on their faces. All too soon I had to depart the celebration; friends were expecting me for lunch at their home. It was hard to pull myself away and I felt a little of that Latin sway as I walked to my luncheon appointment.
It is great to see that these celebrations are going on all over Lima. I noted also here on Living in Peru that there are charitable events going on to help the poor and disabled seniors during this week. This is one of the things that I love about Peru. The respect and love shown to its senior citizens by their family and friends is heartwarming to say the least, but to see organizations giving hope and assistance to hundreds if not thousands is inspiring.
Finally, “Here’s to You”, all those over 60, to your wisdom, to your lives well lived, to your sacrifices for your families and country. You are a special resource that should never be forgotten.

tags : senior citizen celebration Barranco Lima

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1 Comments

# says :
23 November, 2009 [ 02:11 ]

he is so right about the respect that is still shown to the older in generations in Peru.
In some countries the older people become a burden and there is no respect towards them. Their wisdom is even ignored because they do not know how to deal with electronic gaps that our kids manange pretty good in our days.

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