Publisher’s Letter

B

ut modern day Peru holds that and so much more. Often touted as the gastronomic capitol of South America, Peru is well known for its food (including more than 3600 varieties of potato), its diverse climates — from Pacific Ocean shore, to desert sand dunes in Huacachina, hiking in Olyotentwntwmbo, Rainbow Mountain and Machu Picchu, to the quiet beauty and majestic views in Sacred Valley, where we did a sound tribute to pacha mama (Mother Nature). Then of course there are the Amazon river, rain forests, and winter — like shores with Walrus and Penguin — truly unexpected sights to behold.

A wonderful discovery was the century-plus-year-old Japanese history of Peru, including the additions to its cuisine and culture, as eating ubiquitous Chaufa was one of our favorite food memories on the ground. The countries current elected president is Japanese Peruvian.

The country, its people, the energy and history hold so much, and we’re excited to include it in our year of Latin America. Enjoy this quick jaunt to one of our favorite places on the South American Content — with something for everyone, we are sure you won’t be disappointed.

It’s the perfect pairing with Oscar Nominee Aunjenue Ellis, who is best known for memorable performances as the mother of global tennis phenoms Venus and Serena Williams in the feature film in “King Richard,” alongside Oscar-nominated actor Will Smith, as well as her “out-of-this-world” role in HBO’s “Lovecraft Country.”

Ellis is a personal and professional powerhouse who champions the history and legacy of U.S. freedom fighter Fannie Lou Hamer, for whom many U.S. citizens owe norms enjoyed from the work she did during the Civil Rights era in the United States.

As you enjoy these articles and more, don’t forget to tag us on social or drop me a line to doni@ cultursmag.com to let us know what you think of this, and all our issues.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Live in full Color,

Doni (Dah-knee) Founder

Culturs Global Multicultural Lifestyle Network Editor-in-Chief Culturs Magazine Cultursmag.com

Pe r u

THE HISTORY OF THE JAPANESE MIGR ATION TO PERU

The Japanese migration to Peru began on April 3, 1899 via an agreement between the governments of Japan and Peru, as Japan was experiencing a demographic crisis, while Peru needed labor for work on the “haciendas” (big farms). In 1899, 790 workers arrived at the port of Callao.

These migrants opened a path of success and integration on the South American continent, whose contributions can be seen in politics, culture, business and the famous Peruvian food, which clearly expresses their confluence with the country of the rising sun.

Japan chose Peru as the destination for its citizens in the middle of the Meiji era because it was the first country in Latin America with which they established diplomatic relations, and the empire sought to “westernize” its young farmers in a distant land in South America that was experiencing economic growth in its agricultural industry.

The first Japanese came with a four-year contract and the truth is that many of them did not return, either due to illness, death or because they built their lives around Peru. At that time a trip to Japan took 40 days at sea, and it was not an easy voyage. Many never returned, while others returned very late.

For example, my greatgrandfather on my mother’s side of the family came from Fukushima and never returned to Japan, nor did my grandfather from my father’s side — he came from Okinawa, as most Japanese families in Peru come from. He didn’t want to live in a place occupied by the U.S. Army in the wake of the Second World War that became the biggest military based in Asia, at that time.

The life of the first immigrants in Peru was, for many, of comforts and abundance

compared to what they had in Japan, despite the fact that their first jobs were as laborers and houseworkers.

In just a few years, the Japanese community owned wineries, parlors, restaurants and other small businesses in the cities.

The Second World War slowed down this evolution and many fortunes and businesses disappeared, affected by massive deportations and confiscations

caused by the breakdown of Peru’s diplomatic relations with Axis Alliance countries.

The history of the migration is divided in two parts, the first part being before the war and the second after the war. Before the war there was a lot of work and progress, while after the war the Japanese community was reduced to a few remaining families in Lima that, only until the early 1950s started to return back to Peru.

Most of the Japanese migrants came from different parts of Japan, such as Osaka, Kanagawa, Hokkaido, Hiroshima, Gifu and Okinawa.

One likely explanation for the “Nikkei” success in Peru is that most of them come from Okinawa, and as an Okinawan descendent I have to say this:

Okinawa is a wonderful, beautiful place full of warn weather, blue beaches and a food that is completely different from the Japanese stereotype; they have their own dialect called “Uchinaguchi” and are considered to be a friendly, happy people and perhaps that makes them live the longest in the world.

Overall, the best way to pay tribute to this community of travelers that decided to live and prosper in Peru is to contribute to the development of the nation that received them so well from the very beginning.

P E R U V I A N C U LT U R E ,

F R O M A T W E E N P O I N T O F V I E W

By Kameron McMillion

I

nterviewing my friend, who is Peruvian, gave me a lot of information on Peruvian traditions. After interviewing her, I knew so much more about the culture.

The languages they speak are Spanish and English. An interesting statement her mother mentioned was, when in Peru, many Peruvians that can speak English will only speak it inside buildings such as houses, restaurants, etc. When they are outside, they will only speak Spanish. This is because there is an assumption, by some, that English-speaking Peruvians are from the U.S. and are wealthy, so it is possible to have money, cell phones, wallets, etc. stolen.

POLLO A LA BR ASA

As she told me about the foods she eats, she made me want some. Pollo a la Brasa is a traditional common food she and her family eat. It is chicken with French fries and lettuce on the side. Ceviche is white corn and onions topped over cut fish and a bunch of lemon juice over the meal. There is also a special yellow sauce with lettuce and sweet potatoes on the side. Laying on the top of the meal is a hard boiled egg cut in half. They also eat Anticuchos which is a cow’s heart. She told me there is a drink called Inca Kola which is like golden soda. Peruvians drink soda often. They also drink milk with brown sugar in it. Most Peruvian people also eat what is called Panettone, which is a fruit cake.

TR ADITIONAL PONCHO

The clothing Peruvians wear is very interesting. In the northern part of the country they wear ponchos with different patterns that mean something special to the family. They also wear a hat called a Chullo.

CHRISTMAS

December 24 is Christmas for them. They stay up until midnight and then they pray to Jesus and say Merry Christmas. On July 28, they celebrate Independence Day. Red and white are the colors of the Peruvian flag. The religion for Peruvians is usually Catholic.

PERUVIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBR ATION

I asked her what her favorite part of her culture was and this is what she said: “I like the different foods because not that many people around the world can try these foods.”

he Republic of Peru in western South America bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil and Bolivia to the southeast, Chile in the south. It’s T lined by the Pacific Ocean in the south and west. Peru has many microclimates, which underscores the diversity of potoatoes, which count varieties into the thousands.

The country’s habitats include sand-like deserts in Huacachina, arid plains -- the

Pacific coastal region, punctuated by surf culture on the shore of Lima along with paragliding amongst the towering downtown buildings. The west boasts the

Andes mountains which extend from the north to the southeast of the country where one can find the tropical Amazon basin rainforest in the east along with the

Amazon River.

Machu Picchu.

Peru often is considered the gastronomic capital of South America and hosts some of the best restaurants in the world, including No. 4 in the world: Central in Lima, Peru (which also was voted Best Restaurant in South America in 2021) and No. 7 Maido, also in Lima, Peru (up three places from the previous year). In addition to the home and chef creations we feature for you on the coming pages, take a gander at the type of food and atmosphere you can expect at Maido, and get inspired to start your own gourmet experience.

INGREDIENTS:

1. 150 grams of Soba noodles 2. 6 cloves of Garlic 3. 1 white Onions

4. 3 stems of Celery 5. 2 small Carrots

6. Half a cabbage 7. 10 shitakes mushrooms

Yakisoba Sauce:

1. 100 ml Soy Sauce 2. 50 ml Vinegar 3. 50 ml Tomato paste 4. 2 teaspoons sugar 5. Sesame oil to taste.

INSTRUCTIONS:

01

Mixing it all together

Cook the soba noodles in boiling water until done, then chop garlic, white onions, celery, cabbage, shitake mushrooms and use a cheese grater to shred the carrots. Mix all the ingredients for the Yakisoba sauce. We first stir fry the white onions, celery and carrots. Then we add the garlic, cabbage and mushrooms and cook until done. Then we add the noodles and the Yakisoba sauce. We need to stir fry for 10 minutes or until all the veggies and noodles have absorbed the sauce.

DESTINATION: PERU

INGREDIENTS:

1. 200 grams of flounder, sole, halibut, snapper or any local white fish fillet. 2. 4 Lemons

3. 2 Red Onions 4. 1 Red Chili - any chili that has flavor and spiciness, not jalapeño 5. 2 cloves of Garlic 6. 1 small piece of Ginger 7. 1 Stick of Celery 8. 10 leaves of cilantro 9. 50 ml of cold water 10. 1 Corn and 50 grams of toasted corn - in case you can find some 11. 1 Sweet potato 12. 1 leaf of lettuce 13. Salt and Black Pepper, to taste.

01

Preparing the ingredients

Mixing it all together Serving the Dish

Slice the raw fish in small, bite-sized cubes and the first thing we do is to put salt and chilies on the fish, in that order.

On to the Tiger’s Milk or Leche de Tigre. In a blender add 2 pieces of garlic, half an onion, half a chili, the juice of 4 lemons, a bit of ginger, cilantro leaves, water, celery stick and small pieces of fish and blend it all.

Strain it and mix the Leche de Tigre with the raw salted chili fish and 1 chopped onion, and leave it to rest for half an hour inside the fridge.

Serve the Ceviche with baked sweet potato, cooked corn and fresh lettuce.

DESTINATION: PERU

INSTRUCTIONS:

02 03

SERVINGS:

For 2 people

COOKING TOOLS:

• Chopping board • Knife • Wok or frying pan • Ramekins or small bowls for portioning.

INGREDIENTS:

1. 150 gr beef tenderloin, sirloin, Short

Loin, flank - can be replaced with chicken or fish or pork loin. For vegetarians replace with 150 grams

Cooked Quinoa al dente 2. 1 clove of garlic 3. 1 piece of ginger 4. 1 red onion 5. 1 tomato 6. 4 big spoon of soy sauce 7. 2 big spoon of Vinegar 8. 2 teaspoon of Sugar 9. 1 teaspoon of tomato paste or miso paste (Optional) 10. Salt and Pepper to taste 11. Handful of Cilantro 12. Olive Oil

DESTINATION: PERU

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preparing the ingredients

We put our wok or pan on the stove and we need it to be smoking hot. Then we add the meat with the ginger and garlic and start stir frying. When the meat starts to caramelize we take it out of the fire and in the same pan we start to stir fry the onions for 1 minute. Next we put the meat back in the pan, with the mix of soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and black pepper. Then after 2 minutes of stir frying, we finish with chopped cilantro and tomatoes.

Imani Khayyam Culturs about the genesis of the film and their passion about bringing Hamer’s story to the wider public.

In 1964, according to Ellis, Hamer and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party – comprised of “just a bunch of, you know, maids and farmers and sharecroppers from Mississippi” – boarded a bus and went to the Democratic National Convention in New Jersey.

Mississippi that year sent an all-white, all-male delegation to be the representatives for the state at the convention.

“And so, Mrs. Hamer and this motley crew of folks from Mississippi said, ‘No, they don’t represent us,’” according to Ellis. “So they went to New Jersey and said, ‘These people don’t represent us, so we need to be the ones who are seated. We are the true representatives from the state of Mississippi.’ And what happened was that it put the whole convention into a turmoil; Lyndon Johnson felt his presidency threatened by Mrs. Hamer, by the efforts of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. And that’s all I’m gonna tell you because I want people to actually research this and find out for themselves.”

As a result of Hamer’s and her colleagues’ actions, the Democratic Party no longer allowed all-male or all-white delegations to go to its conventions anymore, according to Ellis.

“So here’s the thing: We live what this woman did in 1964, and the consequences and the ramifications of her efforts are . . .

Director Christine Swanson

what we are experiencing right now,” she said.

But until she found out about Hamer, Ellis had never heard of her.

“I certainly didn’t learn anything about her when I was in elementary school, when I was in junior high school, when I was in High School [so] what can I do in what I do to change that as a course correction? And so I wanted to do a film about her,” Ellis said. “I reached out to some writers, reached out to some directors, reached out to everybody, and nobody wanted to do it, so I said, ‘Well, I gotta do it myself.’”

Consequently, Ellis began to write a screenplay about Hamer. Not long after that, she told Christine Swanson, who had directed Ellis in the 2020 Lifetime TV film “The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel,” about Hamer and Swanson caught the passion bug as well. Swanson then applied for and was awarded a $10,000 grant from the Chromatic Black Organization to make a short film, which they did in October 2021 and is now on YouTube.

“It’s really an introduction to what I have been working on and writing, which is the full feature on Mrs. Hamer that we hope to make happen,” Ellis said.

As for Swanson, she thinks that what Ellis has written would have made Hamer proud.

Ellis is “just so dogged in making sure that it pops on the page and I just feel like it’s really turned into something that Mrs.

Actor Aunjanue Ellis Hamer would be very proud of and would see that somehow she implanted in Aunjanue living in Mississippi and beyond, I feel it starting to sprout,” Swanson said.

Another selling point for a feature-length film about Hamer, Swanson said, is that “it could be one of the few civil rights stories told through a female lens.” Not only that, “this may be really one of the first feature films made that is strictly told through the lens of this black woman written by a Mississippi native, Aunjanue Ellis, directed by a black woman with deep roots in Mississippi -- all of my Dad’s family is from Mississippi.”

Given the heated debate in recent years in the United States about critical race theory, Ellis said Fannie Lou Hamer’s effect “on American electoral politics is not a story, is not a narrative, it’s the truth. . . . But the bottom line is . . . they don’t want this history that they are ashamed of to be told and to be taught in classrooms. So that’s what is so important about Mrs. Hamer, what happened with Mrs. Hamer, the truth of Mrs. Hamer and I just really want to make sure that I put that word in there, that it’s the truth.”