Textiles by the thousands
There is so much, so much, so much variety in the textile field that one's head spins quite quickly. There are so many artisanal markets and some cities like Cusco have so many shops and markets that you can spend a day or two there. The most common items of clothing are chompas (sweaters), ponchos, mantas (shawls), gloves, hats and scarves, not to mention travel bags, purses and elegant belts, preferably woven on both sides. Each region has its own traditional patterns that can be found in the markets of Lima or Cusco, but an expert eye will be able to tell you which region each product comes from. The most beautiful belts, decorated with Inca geometric patterns, are bought in Cusco. While belts with large embroidered flowers come from Ayacucho. You can still find old ponchos, especially in Cusco; it is important to observe the weave and the quality of the work. It is also possible to buy a new one woven according to the traditional know-how, but in this case it is advisable to visit the handicraft cooperatives, which are the places where the quality is the most reliable, such as the Centro de Textiles Tradicionales del Cusco, which also signs each product with the hand of the craftsman who created it. In many communities, the presentation of the process of elaboration of the work: from the shearing, to the preparation of the wool, to the natural color baths and looms are part of the community experience offered.
In the Amazon, beautiful hammocks are woven from cotton and vegetable fiber, very resistant. Shipibo handicrafts, originally from Pucallpa, but widespread throughout the jungle, offer magnificent hangings with geometric designs in black, brown and ecru, embroidered with colored threads that reflect the traditional mystique of this ethnic group. The finest embroideries come from Monsefú and Eten (near Chiclayo) and from Cajamarca. The carpets from Ayacucho (Santa Ana district) or San Pedro de Casta (Lima) represent pre-Hispanic geometric patterns, coupled with western perspectives.
Alpaca sweets
It is the finest and softest wool and when worked with care, it is a joy to feel this light and warm texture. Of course on the alpaca market it is sometimes difficult to find your way around. You can find sweaters, gloves, shawls, scarves and obviously ponchos. To know if the product is really 100% alpaca as the label indicates, you have to learn to touch and weigh the quality. The price is also a criterion, because this wool is expensive and if you want to offer yourself something beautiful, you will have to pay the price. Alpaca can also be combined with guanaco or vicuña wool, which is even finer. In Arequipa, you will find the main factories and quality brands. In Cusco and Lima, you will also find emblematic and reference brands that guarantee a safe purchase that should last for many years. The brand Kuna (kunastores.com) details for example the specificity of each wool worked, but the prices are very close to the American or European market. Then nothing prevents you from falling for simpler models that combine the softness of alpaca with a more classic wool like sheep
Tableware and decorative items
The know-how is also that of potters or sculptors. Here again, the regions are distinguished by specific motifs or materials. The toritos of Pucará, made near Puno, have acquired a worldwide reputation. Made and painted by hand, they were originally intended for magico-religious ceremonies (also for marking cattle), as offerings to the mountain gods. These mischievous little colored bulls have been brought up to date and the concept stores also feature new materials that allow the torito to slip into a suitcase without breaking. In Cusco, dishes and other tableware are made of clay and painted with geometric patterns inspired by pre-Columbian sacred motifs. The "grotesque" or "vulgar" ceramics, inspired by those of Quinua, a small village on the outskirts of Ayacucho, represent disproportionately shaped figures. These ceramics reproduce churches, animals, folkloric scenes and candlesticks, and are highly sought after for the red and cream color of the mud used, their expressive simplicity almost childlike. Around Piura, in Chulucanas (especially in the district of La Encantada), a utilitarian and decorative ceramic is produced, which shows a great mastery of black and brown colors. These ceramics can be found in the markets of Cusco, Lima and Arequipa. The Shipibos natives, near Pucallpa (as well as the Arabela), decorate their pottery with geometric and anthropomorphic motifs where brown and black dominate. Their clay, called neapo, is very malleable.
Another material very specific to the Andes is the one used to mould small figures. In the region of Cusco, the objects are modelled in a paste made of wheat and rice flour, potato, papier-mâché and plaster. Representing biblical characters and scenes (Magi, Holy Family, Virgin Mary and archangels), they are offered to Peruvian children at their birth. The main craftsmen-artists are the Mendivils, whose workshops are located in San Blas Square in Cusco. In the region of Ayacucho, they carve in this same paste small characters that are put in pretty colored boxes called retablos. These triptychs relate scenes from daily life (festivals and dances, bullfights, processions...). We find them of all sizes and according to the skill of the craftsman with more or less details, nevertheless some works are simply amazing and of a rare quality. The reputation of these craftsmen is now international. These altarpieces are also sometimes a real mode of expression to try to tell the story of the terrorist era or the difficult conditions of life today in the face of modernity for example. The beautiful film My Father (2017) by Álvaro Delgado-Aparicio gives a good overview of this craft
Another typical Andean object that tells of pre-Columbian times is the famous mate burilado. The tradition of engraving the calabash goes back to the immemorial times before ceramics (3,500 years ago, as testified by the discoveries in Huaca Prieta, in the Chicama valley). Practiced with a punch in the regions of Huancayo and Ayacucho, or with etching in the vicinity of Chiclayo, this art is the source of superb pieces reflecting the history of Peru and its traditions. The most beautiful mates burilados come from Cochas, near Huancayo. Point by point the scene is chiseled on the calabash and one could spend hours reading what is told here.
Finally, one will find in Peru very beautiful mirrors and frames in carved wood, gilded with the leaf, of baroque style of the churches. The prices are quite affordable and the work is extremely fine. The mirrors of Cajamarca for example are decorated with floral motifs in the pure Venetian tradition. In the Amazon, you can find kitchen utensils made of palo de sangre or olive wood. These objects can only be found in Iquitos and at the Mercado Indio in Lima.
Jewellery with a strong identity
We know that the Chavin were the first to work with gold (around 1000 BC), then the Mochica, the Chimu and the Lambayeque took over. It is to say that they became experts in the matter. To be authentic, the silver must bear the 925 mark. Onyx, turquoise, obsidian, opal, as well as the "spondylus", a shell considered in the past as "the sacred food of the gods", are also worked.
The most famous are the silver or gold jewels of Catacaos (department of Piura): they are typical of the mixed art of the North Coast (gold filigree, technique inherited from the Vicus culture). All the Andean regions work with silver and we also find the very fine work of filigree. The marriage with precious stones marks the signature of the country.
In this vein, many craftsmen and travellers offer their work on the ground in the tourist towns. They work more often with pewter, copper or even macramé threads, but some are worth a look. In any case, they know how to value their work and are formidable in business. In Lima and Cusco, we see the emergence of small brands or more often small multi-brand shops that have kept the know-how and modernized the jewelry to make light rings and other energizing grigris
Chicha and other contemporary creations
Peru is also a very creative country that has been able to make emerge from this craft culture new brands or mixes of genres. It is not uncommon to see in markets or ferias traditional embroidered skirts mixed with jeans and in mini size for example. From a joyful melting pot was born also the chicha culture today unavoidable. It is recognizable by its coloured, almost phosphorescent letters inspired by Andean colours and its particular style. Born from the posters of music concerts of the same name (the famous chicha born in the suburban districts of Lima from the nostalgia of the Andean emigrants), it is now affixed on tote bags, tee-shirts or jackets, just like the cultural symbols like the dragons of the Diablada or other masks of the folk dances. This identity fashion is strongly present among young people and is therefore not only there for the tourist. A little visit to the Feria La Union in Barranco, for example, should give you an idea.
Finally, hats off to the French project of Thomas Jacob, a Breton, from Pieta (projectpieta.com/en) who makes urban fashion from Peruvian prisons with key slogans in Spanish. They are present in the shopping malls of Lima, but also everywhere in delivery
