Cas Cas, Perú

Cas Cas, Perú

To me, a Latin American Córdoba.  Narrow streets closed in by cement walls.  The wooden Spanish balconies and terra cotta roofing provide hints of old world influence.  

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Marinera Peruana is the dance of the Peruvian Sierra and originated in Andalucía, Spain

In the past fifty years the pueblito has developed an economía de uvas.  Uvas are grapes and you'll see them in all parts of Cas Cas.  The surrounding green and gold mountains and their valleys have become a home to vineyards, in which millions of grape vines are sowed each year.  You can buy a kilo of uvas rojas for 2 soles,  about 60 cents.  The fat juicy grapes are used to make less delicious semi-seco wine.  

After a few weeks of foamy mouth-watery Pisco Sours,  I had high expectations for this nationally known wine region just two hours from Trujillo, Perú.  The festival of uvas was taking place, which was an opportunity to try all of the local wine in the town's small stadium.  Semi-seco, which translates to semi-dry, is in fact not dry at all,  it is almost unbearably sweet (for a wine). The wine is hardly fermented and sugar is added after the fermentation process. There is an even sweeter wine (the dulce) that is available at all of the bodegas (wine stores).  According to the French guy whom I traveled with, the region's seco (dry) wine is worse than the cheapest boxed wine one can find in France.  Maybe I was being a bit bougie when I asked at one of the bodegas, "would you compare this to a Cabernet?"  The shop owner replied with a confused and somewhat irritated look.  

Needless to say the local flavors were somewhat of a let down, but the views made up for it.

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Overlooking the vineyards of Cas Cas, Perú.  Cas Cas is a small town located just two hours from Trujillo, between the coast and the sierra.

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Cas Cas' fuegos artificiales, the Peruvian way. June 28th marked fiestas partrias of Perú, the celebrations of Perú's independence from the Spanish Empire.

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Climbing the mountains of Cas Cas in a mototaxi.

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Arból de Mil Raíces ( The tree of 1,000 roots ) is located just a few kilometers outside the Cas Cas town center.

An itch we all have

In my freshman year of college I entered the business school at Tulane University. In school I always had a strange itch.  It was small at first, I felt it when I was required to volunteer at a local elementary school in New Orleans and found that the 10 year-olds I worked had trouble completing their math because they couldn't read the problems. 

The itch grew after spending a summer in Chile, where I realized that the Pinochet regime had caused a disparity in the country.   This disparity allowed some (including myself) to live in beautifully restored 19th-century accommodation and enjoy some of the best wine in the world, while others squatted in tarp-roofed houses and consumed contaminated water from the ground .

While working with the Pemón indigenous community in Venezuela the following summer I helped a visiting doctor deliver two babies to 13-year old mothers.  During one of the births the baby could not pass through the birth canal due to the girl's small hips.  When the baby finally passed through it was resuscitated by the doctor. However, the consequences are a life of a severe brain damage in a society with little acceptance and assistance for the mentally ill.  

Providing workshops on sex education in the Pemón Indigenous Region of Venezuela

I've attempted to scratch my itch many times, tried to ignore the fact that such great inequalities exist.  I think many, like me, assuage the itch with creams, or apply band-aids in attempt to heal these itches, which inevitably return.

Over time I have realized the importance of having a balance between helping myself and helping others. 

Joining Teach For America and teaching in economically disadvantaged communities for the past four years has kept this itchy rash from spreading.  Knowing that each day when I stepped into my second-grade class I was making even just a small difference.

With my second graders in Brooklyn, NY

At this point in time, I could view my itch as an annoyance.  Instead,  I've decided to have the perspective that this itch is just a friendly reminder that there is always a way in which I can and should help others and make an impact.  

Venture with Impact is for people that have that itch that they want to scratch.

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