Most afternoons or evenings we walk about 2 miles from our little apartment to the main plaza in the city center where we spend 30 to 60 minutes sitting on a bench. We watch the children play and feed the pigeons, adults walk through the plaza on their way home from work, individuals walk around selling food (mostly ice cream bars, candy, and popcorn) and toys to bench sitters before the local police officers shoo the vendors out of the plaza by blowing sharply on whistles, and official plaza photographers convince visitors to get their picture taken in front of the fountain and cathedral.  One of our favorite people to watch is an older shoeshine man who tries to sell his services to any adult sitting on a bench with less than pristine shoes.

About once a week special groups perform in the plaza.  We really enjoyed listening to the large band of high school boys, especially the songs from Star Wars movies.  One Friday evening a jazz band played and the vocalist sang all the songs in English, which was a bit surprising.  On the weekend there is often an individual preaching in the afternoon or early evening to a section of bench sitters. The most effective one at keeping his audience’s attention was a young man about 20 years old who had a comic book style leaflet to share. 

Recently during an afternoon when we were occupying a bench in the shade and a cute little 70ish year old lady sat down beside us and asked us in Spanish where we were from. As soon as she learned we were from the US she started talking to us in English, which she learned as a teenager. She grew up in Arequipa and went to a local high school run by Christians from Great Britain. She says she has to practice her English in order to remember words. Most of our 45 minute conversation about her life and Peru was in English with a little Spanish sprinkled in here and there.

Young adult Peruvians sometimes express their views by holding political marches around the plaza and nearby streets. We have observed three of these demonstrations with singing, chanting, speeches, and flag waving. During the most recent demonstration a group of police officers was standing by the cathedral with their riot gear handy. Fortunately their extra equipment was not needed.

People who visit the plaza gravitate towards the fountain which serves as the background for most tourists’ photos. Tuturutu, the founder of the city, is the featured statue at the top of the fountain. Most of our visits to the plaza are relaxing and sometimes we eat $0.60 chocolate ice cream cones while sitting there enjoying the sights.