Pasión

Pasión.  A language deeply engrained in my Peruvian culture that it feels as natural as my first breathes on a lazy Sunday morning.  Where I have experienced Pasión is in local exchanges at farmers' markets.  The bustling outdoor markets of both locals and foreigners haggling about prices, asking "cuanto por kilo?," a measure which I am only recently learning how to quantify.

When I first started going to the farmer`s markets with Emilio, my primo, after my first week in Lima, I didn`t know the names of common veggies.  Recently, I`ve started haggling, but always end up buying the produce. It`s hard to resist as the sellers passionately convince you to buy the "papas," even though they`re their last ones and would quickly be left to rot in the states.



I`ve also experienced deep passion in the dozens of "cevicherias" I visit frequently.  My favorite dish is currently the asian "tiradito de atún", a popular dish which is amazing at La Mar.  Black and tan sesame seeds sprinkled over fresh thin slices of tuna with palta and soy sauce drizzled on top.  Peruvians are so deeply connected to their food, each dish like papas a la huacachina with stories and recipes told through generations at the dinner table.

I`ve also experienced the Pasión within the locals living in the deep jungle.  Hiking with Mario, a local plant man in Tambopata National Reserve, looking for the largest branches of Uño de Gato.   One of most sacred medicinal plants in the forest in which the bark has been used for thousands of years to cure cancer and improve overall immunity and calm the nervous system.  Then, listening to a women in the farmer`s markets tell me her personal experience suffering from cancer and uño de gato bringing her back to life.

I have also experienced Pasión in the deep jungles of Iquitos.   An energy so sexual in nature that it captured me in the jungle and I momentarily felt outside of myself.  Visiting Iquitos with mi prima Gaby and her friend Vanessa, listening to locals tell their personal accounts with mystical powers in the jungle.  Accounts with the mythological creature Perricholi, a man who raptured a young beautiful women and they died passionately making love.  Then, hearing noises waking us up deep in the night, spirits haunting our site when we were sleeping, an energy with powers so deep they pierce into your heart at night.

Peruvians are so deeply passionate about food that their stories are timeless.  But its no mystery, as food is a basic requirement for living a vibrant life.  Food is so primal in nature that after 14 days of not eating, our bodies simply shrivel up and die.  Dancing and eating with my aunts and uncles in California during the holidays, I felt a deep sense of pasión as I watched my family dance.  I felt a greater understanding of my heritage, where we come from, and the non-verbal language that lives in the food, from my Tia Besty`s ají de gallina, Mickey`s italian pasta to my mom`s lomo saltado, a Peruvian and asian dish that is a favorite!



When I talk to Justina, a local vender at the farmer`s market who has become a grandmother figure to me,  I asked her how she learned so much about the local herbs and plants she gets from Ayacucho.  She tells me stories of her as little girl as her mamama would suggest different plants to use as an "infusion" or tea.  She uses these plants when she had a sore thrown, headaches, or pains from falling on the gravel while playing among the trees.

At a young age, Justina grew a fascination for these plants, ranging from "matico" that can be used for acne or "valeriana" a flowering plant that can be used both to help your mind focus in the day or relax and sleep at night.  I`ve also found how medicinal plants are part of the local pop culture, running into Jorge, the founder of Bar Medicinal. A hot new bar in Barranco that sells frozen snow cones of hierba luisa, manzanilla, including all the medicinal plants you could find in Justina`s collection

Recently, I was talking to Justina and showed her a pic of my collection of plants.  Plants in which I have learned how to use to allow myself to relax more easily or using uño de gato when my muscles are achy.  She told me, "tu estás vendiendo esto, eres la competición?" I told her that I only use them for personal needs.  Then when talking to Meche, my empleada, she said me, "Sabes que necesitas hacer un negocio con estos productos."

I`ve realized that following your passion is a life-long journey.  I dreamed of moving to Peru as a little girl and finally moved almost a year ago.   When I decided to move, it was after a recent visit where I fell in love all over again and realized I could no longer push off my dreams.  As a child, I dreamed of helping the people deep up in the Andes by installing internet so they could better educate themselves.  More recently, I`ve grown an interest to work with the local producers like Justina and help them grow their businesses through technology.

I`ve been giving latest experiments to my family and friends and asking experts like my best friends Luzy y Paolo for advice.  For example, I learned through Luzy that if you soak uño de gato in pisco, leave it to "mascar," you can create a great lotion with beaswax, essential oils, and coconut oil.  Rubbing this cream on your muscular joints has an immediate healing effects as it allows your muscles to relax and the joints to slowly heal.   They`ve taught me how to use my noise to direct me to my inner core. I`ve also learned how to evolve old practices like the need to control everything through meditation, quieting my mind, and better aligning my vibrations.



In the U.S. I mostly experience my love for plants and nature through my love of the outdoors.  Hiking has become a core habit of mine, every time going home to hike with my family.  I`ve always loved nature growing up in the mountains and understanding deeply the connection between the trees and how they speak to us.

Living passionately is living each moment consciously.  Hearing the silence as you eat your meal slowly, chewing each bight as it enters your mouth.  I`m deeply thankful for all of the people I have met on my journey and closely family and friends that have supported me.  No matter where we are in the world, our energy holds us close together and allows us to live each day fully.