Peruvian Imports of Madison

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About Us

To tell you about who we are and how we came up with the concept of Peruvian Imports of Madison, we have to first tell you about our experiences in Peru, one of our favorite topics of conversation. When Ernesto first took me to Peru, it was for dual purpose. One was to visit his family, who live in Lima, the other was a chance for both of us to learn more about his culture and heritage. Having taken several anthropology courses, I had an amateur interest in the ruins of the ancient civilizations of Peru. He had lived there throughout his childhood and had taken for granted the richness in his roots.

One of the first places we visited was Cusco, the “navel”, or center of the Inca Empire. We were immediately immersed by the colorful atmosphere and warm people. We visited a plethora of historic and prehistoric sites including the Koricancha, the site of the Inca Sun Temple, which was covered by the Spaniards with a large Cathedral; Sacsaywaman, the “lightning bolt” temple and site of ancient processions; the Sacred Valley including Ollantaytambo, the site of an amazing ancient terraced city/fortress and temple; and of course Machu Picchu, the mysterious ruins hidden until the early twentieth century. Please read our page on Peruvian Culture to learn more.

With a population of almost 6½ million people, Lima is also a city rich with culture and diversity. Downtown Lima has traditional plazas and original Colonial buildings with their ornate balconies and windows contrasting with ultra modern structures nearby in the city. Just as diverse are the people who live there, from the very wealthy to the impoverished majority. We visited modern supermarkets, where I was amazed at the variety of fruits and vegetables that were displayed. Just the variety of potatoes was pretty amazing. One poor grocery store clerk took me from item to item patiently explaining to me the names and tastes of almost every one.

We visited Colonial churches and political offices and the Museo de Oro (Museum of Gold) and even a archeological site located in the middle of Miraflores, the Huaca Puccllana, where hairless dogs, indigenous to Peru, roamed freely. Puccllana dates somewhere between 200-700 AD, and is built from small hand made, sun dried bricks and is representative of the early culture of Lima.

The streets of Lima, themselves were worthy of mention. They are packed with traffic, where taxi drivers, and Ernesto’s aunt, skillfully carried us throughout the city, one foot on the gas, one foot on the brake, one hand on the wheel, and the other on the horn.

Adding to this is the Peruvian cuisine. Native ingredients and style with influences of African, Spanish, Italian and Chinese makes for a diverse and delicious experience. Que Rico! As a side note, one cannot mention Peruvian culture without mentioning their love of soccer. We were fortunate to be having dinner during one of the most important games of the season. The windows and doorways were crowded with onlookers watching the game on the TV in the restaurant.

While visiting this beautiful country, we also discovered the talents of local artisans, weaving their colorful cloth, carving leather and wood, displaying detailed ceramics, alpaca wool items and stone works. Even at that time, we thought how wonderful it would be to be able to bring some of this culture home with us and share it with others, not fortunate enough to have been able to visit for themselves.

We have only scratched the surface of the people and culture of Peru. On future visits, we hope to see other areas, promising to be just a rich and wonderful as those we’ve seen.

Thank you to everyone who made our visit to Peru special. To brothers Victor and Richard in Orange County, CA, who inspired us to go and continue to support us. To Ernesto’s family in Peru, who were so warm, welcoming and entertaining, who fed us some of the best food ever, were wonderful tour guides and didn’t say anything when I got so sunburned in Cusco that I looked like a space alien. Thank you, especially, to Ernesto’s Mother, Gloria, and Father, Ernesto, who took such good care of our son while we explored Peru and to Yovita, Ernesto’s sister, who puts so much work into visiting artisans, placing and picking up orders and shipping the goods to us. Without her our business would not be possible.

Now that we have relocated from Southern California to the city of Madison, Alabama we are finally able to begin our business of importing these beautiful and unique items and making them available to our community and online. Peruvian Imports of Madison is the realization of that dream. Not only are we able to share these special items, but we are also able to contribute to the less fortunate, and extremely talented artists of Peru. We hope you enjoy our website and the items we have selected to offer for you to purchase.

Sincerely,
Ernesto and Christine

Friday 05 September, 2008	12253 requests since Monday 06 November, 2006