Chiclayo: Club Ozone & the Temples of Sican

Location: Chiclayo, Peru



Club Ozone, Chiclayo

for a gringo or a westerner or whatever we call ourselves the nighclub scene in south america is a revelation.unlike the rather fragmented music scene of the english speaking world, where one social group listens to techno and another listens to rock and so on....it seems as though the music scene here is universal, latin music is to be heard everywhere from the bus to the chemist to the nightclub. weather it be mainstream pop or 1950s grandfather songs the music is always underpinned by recognizable latin rythms such as (cumbia, salsa, merengue etc..) and the dancing styles to each of these are like a language to which everyone speaks a few words. and likes to show it off.
it make quite a contrast to the "get-drunk-and-make-it-up-as-you-go-along " method used all to often on other parts of the planet. and another significant difference is that people dont dance alone, it always consists of a boy and a girl or a small group of girls dancing together. oh, and this particular club was on till 5 AM..

Chevere!!

Location: Chiclayo, Peru

went to Ferañafe to visit the museum of the royal tombs of Sican (this is a different one to " sipan" in the previous post) the museum displayed artifacts and remains which told a story of a bygone civilisation, "the sican culture" who existed from about 750AD to 1100AD.

then we went to see the actual temples from which the items had been extracted. there are 34 temples ("huacas") in this area, their appearance has been changed over the years due to water erosion. we visitied one of them (huaca de las ventanas) the guide showed us that some of the tombs had long ago been robbed of their contents by thieves known as "huaqueros". another nearby pyramid was closed to the public because excavation is still ongoing.

also the taxi driver who broaght us out to the site of the tombs told me of the phenomenon "el niño". a great flood in 1998 which turned the entire area into a lake. theres certainly little sign of water there now.

wax reconstruction of burial site. the upside down one is "the lord of Sican" strangly buried this way with severed head facing outward. the two on the left are his wives.

Facial reconstruction from orignal skull found in the tomb.

The temple in the background held the remains of 370 women, sacrificied by the sicans in response to heavy rains which were thought to have been punishment from god.

todays song
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Grupo 5 : Te vas