Arequipa, in the highlands of Southern Peru has a population of one million people and is the second largest city in Peru. However, this is hard to imagine when one arrives at the beautiful Plaza de Armas in the centre of town.
It is peaceful, quiet and surrounded by colonial styled buildings which have certainly maintained their glory from the past. They are all made from “sillar” a light, whitish coloured rock excavated from the lava flows of the three volcanos that surround the town.
NOTE: To view any of the smaller photos full size, please click on any photo and scroll.
The cathedral, the arched passage ways, the trees and fountain create a square which exists to be used and enjoyed by all. One certainly feels this while observing the people, sitting, reading, talking, resting and even having a quick doze ….. finding a moment to relax and become an active part of this special place.
But within the square there are people who make their living giving services to all those visiting the square.
The first thing I always do when I arrive at the square is buy a “queso helado” (cheese ice-cream), an Arequipa speciality.
Estefania scrapes the barrel with force as the ice-cream is very hard. She deposits it, spoonful by spoonful into a plastic cup. In reality, the ice-cream is made from milk, not cheese……. with a healthy sprinkling of cinnamon on top. Delicious!
I then cross the road to sit in the square and enjoy my ice-cream. There, on the same park bench as always, sits Gabino with his type-writer on his lap. Gabino has had a number of jobs and was a teacher in latter years. However, now his office is on this park bench in the Plaza de Armas.
I asked him how business was going. He replied that things were going pretty well. His only problem was finding replacement ink ribbons for his type-writer.
“And how do your type-writer services compete in this new technological world?” I continued. He answered that there are many official formats that people need to fill in . He has copies of all the legal documents and knows each format by memory.
Many of his customers are totally bewildered by such documents. However, they can simply sit down by his side, give him their details…. and quickly, tapping away, the document is ready, quickly, efficiently and at a much better price than in an office or notary. For a letter or document he charges S/ 20, (about $US 5) and with his sound knowledge, acts as a kind of people’s lawyer for his clients.
Having finished my “helado de queso” and having had a good chat with Gabino, I set off around the square to find Dionisio, one of the official Plaza photographers. I wanted to find him as I also had some photos of him from previous visits I wanted to share with him.
Dionisio along with his Plaza de Armas colleagues uses his SLR camera to take photos of visitors to the square. He carries a portable printer with him and thus provides his customers with their photos there and then.
He has been working in the Plaza de Armas for over fifty years. Originally he worked with an old-fashioned box camera on a tripod. On this visit, Dionisio told me something I never knew. In those days he would have small trays of developer and fixer within the box camera.
in Lima around 1980. Only now do I realize that the photorapher was busy developing and printing the photo.
Putting his hand in a long light-proof sleeve, he could develop the photos from within the camera and produce the photo for his clients within a few minutes.
The photographers are not alone making portraits of visitors. Artists such as Mario, are ready with charcoals and pencils to prepare quick portraits.
Here he is busy making a portrait of a young girl visiting Arequipa with her family from Lima.
This is also a good place to get your shoes polished at a cost of S/. 5. ($US 1.30) Hugo does a thorough job.
My very well-travelled leather, worn out boots thought that it was their birthday. Oh boy, I could see my face reflected in them!
Another Plaza de Armas occupation belongs to those offering tours to different attractions around Arequipa. If you are interested, Martin will quickly escort you to his nearby tourist agency, where you will be fixed up in no time. Unlike some places, Martin and others, offer their services with a smile and without insistent pressure, in keeping with the feeling of peace that prevails in the square.
The same happens with food. With menus in hand you are offered delicious dishes at a “good price” in one of the many restaurants located around the square ……. ah..,… and a free Pisco Sour to start with too!
I noticed that, as with Lima, there has been a steady influx of people from Venezuela, many finding working in restaurants. There has been a constant surge of citizens from Venezuela to Peru in recent times due to the political troubles in their own country.
From much closer by, there are sometimes villagers in the square dressed in their traditional clothes. A little child and a small lamb are more than enough to melt the hearts of the tourists. I am not sure how much they charge for a photo, but I am sure this is a very profitable little earner!
As in Lima and every other town in Peru there is, of course, the bright yellow D’Onofrio ice-cream cart being pushed around the square. There must be thousands and thousands of these carts throughout the whole country. Well, D’Onofrio is tasty, but I’ll stick to the Queso Helado while I am here!
There are indeed other things on sale in the square…. newspapers, a bottle of water, chocolates, sweets…..some artisan jewellery……..want to buy a plastic windmill or a selfy-stick? ….It is all possible.
Some vendors have licenses to sell their goods, others keep one eye on the customer and the other on the “Serenazgo” (municipal police) and are ready to make a quick escape.
And as for the police? They are around of course, but in keeping with the square, it is service with a nice wide smile.
As I mentioned in my previous post on Arequipa (see link below) , I have found a small “table for one” in the very entrance to one of the Plaza restaurants. (Thanks for the tip, David!). There, one can read, write and watch the people pass by. I find myself sitting there, sipping a Chilcano and gazing at the Plaza de Armas, calmly and happily as the world goes slipping by.
In half an hour, I will call Angel, my taxi-driver for a ride to the airport and after a ninety minute flight be back to the busy, noisy city of Lima……home again!
This post centres on those people working in the Plaza de Armas. For more details and views of the beautiful city of Arequipa, its people and places, please have a look at this following post.
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Wanderings! 
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