Wednesday May 22, 2013
June is a big month for Peruvian soccer, with vital World Cup qualifying games against Ecuador and Colombia.
The Peruvian national team will first play a warm-up friendly match against Panama in Panama City on June 1. The team then returns to Lima for a sure-to-be-heated qualifying game against fierce rivals Ecuador. The match will take place in the Estadio Nacional on June 7. Next up is another vital match against Colombia on June 11. The game will be played in Barranquilla, Colombia.
Peru really needs points to stand any chance of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Two wins would inject some genuine hope back into the campaign, while a win and a draw could potentially be sufficient depending on other results. Anything less is likely to put Peru out of the running.
Head over to the FIFA website for the current South American qualifying table.
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Photo (public domain, Wikimedia Commons) shows the Peruvian national soccer team of the 1970 World Cup, in which Peru reached the quarter final -- its most successful World Cup to date.
Wednesday May 22, 2013
One Direction's master plan for total world domination continues apace, with a glut of gigs already confirmed for 2014 -- including a Latin American tour.
The buoyant screams of Peru's female youth can currently be heard echoing off Andean peaks following the official announcement of a gig in Lima. The British boy band will play the Estadio Nacional on April 27, 2014. Tickets will go on sale on June 17, 2013.
This one could sell out quickly, so get in there early if you want to see the cheeky little Londoners strutting their stuff in Peru.
Thursday May 9, 2013
The list of concerts in Peru during 2013 just keeps on growing. Recent confirmations to play the Peruvian capital include:
The Sabbath gig is so far short on confirmed details (no listing on the official webpage), but it looks like the legendary heavy metal maestros will be tearing up Lima sometime this year. Hopefully someone will warn Ozzy Osbourne about rabies in Peru before he tries to bite the head off a bat (or just give him a guinea pig -- much more culturally relevant...).
Black Sabbath photo © dido, flickr.com.
Thursday May 9, 2013
Peru is fertile land for extreme sports fanatics, thanks largely to its three distinct and rugged geographic regions. In recent months, two vertigo-inducing videos have appeared on the UK's The Guardian website (both videos courtesy of Reuters), featuring extreme plunges through the Peruvian sky.
The first video, shot in August 2012, takes place at Gocta Waterfall in northern Peru (located near the town of Chachapoyas and the impressive Kuelap Fortress). In it, Belgian base jumper Cedric Dumont jumps from the top of Gocta, a waterfall ranked among the world's tallest (the exact ranking is subject to much debate).
The second video begins 1.7 miles (2.7 km) above the Nazca Lines in southern Peru. Cedric Dumont (again) and Colombian Jhonathan Florez leap from a light aircraft, both men wearing wingsuits that allow them to reach speeds of up to 118 mph (190 km/h).
