Andrew Leong

Research at the Museo de la Inmigración Japonesa al Perú in Lima has been a lot of fun. The exhibition space itself is small, but if you come after the museum director arrives at 3:30, you can ask to see some of the artifacts and documents kept in storage. If you´re in the mood for a filling and affordable Peruvian-Japanese lunch, be sure to check out the 7 sol *teishoku menú* offered in the cafeteria downstairs (Centro Cultural Peruano Japonés, Av. Gregorio Escobedo 803 Res. San Felipe Jesús María, Lima).

For the second half of my time in Perú, I´ve been traveling by bus to places of historical and literary interest in the northwest. Two points well off the tourist track that were particularly interesting are Puerto Éten, near Chiclayo, and Laredo, near Trujillo.

Although Puerto Éten is now a quiet beach town, in the late nineteenth century, Puerto Éten was a major regional shipping and rail hub. In 1899, it was also the first port of call for the first group of Japanese contract laborers sent to Perú. The old railway pier built out into the Pacific Ocean still stands, and the view of the sandy cliffs and oncoming waves is incredible. There are some scary gaps in the understructure of the pier, so it´s important to watch one´s footing. In the center of Puerto Éten, you can also find the ruins of the abandoned railway station and the rusted hulks of several old passenger cars and engines.

Another interesting point of interest is the town of Laredo, birthplace of Japanese Peruvian poet José Watanabe. A short *combi *ride from central Trujillo, Laredo was, and a still is, dominated by the sugar industry. The entire town smells vaguely of molasses because of the town´s enormous sugar refinery. The town has a late nineteenth century public house, or *casa grande* that is still intact, and in the process of being converted into a historical museum. Even without the museum, however, the large cemetery on the outskirts of town provides a stark record of the difficult labor conditions and social inequity of Laredo´s canefields. Hundreds of unmarked graves made of piled stone surround the more elaborate tombs of wealthier families.