Foto, senor?
Foto, senor? Solamente un sol, senor.
While hanging around the marketplace in the small town of Pisac, a small town located in Cusco’s Sacred Valley, I was approached by many young children and woman colorfully dressed in their traditional Quechuan garb who boldly asked me if I wanted to take a picture of them for one sol (a Peruvian dollar). Usually, they would be carrying a young alpaca or two in their arms in a small shoulder bag. Let’s face it, most of the indigenous populations of the Andean highlands are very poor; and in the tourist areas, in an effort to supplement their meager income, the parents recruit their children to solicit the tourists. I guess you could say that posing for tourists is their occupation.
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The joker that I am, I had a lot of fun with these children by turning the tables on them - In response to their solicitation, I would often reply “Le gustaria tomar algunos fotos de Papa Mono? Dos fotos, solamente veinte centimos.” Translation - I asked them if they would like two pictures of me, Papa Mono? Only 20 cents. Then I would proceed to point the camera at myself and depress the camera shutter. The kids often laughed at my antics and shook their heads, answering, Si, I want pictures of Papa Mono!
Factoid: Papa Mono, my nickname in Peru, means Papa Monkey (or Big Monkey). I come from deep in the heart of the Amazonian Rainforest.
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