Peruvian cuisine reflects the country’s history with a variety that is unique in the world. If we Peruvians have something to be grateful for in our culinary world, it would be the significant influence that the Arab culture that was integrated through the migration of Europeans from the lands of the Iberian Peninsula, the Al Andaluz, where the Arab presence was approximately 800 years with an important Caliphate established in Cordova.
The introduction of the two worlds of different cultures helped shaped the wealth of a land called Peru — known for its cultural diversity with an exquisite and tremendously varied gastronomy. As mentioned in our previous article on the Arab presence in Peru, confirmed Arab manifestations in many aspects and obviously in our cuisine.
Many typical Peruvian dishes can be easily recognised by its unique Arab touch, especially in the current variety of desserts where honey nougat, rice pudding (Roz b Halib) and Peruvian picarones are accompanied by dried fruits, sugar cane, from syrup (sugar dissolved in water) as well as many products that we can taste with some familiarity in the meals that are offered in many restaurants in Doha.
This article is over two years old, but still noteworthy,
Again, we see the enormous out-sized Arab influence in South America.
Some more from Peru:
Posted on YouTube: February 2, 2022
Posted on YouTube: October 7, 2021
Again, the influence of Arab culture can be found all over Latin America.
… While most states in the region condemned Hamas’s initial attack, their harsh response to the Israeli offensive in Gaza has only been equalled by that of Arab- and Muslim-majority countries. Belize and Bolivia both cut ties with Israel over the war, and Colombia, Chile, and Honduras have all recalled their ambassadors from Tel Aviv.
Even states that consider themselves neutral on the conflict — like Brazil and Argentina — have issued withering condemnations of Israel’s attacks on civilians in Gaza. “This is not a war,” said Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. “This is a genocide.”
So why are Latin American leaders so pro-Palestine? Experts who spoke with RS said it mostly comes down to three factors: Latin America’s increasing independence from the U.S.; the rise of left-wing and indigenous movements; and the presence of large Arab diasporas in much of the region. …
But one thing does stand out (you have to read their article). The author notes the relatively weak Jewish influence overall in Latin America. There is almost no viable a counterweight to all of this, except the rise of Christian Evangelicalism.
The author did note that El Salvador supports Israel even though the present president is of Palestinian extraction. However, El Salvador is one-third to forty precent Evangelical, and that has to have an effect.
In reality, as the Evangelical Churches continue to grow, the sympathies will flip to Israel.
The present support for Gaza may be a last stand for Arabist sympathies.
Chile has become one of the “loudest regional voices” in Latin America condemning Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, said NBC.
“Roots run deep” in Chile for the Palestinian community, with immigration to the nation beginning in the late 19th century, “when Christians fled the faltering Ottoman Empire”, the broadcaster explained.
Despite most Chileans with Palestinian heritage identifying as Christian, this in “no way diminishes the national feeling” of support for the majority-Muslim state, the Morning Star said.
Support for Palestinians has extended outside of Chilean politics, seeping into other influential spheres in the South American nation.
1) There are roughly 500,000 Chileans of Palestinians descent, called Chilestinos in Spanish (Chilestinians in English).
2) They shape the opinion of Chile’s national media.
3) They have influenced the Chilean government to recall its ambassador from Israel.
4) With Chile’s population at 19.5 million, the Palestinians are a little under 3% of Chile’s total population, however they are over half of the Arab population in Chile, so they set the tone for the Arab community … unlike in many other Latin countries where the Arab demographic is titled towards moderate Lebanese Maronites (Catholics).
5) Though the Chilestinians are Christian in the vast majority – about 99% Christian – that does not stop them from identifying with the Palestinian cause, which is heavily Muslim influenced — even though their ancestors fled Palestine to Chile in order to escape the persecution of Christians under the Muslim Ottomam Turks.
6) Many are third- and fourth-generation Chilean, but have risen to be elites.
7) Elites does not capture the full sense of their power. One family, the Yarur family, were industrialists that once produced 60 per cent of Chile’s textiles.
8) They have an elite social club in the capital – see video below.
Posted for YouTube: June 19, 2020
9) They were esconced in a major Santiago business district, the Patronato.
Posted on YouTube: 2013
And now, having reached the top, they pressure the government.
[F]or Chilean Palestinians, the fight will not stop until the people of Palestine are liberated. The community is “clamoring” for a ceasefire, said NBC, holding rallies and pushing for boycotts, as the conflict continues.
They are fighting mad as this tweet (below) from The Palestinian Community of Chile shows:
Más de la mitad de las viviendas en la Franja de Gaza fueron completamente destruidas.
Cientos de familias viven en los escombros de sus casas con el constante temor de nuevos ataques. pic.twitter.com/llbqCKkXl9
Public opinion in Chile is often influenced by the country’s politically powerful 200,000 Palestinian immigrants and their descendents.
“The Palestinian community is to Chile what the Jewish community is to the US,” [The president of Chile’s Jewish community, Gabriel] Zaliasnik explained.
[My Note: The Palestinians are closer to 500,000 in number]
This is dramatic to watch.
Chiles is a first world country, but the Chilestino demographic has hijacked the nation’s government so that Chile acts in contradiction to its otherwise first world interests in this matter. Most first world countries support Israel, whether strongly or lukewarmly; but few support Palestine.
The effect is compounded in every aspect of the culture in Chile, which for example has a professional soccer team called Palestino.
Posted on YouTube: Mar 2, 2015
The documentary above (this is a teaser) is Cuatro Colores (Four Colors), which is named after the the four colors of the Palestinian flag [red, green, black, white], and the four colors of the professional soccer team, Palestino, in Santiago Chile.
The Chilestinos have an outsized influence on Chile’s culture, commerce, industry, banking, sports, and politics. They have held Chile’s foreign policy hostage for decades. In many ways, they have Palestinianized Chile.
1 January 2024 – Edited: cleaned things up and added more info.
Javier Milei is considered Argentina’s version of Donald Trump. He is very right wing, and very pro-Zionist. He plans to move the Argentina Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
And this election took place in the middle of the 2023 Gaza War?!
Though there are more Arabs in Argentina than Jews, but the Jewish demographic is not small (for a Latin American nation) and still very influential, while the Arab demographics in Argentina tilt to the pro-Western Lebanese Maronite (Catholic) stock. This would not have happened in Chile, where the Arab demographic tilts towards the Palestinian stock.
