Regarding education levels, Peruvian immigrants, unlike other immigrant groups such as the Bolivians, Paraguayans, Chileans, Brazilians and Uruguayans, show a tendency to have higher education levels. According to census data -which appears to be in line with global trends- the highest proportion of immigrants are women, mostly unmarried. The majority of immigrants left Lima in the early 90s, chiefly headed for Buenos Aires where they settled in the hope of finding find better-paid employment. In the new context, the “otherness” of Peruvian immigrants is structured around manifestations of exclusion, discrimination and rejection by the host society 1. This characterization applies to the Peruvian population movement in Buenos Aires city as well.
#Peruvian restaurant town and country plus
Suite à l´essor de la gastronomie péruvienne ces dernières années au niveau international, nous proposons aussi de retourner sur le terrain, pratiquement neuf ans plus tard, dans le but de constater l’importance des restaurants dans le contexte local, et leur impact vis à vis du rapport des migrants à la société réceptrice. Nous voulons souligner en particulier le rôle des restaurants comme lien entre les migrants, les grammaires culinaires qui résultent de cet enlacement ainsi que les fonctions socioculturelles de l´alimentation qui s`y distinguent. A partir de l'analyse des aliments et des pratiques, nous cherchons à rendre compte des processus d'adhésion, d'exclusion, d'homogénéisation et de différentiation de la collectivité péruvienne dans un contexte d´immigration. Cet article ne repose pas sur les pratiques quotidiennes ayant lieu au sein des familles, l’«endocuisine», mais sur l’«exocuisine» et le domaine particulier des restaurants. Cet article met en valeur la façon dont les habitudes alimentaires sont re-signifiées et transformées en une marque de spécificité et une forme de résistance face à l'hostilité de la société d'accueil. L'immigration péruvienne à Buenos Aires s'inscrit dans un contexte d'accentuation des discriminations envers les différentes communautés rejetées par l'Etat nation argentin. In addition, following the rise of Peruvian cuisine at international level in recent years, we return to the field after nearly nine years in order to register the new meanings it acquires in the local context and how this influences the dialogue between immigrants and the host society. Our objective we is to highlight the role that restaurants have been performing among immigrants, exploring the expansion of the Peruvian culinary vocabulary and identifying the changes in the social and cultural functions of food. By starting with an analysis of meals and commensality practices in the ‘eating-out’ context, we aim to account for the processes of construction-reconstruction of relationships among Peruvians as well as between Peruvians and Argentines when eating in restaurants. In order to do this, we focus on Peruvian restaurants and specifically ‘exocuisine’ or eating out, as opposed to ‘endocuisine’ or eating in. Our purpose is to analyze immigrant foods and the representations they evoke, as well as to investigate the way in which their cooking acquires new meanings in new contexts, showing a tendency to become a mark of specificity and a way to resist the hostility of the host society.
In Buenos Aires the “otherness” of Peruvian immigrants is structured around manifestations of discrimination that come from the host society.