It is believed by scientists that all potatoes have a single origin in Peru where thousands of varieties still exist in the Andes and where over 100 cultivars might be found in a single valley. It is also believed that the potato was first domesticated between 2000 and 3000 BC and flourishes today in a wide variety of colors, flavors, textures and sizes.  There are approximately 5,000 varieties worldwide, 3,000 of them are found in the Andes, mainly in Peru.

Here in Peru, potato connoisseurs can sample from nine different colors of native potatoes, varying in texture, flavor and nutritional value.  Some have drawn the attention of the world of haute cuisine as exotic ingredients and have been used in exhibitions because of their flavors as well as nutritional value.  Their traditional uses are as varied as the potatoes themselves each having its own special or ceremonial use.  Some potatoes are for eating, some for weddings, baptisms, some for funerals and so on.  Some are high in antioxidants, like the red “moro boli” some need to be soaked or steamed and some are made into potato alcohol.

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Not sure what to give your family and friends this holiday season? Buenos Aires, Argentina is the shopping capital of South America and it is absolutely full of great unique and cultural gifts this time of year. Come to South America to see the sights and shop ‘til you drop this holiday season 2011!

Here we have compiled our list of the top five shops in the city that are definitely not to be missed! Buenos Aires has something for everyone on your Christmas list.
If you are looking for a one-of-a-kind gift for a special woman in your life go to Perugia Bottier. This shoe store has been around for 50 years and the shoes are handmade from the best Argentine and Italian leather. These shoes are a bit pricey and take approximately ten days to make, but the quality is well worth the extra cash and waiting time.

If you are looking for a gift with an edge go to Autoria. This store offers a wide range of products ranging from jewelry and accessories to paintings and sculptures. Everything has an artistic flair! This store is a great place to shop for that cool teenager, young adult, or simply young at heart person in your life.

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Here at AMAUTA Spanish School we pride ourselves on our top quality Spanish courses and volunteer programs. For us, quality has always been very important and that is why we are so pleased to present our new and improved website! AMAUTA means teacher in the native Quechua language of the Peruvian people and it is our aim to teach anyone who wants to learn the Spanish language and about Latin American culture.

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Your time in Buenos Aires will be filled with many new sites and experiences, no doubt, and some will be more interesting than others. It is often difficult to know from your guidebook which activities are truly worthwhile. So, we thought it might be helpful to get advice from fellow students. We parsed the people at AMAUTA for must do activities in Buenos Aires, and we condensed it into a list of the top 10 things. We hope you have time to enjoy them all!

• Take time to visit the Palermo Parks.
  Enjoy a picnic, rent a bike, lay in the grass, enjoy the lakes and diverse wildlife. It’s Spring, for pete’s sake!
• Treat yourself to a fantastic parrilla.
  There are many parrillas, but there are some that are exceptional. Try La Cabrera and Las Cholas in Las
  Cañitas!



• Attend a dinner tango show.
  To travel to Buenos Aires and not attend a dinner tango show is just a darn shame. There is so much passion in it!
• Free city walking tours. Organized by Buenos Aires’ city government. The architecture is breathtaking, and all the neighborhoods are vastly different.
• Attend a futbol game.
  Argentineans are futbol fanatics, and weekends bring huge crowds to the city. Chanting along with thousands of Argentineans will be an unforgettable experience!

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Where the rich – dead and alive – reside

Buenos Aires is famous for its eclectic neighborhoods, and one such famous barrio is the Recoleta neighborhood. Here, the city’s aristocrats live in expensive apartments characterized by impressive French architecture. See the neighborhood through this student’s eyes and read about her experience in Recoleta!

Today we got a Recoleta tour from the people in AMAUTA Spanish School! The girls from AMAUTA showed us places like the Bellas Artes Museum, the Facultad de Derecho, Palais de Glace and, of course, the Recoleta Cemetery! The tour greatly surpassed my expectations, and it added to my experience of studying Spanish in Buenos Aires since I got to know another one of this city’s diverse neighborhoods.

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One of the nicest things of studying Spanish in any country where it’s spoken is the cultural immersion. You do not only improve your Spanish language skills but you learn so much about local culture, habits, fiestas and history. In my case, I spent many others in the kitchen with my Peruvian host mum and she revealed my secrets of Peruvian cuisine to me!

One of the things I loved from the first moment on, when my stomach was still adjusting to the altitude and others, was the Chicha Morada.

Chicha morada is a non-alcoholic drink. It is incredibly refreshing and REALLY easy to make. Don’t let the thought of drinking purple corn turn you off to trying this recipe. It’s actually delicious and you’re not going to eat the corn anyway!

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Valentine’s Day is celebrated worldwide as a day of love and romance.  It originates in Roman times, when Emperor Claudius II banned marriage and a young priest called Valentine continued to marry couples in secret.  He was caught and put in prison, where he fell in love with a girl.  He wrote her a love letter before he died – this was the world’s first Valentine!
Nowadays, Valentine’s Day is celebrated all over the world on February 14th,  – also in Latin America!  And here ‘El Día de San Valentín’ is not just a celebration of romantic love, but also of love between friends, colleagues and family.  On this day, often called ‘El Dia del Amor y la Amistad’  (the Day of Love and Friendship), people exchange gifts and caring words with all the people that are important in their lives.

For instance in Peru they celebrate ‘El Día del Amor y de La Amistad’on February 14th, when they show their love and appreciation for lovers, friends and family alike with small gifts.  Similarly in Ecuador they integrate the celebration of friendship and family, as do they in Guatemala where the day is more commonly known as ‘El Día del Cariño’ (the Day of Affection).

In Mexico, Venezuela, Chile and Argentina Valentine’s Day revolves mostly around romantic love, and on February 14th you can see couples everywhere making the most of ‘El Día de los Enamorados’.  Mexicans are among the most romantic – they reserve this day to follow romantic pursuits such as winning a girls heart. The particularly wonderful way to do is the tradition of ‘Serenata’: sending a complete Mariachi band to the chosen girl!
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For 18 days, the highland town of Puno, close to Lake Titicaca at an altitude of 3,870 meters above sea level, is the Folk Capital of the Americas. The festival gathers more than 200 groups of musicians and dancers to celebrate the “La Fiesta de la Candelaria”. For the first nine days the churches are decorated and there are banquets and fireworks displays. On the main day, February 2, the virgin is led through the city of Puno in an impressive procession, when the troupes of musicians and dancers take the scene, performing and dancing throughout the city.

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Study Spanish and Learn about one of the world’s most incredible past civilizations in our Inca Civilization course.

Through lectures, videos and field trips, we study the origins of the Peruvian culture and the developments they achieved in areas such as agriculture, medicine, ceramics and architecture. You will also visit museums such as the Museo Inca, as well as archaeological sights such as Tambomachay.

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The third dance in the history of dance done with the man and woman facing each other is the Tango. It consists of the man holding the woman’s right hand in his left, while his right arm is around her. The first dance done in this position was the Viennese Waltz, a craze which spread across Europe throughout the 1830s; the second dance was known as the Polka and was the next craze throughout the 1840s. Finally the Tango evolved into the third dance of its kind which greatly varied from anything before its existence because it introduced the great concept of improvisation for the first time.

The Tango soon after had a great influence on all of the “couples dancing” in the twentieth century. Its evolution was due to the great amounts of immigrants coming into Argentina which brought an array of new dancing with shocking new holds. It is, however, unknown as to how and when exactly the Tango evolved from the Viennese Waltz and the Polka into what it is today. This is due to the fact that it was everyday normal people who helped with the evolution of the Tango. They were the poor and the underprivileged that helped shape this phenomenon.

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