Let South America come to you #2 For those with a good taste

When you can not go to South America, why do you not bring South America into your home?

For those with a good taste

From waterfalls to wines

South America is the continent that is home to a vast array of rich cultures, history, traditions, food, and once-in-a-lifetime places to visit.

Angel Falls, Venezuela | © David Kjelkerud / Flickr

When you would love to go exploring South America it would not be bad to prepare yourself and to get already some taste of it before you take the long voyage. A place you have to visit is the waterfall in the Guiana Highlands in Bolívar state, southeastern Venezuela, on the Churún River. Before you would like to fly over Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world, coming in at over 3000 feet it would not be bad to feel a bit like an angel tasting all sorts of well-tasting goods from that continent, which will bring you to the seventh heaven.

You also do not have to go straight away, deep in the Amazonian rainforest to find a melting pot of indigenous traditions and a perfect place to see centuries of Peruvian history and culture coming together.

Before you would go to the Belén Market, the largest traditional market in the Peruvian Amazon, and a place where visitors can taste and see the food, textiles, and wares of the region, on the web there is a place where you already can have a peep-show of some handicrafts from the South American continent

Mendoza, Argentina

Wines

As state and local governments order people to stay home to limit the spread of the virus, toilet paper and canned goods are not the only items people are snapping up. Wine sales at wine shops are soaring and large, highly-distributed wine brands are struggling to keep wines on the shelf.

Meanwhile, small wineries that depend on restaurants and on-site sales are trying to figure out how to survive. The question on the mind of everyone in the wine business is what will things look like on the other side when they get the virus under control.

Having poached the Malbec grape from Europe and turned it into a roaring superstar, Argentina is rightly celebrated for its wine producers.

The Mendoza region, in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region, dominates Argentina’s wine scene. It enjoys prestige for the wine produced on its vineyards. It also can be refreshing to see genuine contenders from elsewhere, such as the Bodegas Callia from the San Juan province.

In the Mendoza region, you may find one of the original Bordeaux grape varieties from the Bordeaux region of France, namely Malbec. Because grown on a higher altitude then in France the wines tend to have a higher level of acid, which makes them ideal to go with the Argentinian meat.

The Cabernet Sauvignon which was introduced in Argentina in the 19th century by the French agricultural engineer Michel Amié Pouget. He further introduced Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Malbec vines to Argentina and founded the first vine nursery and agricultural school in his new country.

Located in the Tulum Valley, Bodegas Callia aims to produce the best Shiraz in Argentina.

Since we cannot go to South America, we will have to bring the heat and sun here. And what better way to do so than with a few good bottles of wine? Certainly when those wines earn it to keep on the palate.

The dry, hot climate of Argentina is really great for growing Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes ripen very easily, so these Cabs are almost always filled with tons of blackberries, cherry, pepper and vanilla with a little bit of mint. If you like rich, full-bodied wines with dark fruit flavours, then you might want to try a Cabernet Sauvignon from Navarro Correas Private Collection which since a few moths you now easily can get over here in Europe by an excellent deliverer.

When you are looking for a nice rich tempting wine with a big, nutty, creamy nose or bitter cherry awash with orange peel and gravely splendour, you might find it at Pequeña SudAmerica.

As the second largest country in South America and the eighth largest in the world by land mass, Argentina could even offer much more in case the country would have been more organised and receiving more support from those in charge.

Beers

Stylistically Argentina is perhaps the most European of Latin American countries, especially when it comes to cuisine. You can find the traditional wineries (the world’s fifth biggest wine producer) and you also may find the principal beer types which were based on central European styles of lager and wheat beer. It is impossible to taste every beer produced in South America, Pequeña Sudamerica offers a very good selection of 6 or 7 selected beers in a trial pack.

The historical influences in South America which have created a cuisine that offers a variety of delicacies has also brought some very, very tempting sweets around the corner. For diabetics is it not always so easy, because a lot of sweets and drinks are very sweet.
But nimble fingers and kitchen princesses can already prepare a lot for those who want a taste of that delicious South America.

Craftworks

It might not always be easy to bring Argentinian wines over to Europe, but for traditional artisans, it is even more difficult to get their goods over to Europe. Those craftsmen in particular have serious difficulties to virtuously market their products.

Carla Scalia

With corona-restrictions the Argentinian Carla Scalia, now living in Belgium, could only go twice to her home country to bring some beautiful handicrafts from her family and friends with her. Therefore those craft works are very limited. And because they are not made in a factory they are all individual pieces of art, which makes them special. This makes that when you might see some sculptures or drawing on the website, next time you come onto the website they already might be gone.

Mate Alados by Noelia Álvarez

All the South American accessories Pequeã SudAmerica is offering are hand made by local artists, and by selecting it properly at the artist’s workshop this is how they ensure to always offer you the best quality. As such they present mate cups of the best quality in an exclusive and unique design, hand painted and varnished for complete protection.

You also shall be able to find a selection of original accessories for your kitchen and table.

From the southern United States to northern South America the Lignum vitae, with its evergreen leaves can be found. As a source of a very hard and heavy wood that is brownish green in colour, the wood being relatively waterproof because of its high fat content, makes it ideal for making kitchen utilities. It is used to make pulleys, shafts, axles, and bowling balls, and Pequeña SudAmerica is offering the tropical wood in magnificent small objects, like food and toothpicks.

Argentinian artist Noelia Álvarez, who has performed incredible exhibitions in San Rafael, Mendoza and Buenos Aires in Argentina and Catalonia, Spain, is not only responsible for a great variety of mate cups with a unique design. Although her work focuses on paintings with incredible designs and details, Noelia has taken her passion to the limit and from painting large murals and paintings in acrylic on canvas, she designed very beautiful and exclusive wooden mate cups.

For sure, the founders of the webshop Pequeã Sudamerica took great risks to start their business to bring Sud American articles to the European continent, whilst there was and still is a Coronacrisis, limiting them going back and forth to Argentina to contact local traders, to support them and offer them a fair price for their goods. At the moment Carla Scalia her parent’s wines are not yet available, but perhaps this would be made possible in the future (when some good shipping arrangements could be organised).

Pequeña Sudamérica, or “Little South America”, has the goal to make South Americans in Europe taste home again, and get Europeans to experience their great specialities.
In addition to the best known mate tea brands, you shall be able to find a wide variety of drinks, delicacies and accessories.

We would say:

Enjoy some chocolate and dulce de leche products at your afternoon tea.

And enjoy South America at your home in our wet regions, so that the sun (at least) may shine in your house.

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Please find the shop:  https://pequena-sudamerica.eu/en/

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Preceding

Let South America come to you #1 Reasons to stay away from South America

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Let South America come to you #1 Reasons to stay away from South America

When you can not go to South America, why do you not bring South America into your home?

Reasons to stay away from South America

Virustime

2020-2021 was no time to go to South America because of a acute respiratory syndrome virus attacking the population badly. Brazil is the Latin American country affected the most by the COVID-19 pandemic. As of July 27, 2021, the highest number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Latin America could be recorded, and Brazil could be placed third highest in the world, the country had reported approximately 19.7 million cases. It was followed by Argentina, with more than 4.8 million confirmed cases of COVID-19. In total, the region had registered more than 40 million diagnosed patients, as well as a growing number of fatal COVID-19 cases.

As of July 27, 2021, more than 1.3 million people have died due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean. The country with the highest number was Brazil, reporting more than 550 thousand deaths. As a result of the pandemic, Brazil’s GDP is forecast to decline by approximately six percent in 2020. Meanwhile, Mexico ranked second in number of deaths, with over 238 thousand occurrences.

Peru has more than 2.1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19

Classified as a “variant of interest” by the World Health Organization (WHO) on June 17, the lambda, or C.37, variant of the coronavirus has already been detected in some US states and at least 29 nations — many of them in Latin America.

In Peru, where it was identified in August 2020, the lambda variant accounted for more than 80% of new infections in June, and it is also spreading rapidly in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico.

Coronavirus lambda variant spreads across Latin America

The WHO classified C.37 as a “variant of interest” after it appeared in a number of countries simultaneously. In Peru, where the lambda variant was identified in August 2020, it now accounts for most of new infections.

Peru has more than 2.1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19

Classified as a “variant of interest” by the World Health Organization (WHO) on June 17, the lambda, or C.37, variant of the coronavirus has already been detected in some US states and at least 29 nations — many of them in Latin America.

In Peru, where it was identified in August 2020, the lambda variant accounted for more than 80% of new infections in June, and it is also spreading rapidly in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico.

“So far we have seen no indication that the lambda variant is more aggressive,”

WHO virologist Jairo Mendez-Rico told DW.

“It is possible that it may exhibit higher infection rates, but we don’t yet have enough reliable data to compare it to gamma or delta.”

Alpha (B.1.1.7), beta (B.1.351) delta (B.1.617.2) and gamma (P.1) are also categorized as “variants of concern” by the WHO. The classification indicates that they are more transmissible and more difficult to treat and can lead to more serious illness.

“Although it is possible, currently there is no indication that variants are more dangerous and lead to increased mortality,”

said Mendez-Rico.

“It is likely that SARS-CoV-2 will become more transmissible throughout the course of its evolution but not necessarily more damaging.”

Time to stay away

The Lambda version spread more quickly than variants deemed far more dangerous by the WHO out of the way, even prevailing over the gamma variant, which had run rampant in neighboring Brazil. But with all the variants going around it is not the ideal time to go to South America when you are not really needed overthere.

Virologist Pablo Tsukayama said lambda was more transmissible, which had helped it spread so quickly in Peru.

“With […] the highest mortality rates in the world, we are the country that has struggled most when it comes to the coronavirus,”

he said.

“Therefore, it is probably no wonder that the new variant has gotten its start here.”

By the end of July, COVID-19 deaths in Peru had surpassed 195,000.

“It is very likely that new variants will appear during a third wave of coronavirus infections during the South American winter between July and September,”

said Tsukayama.

 “They may not be any more lethal but they will definitely be more communicable.”

Last month the landlocked country in south-central South America Paraguay registered 18.09 deaths per million, compared with 2.71 in India, 2.2 in South Africa, 1.01 in the US, and 0.14 in the UK.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted essential health services in most countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean, threatening immunization of children and care of expectant mothers and people with chronic conditions, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Carissa F. Etienne warned.

Attractive New World

For many the New World, the Western Hemisphere, or simply the Americas is something which is very attractive and lets us dream a lot. South America is compact and roughly triangular in shape, being broad in the north and tapering to a point — Cape Horn, Chile—in the south.

Having a total area of about 6,878,000 square miles (17,814,000 square km), or roughly one-eighth of the land surface of Earth it has so much to offer, one needs months or years to properly visit it and to taste all the goodness of it.
Mount Aconcagua, in Argentina, near the border with Chile, is not only the continent’s highest point but also the highest elevation in the Western Hemisphere. The Valdés Peninsula, on the southeastern coast of Argentina, includes the lowest point, at 131 feet (40 metres) below sea level. In relation to its area, the continent’s coastline — some 15,800 miles in length — is exceptionally short. San José Gulf was officially decreed a wildlife sanctuary in 1974.

With a grand total of 12 countries packed into the 4^th largest continent in the world, South America easily presents a lot of terrain and culture to cover, though not all places are very safe to visit, because of political and crime- but now also because of health risks.

Notwithstanding all the difficulties many countries of that continent have to cover it is a continent teeming with superlatives. According to some it is also next to New Zealand the most of what our fantastic planet has to offer.

South America may very well be the place to visit to see many wonders of the world, but for sure now is not the time to do it. Colouring ‘red’  it looks like you shall have to wait some time before it will be alright to visit it.

But do not worry, if you want already some taste of it, you can get it (if not today) already tomorrow.

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Continues with

Let South America come to you #2 For those with a good taste

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Additional reading

1. Avoiding to get Water at the price of gold #2 Dealing with effects of a changing climate
2. 2019 was #1 a Year of Raising fire and voices
3. CoViD-19 Curation
4. Challenges of the Post-Pandemic period
5. Looking at: ‘The rich are getting richer, and the poor are… also getting richer’ by Daniel Hannan

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