Natali and Guillermo Quintana of peruadapter.com have sent this interesting and illuminative 
article for our English followers to enjoy.

Pisco is as Peruvian as Llamas and Arroz con Pollo

Nationalism is defined as “the devotion to the interests or culture of one's nation”.
National identity through food is a strong phenomenon occurring presently throughout the globe. As boundaries, not only geographical but also cultural, feel threatened by outside influences, countries feel a need to focus on national symbols that represent theirculture and nation. 

On Mintz’s(1996) article we understood what a sensitive subject it was for Americans to hear 
that it may not have a cuisine representative of a such a diverse culture. The questions of wether the U.S. should look for a national cuisine was stated. In the same way, Belizean culture is currently searching for that cuisine that can represent their independence as a culture and 
country (Wilk 1999). Political, economical and cultural transformations’ consequences can be 
observed through production and consumption habits of food within a certain community. 

In this case, we will take a look at a particular drink from Peru that could have remained 
unknown if it wasn’t for these transformations and threats, which encouraged it to become a 
symbol of representation of nationalism for the Peruvian culture.

We need to travel back, in order to understand, how it came to this culture and
why it is so unique to it. It was back in the XVI century when grapes arrived to Peru,
brought by Marques Francisco de Caravantes from the Canary Islands. Chronicles of
the time indicate that it was in Marcahuasi, Cuzco where the first vineyards in South
America where established. However, it was in the valleys of Ica where these vineyards
expanded further due to the favorable climatic conditions and the skills of ancient
Peruvians who invented a system for irrigating this arid coastal desert. 

The word Pisco was first used as name for a town in Ica, it was a main commercial port serving 
sea exchanges with Spain. Production of wine in the area was huge and exportations to Spain 
began increasing. However, because of the fear of competition, restrictions were made.

This encouraged people in haciendas to intensify the drink and expand their production of
aguardiente from Peruvian grape. This product rapidly became a popular drink because
of its own particular characteristics. It was soon named pisco, name that has three origins.
Pisco is a Quechua word that translated to English means "bird", it was the condor
which stood out between all the birds in the region. It is also the city and name of a town
that belongs to the Ica valley where the grape production grew, and the large crafted clay jars 
used to ferment chicha and other alcoholic beverages were also called piscos
In course of time, pisco has become a popular drink, expanding toother regions in Peru and also to neighboring countries. One that is important to mentionis Chile. When the production of Chilean pisco began, it took a different form. Peruvianpisco is distilled to about 40 percent alcohol and bottled without any addition of water,however pisco in Chile was distilled to 90 percent of alcohol and then mixed with water.

It’s production developed and it too gained a big market. This lead to certain disputes,
setting pisco in the center of a growing trade; a dispute between Peru and Chile over which
country has the right to market the liquor under that name which is original to a Peruvian
region and its culture.

Pisco has become the center of an economical and political turmoil between these
countries, ultimately becoming a tool for cultural embodiment. The sudden growth of
commerce and marketing of Chilean pisco made Peruvians aware of what was being
“stolen” from their culture. Peruvians weren’t never a country recognized by its
patriotism, however, this incident initiated a big campaign promoting pisco as a national
icon of its culture. Its consumption began being marketed everywhere in Peru. Pisco is
also the basis for Peru's most famous cocktail, the Pisco Sour. This iconic Peruvian-drink
has taken a whole new social persona in Peruvian culture; it now has its own day
dedicated to it, "Pisco Sour Day" on the first Saturday of every February. Consequently,
pisco has become a symbol of Peruvian pride and nationality.

In addition, this issue has raised the question of authenticity of the Chilean pisco.
Arjun Appadurai says, “authenticity measures the degree to which something is more or
less what it ought to be” (1986). To Peruvians, Chilean pisco will never be authentic to
their culture, starting from the usurpation of its name to its form. The original production
form of it was changed and its followed variations will never equal the quality of true
Peruvian pisco. Hegel’s “Owl of Minerva” reinforces the argument that this criterion of
authenticity wouldn’t have emerged if its subject matter hadn’t been significantly
transformed (Appadurai 1986). Therefore, if Chile wouldn’t had started its large
production of the variations of pisco, maybe this drink wouldn’t have become such an
important symbol of pride and nationalism needed to reinforce Peruvian culture.

Consequently, this demonstrates how a culture when threatened, either by the
absence of a symbolic representation of the country or when the subject matter is
transformed, awakes a feeling to search for an authentic and unique figure that gives
them back a sense of unity and national identity.

From: Natali Quintana/ Guillermo Quintana B
www.peruadapters.org

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