Peru’s impact on my cultural knowledge

Peruvian author José María Arguedas described Peru as "a noble whirlwind in which different spirits, as if forged in antipodal stars, fight, attract to each other, reject each other, and mix with each other, between the highest of mountains, the deepest of rivers, between snows and silent lakes, ice and fire...a search for the spirit, a culture in which diverse currents find each other, and over centuries do not conclude by fusing their directions, but form narrow zones of confluence, while in the deepness and the vastness the principal veins flow without ceasing, incredibly."
So rich in diversity, the culture of this country undulates with the changes of the earth itself.  The bustling coast is dynamic, international and alive with youth and progress. Antiquity rises with the altitude, and in the Sierras, the heart of Peru, the colors of Andean culture and tradition are vibrant, and voices are heard speaking Quechua, not Spanish. The Eastern slopes of the Peruvian Andes descend into the Amazon basin, where the natural world thrives, and indigenous tribes still survive in the jungle.  There is not a region of Peru that does not emanate appreciation and intrigue.
As in all developing countries, modernization brings people from the countryside to the cities, increases disparities between socio-economic classes and increases environmental stresses; but, along with it will come education, awareness and a connection to the world.  Unity has been a concern for many citizens here, but heterogeneity is not an execration.  Although Peru may be trying to catch up to the rest of the Westernized world in terms of economics, public service and politics, the richness that this country offers is one that has all but been lost in developed countries: values, traditions and connections to the land that have been carried millennia from the past and are still adored by the people here.
Peru won its independence from Spain in 1824, and now, almost two centuries later, there are many faces that comprise this variegated national identity.  The small, Quechua-speaking communities of central and southern Peru, same as my classmates, professors and friends in Lima, are all Peruvian and should be proud of this shared authenticity.  It has been an unforgettable experience traveling to South America as a young adult from the United States, and it has been a gift to have the opportunity to become familiar with Peru.