Hello. I'm Roger, Doanyelle's husband. For anyone who has never met me, it have a passion for music, arts, and cars. Every since I can remember, music has always had a strong influence over my life.
I went to Peru in September, to finish some business and to visit with my friends and family, since I don't know when I might have the opportunity again (without a restricted time frame). Coincidentally, while I was there, my friend Macha (vocalist for Aeropajitas), invited me to join the band on tour. It was like time travel back to when I was younger, when I used to travel to follow musicians. The difference is that now, I travel in planes and stay in hotels (with showers)..... Jajajajaja.
We spent two days in a city outside of Lima, called Arequipa. This city's architecture has a strong colonial influence/heritage. And, it surrounded by volcanoes.
Our first day there, we had to acclimatize ourselves to the high altitude. This was very difficult and the band members had headaches when it was time to play, later that night. Some genius had told us that it was a good idea to eat before heading to the concert, or consuming alcohol. So, we went to a Turkish restaurant- which ended up being a bad idea. (Turkish food in Peru- nah!)
Around thirty minutes after we ate, we all had wicked stomach aches while we were trying to test the equipment and do the sound check. The equipment wasn't the only things making sounds!!!
The night was very rough. The crowd was mostly rowdy punk rockers from surrounding cities, like Puno, which borders on Bolivia. There were rivers of alcohol. The venue only sold rum and coke. Only the bands could have beer. This is was different for me, because I was the one who used to get drunk at punk concerts, but I couldn't drink more than three beers- thank you Turkish restaurant.
The concert, was still a blast though, even though there was a rough crowd. But there's one thing to say about this scene- the people outside of Lima are very grateful and friendly with foreigners. They wanted my autograph and pictures, too, even though I was just the "equipment guy." Maybe they thought I was a rockstar!?! Jajajaja
The second day, everyone was really tired and still suffering from a stomach virus. We decided to head to the country side for some more wholesome food (pictures to follow in another post). Later that night was the second concert, in a different venue. It was an old house converted into a bar/concert venue/art gallery. It was obvious that the construction wasn't meant for this type of use. The bands play on the open third floor- hard to imagine for a punk rock band. Neighbors- do they complain? Who knows? Maybe they like it! After the concert, the group split up. Some stayed to drink all night, and the rest of us went back to the hotel to recover. (Saturday night drinking tea in a hotel room and watching talk shows with friends. I'm old!) Suddenly, my friend said, "Wait a minute! Aren't you getting married when you go home? We should go out and have a bachelor party!" Everybody laughed, and decided maybe we'd go out after the TV show was over. But after the show, everybody was asleep. We had to get up early to have the typical Sunday pork breakfast (pics of this to follow in another post, too).
So, the adventure ended in Lima, with a huge festival. I was invited to hang out at the green room backstage. This was rock star treatment for me. There was water, coffee, food, etc. (This festival was promoted by the city, so there was no alcohol!!!!) I will say that this was the best-organized festival I've been to in Lima. So, this was my grand Rock N Roll adventure. I'm know I'm not young anymore. Things sometimes change for the better. I know now, that I can enjoy a concert without alcohol. I also know I'm still crazy after all these years. Thank you. Regards, Roger. See you soon!
