Cusco, Peru) 🇵🇪 The “Alpaca Ladies” as they’re affectionately called can be found all over Cusco’s old city. The one’s holding baby goats 🐐 and alpacas 🦙 are the “stars” of the show and work the best spots in town.
They know perfectly well that their traditional clothing draws attention. They can spot you before you spot them. And they immediately show you the hand sign for money 🫰when you ask for a picture.
I’m totally on their side. My heart sank, when I found this woman sitting by herself with a bag full of ponchos for sale in one arm and a bunch of handmade bracelets in the other.
These ones are not the “stars”of the show. They come from several small villages around Cusco and beyond.
They sell whatever they’re told to sell. Many of them speak very little Spanish because they grew up in Quechua speaking homes that could not afford to send them to school. These women are most likely the breadwinners in households of up to 10 people.
I hope there is a way out of this situation for them.