Lights, Camera, Prejudice A new Peruvian film hits theaters this week, featuring a bumbling indigenous women played by a white man in drag.
LIMA, Peru — Peru's national identity is tightly wrapped up in its Andean heritage. Snowcapped peaks, fluffy alpacas, Inca ruins and indigenous women sporting bowler hats, brightly woven clothing and puffed skirts all help define this South American country's self-image. But based on the controversy surrounding one popular TV character, "la Paisana Jacinta" (the Peasant Jacinta), contemporary Peru still has a long road to travel before it is comfortable in its own skin as a multicultural, multiracial society. In this undated picture, Peruvian television comedian Jorge Benavides poses as la Paisana Jacinta in Lima, Peru. (STR/AFP/GETTY…Read more …