PERU: Miguel Hilario

Rob Gaudet says "I wonder where Miguel Hilario will move after graduation. Many Americans in this nation's top universities are pulled from small towns, even smaller than his village of 30,000. They never return. Instead, they get caught up in the intellectual life and culture (often overrated) of large cities. The real reasons they stay in big cities are employment opportunities and staying close to their new friends. It's not necessary to return home to make a difference. Miguel Hilario, for example, could be a strong advocate in academia by writing or teaching. but it's interesting to note how many people never really return home. it is particularly interesting in the case of Miguel Hilario because the press seems to hold him out as a promising candidate to go back and help his original village".

My comment: I asked Miguel Hilario about this, and he is firmly determined to help his people, but for that he will have to work with the authorities in Lima. It will not be easy, as the problems of President Alejandro Toledo show (most recently, the riots in Arequipa). I am sure all WAISers with both Stanford graduates every success. A question: In the old days, my upper-class friends in Lima spoke scornfully of the "indios" or "cholos". I have not heard the word "cholo" much recently. Is it dying out?

Ronald Hilton - 6/23/02