Real Plaza Cuzco

     As an American, the word "mall" tends to conjure up images of a dying trend. With the influx of online retailers, these large in-person shopping centers seem to be on the way out. Though malls in the United States certainly perform their fair share of commerce, the golden age of collectivized retail seems to have migrated to the internet, where e-commerce completely removes the need for browsing thanks to convenient search tools and rapid shipping. However, many Latin American countries seem to be following the model once created by the United States, and here in Peru, the Real Plaza mall shows no signs of decline. Despite only being constructed two years ago and containing a much smaller number of stores than its U.S. counterparts, Real Plaza appears to be thriving as the first destination of its kind in Cuzco. With restaurants, retail outlets, a movie theater, and an arcade, I could not help but notice how similar Real Plaza is to an American mall.

    While the shopping center certainly has its share of stores unique to Latin America, I was captivated by the breadth of U.S. chains proliferated throughout the location such as KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Mcdonald's, Merrel, Colombia, and The North Face among others. Even the movie theater presented offerings of the latest U.S. blockbusters. Given the U.S.'s global status as the cultural hegemon, I considered how the "mall" represented another export. Still, I do not wish to detract from how the mall still catered to Peruvian consumers. Local chains, popular foods, and Latinamerican enterprises all found a home in Real Plaza. Despite the variety of U.S. products, the mall seemed to have no intention of attracting tourists. Why would it need to when the shops find plenty of business from the city's inhabitants? Even if the "mall" originated in the U.S., no one holds a monopoly on grouping together stores in a single location. Overall, I appreciated experiencing this modern development in a historic city, as Real Plaza, strangely enough, provided a break from the tourist-heavy part of Cuzco.