Shopping Malls in Cusco

 We walked around the mall in Cusco today, and I found it to be a very interesting experience, especially as somebody coming from a country where shopping culture is very prevalent. I think that one of the main reasons that the US has such large malls is that there is a culture around shopping where people just do it for fun or aim for excess instead of simply what someone needs. Also, there’s the idea that for a mall to open, there has to be an economic infrastructure big enough to support it, from stores being interested in renting storefronts to there being ways to get to the mall itself, and enough electricity and water to power the whole thing. From what Andre told us about the city of Cusco and what it used to be 10 years ago, I can see why having a mall open here was a big deal. It definitely represents a move forward in Cuscos capitalist  infrastructure that implies the city is progressing economically. 

That being said, this was a very different experience than that of an American mall. What I noticed most was the lack of more international stores, which I have even seen in most other countries that I have visited, even in smaller malls. There were also a lot of of stores for more practical things, like hardware, electronics, and baby clothes that pointed towards this being less of a traditional mall with more variety, and more of a building to house different utilities. It more reminded me of a target/ giant/ Costco in the shape of a mall in the sense that there weren’t they many alternatives to many of the products being sold. 

The last thing I noticed was that the Starbucks was priced like it would be in the United States (though in the soles equivalent). A coffee with all of the fancy stuff cost as much as some of our nice meals. The storefront was almost empty, with only a few tourists choosing to buy coffee, which kind of put the whole store in perspective. I know people at Vanderbilt that rack up 100 dollar bills a month on their coffees, and that’s probably eating out good food for a week here.