HW immortalized in Peru

[Keith A Henderson]

Hey, all:

Just thought I'd relate something interesting I saw while I was in the more
remote regions of South America.....

As we were waiting to go into the nearby mountains (the Cordillera Blanca,
specifically), we spent some time in the large town (perhaps 60,000 I think) of
Huaraz, Peru in the Rio Santa Valley (aka "Callejon de Huaylas").  It serves
(among other things) as the main center of activity for incoming and outgoing
mountain climbers and trekkers....so there tend to be a fair number of
Europeans around (typically from the Alpine regions....Germany, Switzerland,
Italy, France), and some Americans as well.  Especially at this time of year,
the dry season, when climbing is much more safe.  Anyway, on a particular
plaster wall along one of the downtown shops in Huaraz is a very large mural,
with a pop/rock theme to it.  My suspicion is that it was painted in 1987 by a
German-born tourist/immigrant, because of the following:

The overall design was quite colorful and futuristic-looking, and with "sci-fi"
type lettering.  At the very top was something like:

1960's:  The Beatles, Rolling Stones

Underneath was something like:

1970's:  Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, etc. etc. etc.

Followed, of course, by:

1980's:  The Police, Talking Heads, etc. etc. etc.

and then by:

1987:  (list of a zillion mostly terrible bands, that happened to be popular
        then) (this is why I think it was painted then....why else 1987??)

and finally near the bottom:

2019:  (list of a zillion mostly brilliant bands that have never been widely
       popular, including among many others, Hawkwind (!), National Health,
       Hatfield and the North, and many of the electronic groups from Germany,
       like Can, Kraftwerk, etc.)

(I don't remember if BOC was part of the mural anywhere (but they may have been
one of the "70's" bands, I'm not sure)).

Obviously, the point the artist was trying to make was that 30-odd years or so
from now, these groups (who were so far ahead of their time), would finally
become recognized and the inspiration for music of that future era.  It would
have been pretty cool to have seen this piece of art anywhere, but it was quite
amazing to have seen it in one of the more remote places I've been in the world
(although not anywhere near the *most* remote place).

Of course, I doubt if a single Hawkwind album exists within the borders of
Peru, except maybe for a couple of imports owned by a handful of European
immigrants.  I certainly didn't hear any music even remotely similar to HW
there.

Keith H.