Culturaymi, the cultural program of the Pan American and Parapan American Games, has already received 112 655 people in the first four days since its opening at Parque de la Exposición. The Lima 2019 Communications, Commercial and Marketing Manager, Juan Antonio Silva, mentioned that this is the equivalent of three times the full capacity of the National Stadium. 

“We are really excited for the reaction of the public. In Culturaymi, you can appreciate all that you saw on the Pan American Games Opening Ceremony, which was created to spread the Peruvian cultural and creative richness,” he stated. 

In an interview with a local media, he reminded that entrance to the activities of the Culturaymi program is totally free and all the people who attend will be able to enjoy workshops, exhibitions, panel discussions, theaters, fashion shows, cajon performances, art workshops for social transformation, concerts, among other activities. 

Silva Sologuren invited all the population to assist to Culturaymi starting at 11:00 at Parque de la Exposición. He also mentioned that all the program can be found on the web page: www.lima2019.pe 

“In this program, we all play, the State, the private companies, the embassies and much more,” he added.  

The first stage of Culturaymi will be until August 10 and the second stage, during the Parapan American Games, will be held from August 24 to 31. 

On her part, the Peruvian singer Fabiola de la Cuba congratulated the Lima 2019 organization level, as the Games Opening Ceremony has created a different feeling on the streets. “The feeling on the streets and concerts is now a different one. This has been a gift, a tribute and a demonstration of the strength we have as Peruvians.” 

Peru is beating to the rhythm of the music and the dances. It is a marvelous cultural event that makes us all proud and creates a connection with the culture. “The cultural issue in Peru has not been as respected as it is now, and we are thinking about the future as well,” she stated.  

ABOUT CULTURAYMI 

It has been designed in nine zones throughout the venues, so that everyone can comfortably enjoy each of the scheduled activities. It has two stages, an exhibition and workshop area, a food fair, a giant screen and a ticket booth for sports competitions (Teleticket), thus offering the visitor a comprehensive experience. 

The Lima 2019 Organizing Committee announced that renowned Peruvian singer-songwriter Gian Marco will be the headliner of the Lima 2019 Pan American Games closing ceremony, to be held next August 11 at the National Stadium.

In a video shared by the Lima 2019 social media, Gian Marco invited Peruvian citizens to be part of an unforgettable closing ceremony, which will put Peru in the spotlight and honor the athletes that competed at the Games in the context of the ancient cultures of the Americas uniting.

“I want to invite you all to the Lima 2019 Pan American Games closing ceremony. I will be there, singing and celebrating this huge sports event. Let’s all play in Lima 2019,” said the singer-songwriter from Lima. 

Gian Marco is, undoubtedly, one of the most renowned Spanish-speaking singers around the globe. Over 20 years, he has built a prominent and successful artistic career in Peru and abroad.

The closing ceremony will be produced by Italian company Balich Worldwide Shows, an international leader in the live entertainment industry. Some of its team members oversaw the Lima 2019 opening ceremony and the Torino 2006, Sochi 2014, and Rio 2016 Olympic ceremonies.

To buy tickets visit lima2019.pe/tickets

Félix Espinoza Vargas was born with no arms and has only one leg; however, he was always a talented artist. He is a visual artist, graduated from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru in 1982, and belongs to the Association of Entrepreneurial Artisans with Impairments and to an international association of artists who paint with their mouth and feet. 

“I want to show the Peruvian public that it is possible to do my job as an artist, despite the impairment that you can see,” he told us while placing the canvas on which he will paint. Félix said that he paints an average of six hours a day with his mouth, and when he is tired, he paints with his foot between an hour and a half to two hours, to rest his eyes. His paintings reflect the color of optimism and his meticulous work.

Félix, Diana Fuentes, Cristina Falcón and their artistic work are present at Culturaymi. Everyone knows what effort and commitment mean, therefore they had positioned themselves in the art market. 

And when it comes to attributes, these have been inherited by Felix's daughter, Nicole Espinoza, 16, a national champion in artistic gymnastics and now, a competitor at the Pan American Games. “Even if she falls and gets hurt, she keeps going. Sometimes she has taken off the cast to keep training,” he said proudly. 

Félix told us that he has a colleague who is a great visual artist and also an outstanding athlete. She is Dunia Felices, who will compete at the Parapan American Games. This demonstrates that talent can be found in art and sports as well. “Dunia has been studying in Bellas Artes and other institutes; she has a lot of talent. I always tell her to keep going, because the major in arts is hard and demanding, but you have to be constant,” he declared.

Another story of commitment is that of Diana Fuentes, 47, also present at Culturaymi. She suffered burns when she was two years old, so she had a hand amputated. Diana crochets baby layettes, which she offers at the stand.  “Culturaymi is very interesting. It allows us to show our skills and prove that we can be useful for our families,” she said. 

And to preserve the environment and prevent plastic from continuing to pollute. Cristina Falcón, 39, makes eco-friendly bags with designs and embroidery. Cris has had polio since she was nine months old, but she was never discouraged and always tried to keep going with her usual activities. Now that awareness is being risen to regulate the use of plastic bags and that these are being withdrawn from the market, it would be worth to pay a visit to Cris’s stand and buy her beautiful bags. “Lima 2019 has given us an opportunity as an association. People from all over the world come here,” she says. 
All of these artists can be found at Parque de la Exposición. The quality of their work and the story behind them deserve support. 

Photo gallery (click here)

Eight years ago, a group of five Brazilian Olympic sports fans, native of the northern city of Belem, decided to form a fan club to accompany Brazil on their participation in the Guadalajara 2011 Pan American Games. On that occasion, there was no better idea than to dress up as “Chapulines” to draw the attention of Mexicans. But these “Chapulines” are not red, but yellow-green instead.

Since then, they support the Brazilian delegation in their events when they have free time, but they are particularly fond of the handball team. In fact, they joined the celebrations of the women’s and men’s handball teams after they claimed both Pan American gold medals. They do not want to break the tradition at Lima 2019, which is why they are at the VIDENA Sports Center 1 to root for their team in the women’s finals against Argentina (at 08:30).

“It’s the first time we’re in Peru and we’re having a great time. Part of the club was in Machu Picchu a couple days ago, and we arrived just in time for the women’s finals. We’re staying until the end of the Pan American Games. The fan club is made up of 15 members from different parts of Brazil . We got together because of our love for our national sport,” noted Rubens Tofolo, founder of the fan club.

“We’re regular people who have jobs, but who coincide their vacations to attend major events such as Lima 2019 Games. We’ve also been to world handball championships in our blue or green uniforms,” added Gustavo Cardoso, another member of this club.

The Brazilian “Chapulines” also support other sport disciplines. At Lima 2019, they were also at the Callao Sports Center, in Chorrillos, and at the Villa El Salvador Sports Center supporting taekwondo, weightlifting and gymnastics.

MEN’S COMPETITION

The men’s competitions will go from July 31 to August 5, including the classic match, Brazil vs. Argentina. Both teams feature star players who shone at the last season’s handball Champions League, the sport’s major tournament in the world. The Brazilian pivot Rogério Moraes plays for Vardar from Macedonia, while setter Thiagus Petrus had a good season at the Barcelona from Spain. The Argentinian team features brothers Diego, Pablo and Sebastián Simonet.

Group A is made up of the United States, Cuba, Argentina, and Chile. Peru is part of Group B along with Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the favorite, Brazil. The Peruvian team will make its debut against Puerto Rico, while Brazil will face Mexico. Also, the Argentinian “Gladiadores” will face off the USA.

LIMA 2019 REGULATIONS

There will be a preliminary round with two groups of four teams each that will compete in a round-robin format. After the round robin, the first two teams will advance to the semifinals, where the first and second place of each group will compete. The semifinal winners will fight for the gold medal, while the losing teams will compete for the bronze.

Meanwhile, the third and fourth-placed teams in each group will face off to determine the remaining four places in the qualifying round. Starting in the semifinals, two overtimes will be played for matches that end in a tie after regular time. If the tie persists, the winner will be determined by a penalty shootout.

Photo: FIBA

The USA team jumping onto the field Hoping to claim their title in this Pan American sport, the men’s basketball 5x5 team will play its debut match on Wednesday, July 31, against the British Virgin Islands. The competition will start at 10:30 at the Eduardo Dibós Coliseum.

It should be recalled that, at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games, the USA team only obtained the bronze, behind Brazil (gold) and Canada (silver).

The USA team is made up of players that compete in the NCAA men’s basketball team, and they expect to start their performance on the “right hand”.

Meanwhile, Puerto Rico will compete against Venezuela at 13:30. The Group A includes these four teams; whilst the Group B includes Argentina, Mexico, Uruguay, and Dominican Republic.

The Argentina vs. Uruguay match will start at 18:00, while Mexico will compete against Dominican Republic from 21:00 to 23:30.

On Thursday, August 1, matches will continue with: the British Virgin Islands against Puerto Rico from 10:30 to 13:00 and the Dominican Republic against Argentina from 13:00 to 16:00. Also, Uruguay will face Mexico from 18:00 to 20:30, and Venezuela will go up against the United States from 21:00 to 23:30.

With the head held high. The Peruvian women's football team will try to improve its score, after losing to Argentina in their first match. Now, Peru aims to obtain its first victory in women's football by beating Costa Rica in the second competition day in Group B.

The match between Peru and Costa Rica will take place at the stadium of the National University of San Marcos, starting at 20:30. It is worth mentioning the Costa Rican team beat 3-1 the Panama team in their first competition.

Argentina will compete against Panama at 17:30 for the same group. Meanwhile, in Group A, Jamaica will face Colombia at 13:00, and Mexico will go up against Paraguay at 10:00.

FOCUSED ON WINNING

On Wednesday, the dressage individual final (freestyle) will take place at the Army Equestrian School. Additionally, the men’s vault final and women’s beam finals will be held at the Villa El Salvador Sports Center starting at 13:00.

The women’s floor exercise and men’s parallel bars finals will start at 14:20. As for artistic swimming, all freestyle women’s pairs and teams will perform their final routines between 12:00 and 20:30. So, get ready to meet this discipline’s winners!

There will also be some amazing squash performances on Wednesday. The women’s team semifinals will begin at 09:00, followed by the men’s competitions two hours later. Between 16:30 and 19:00, we will see the final for both men and women.

Furthermore, athletes will compete for the shooting gold medal in trap mixed teams starting at 09:00 at the Las Palmas Air Base.

PERU ON THE FIELD OF PLAY

The men’s handball competitions will start at the Sports Center 1 of the National Sports Village (VIDENA) in San Luis, while baseball will kick off its competitions at the Villa María del Triunfo Sports Center. We have some exciting matches ahead, including Peru vs. Puerto Rico in both sports. The men’s handball match will start at 15:30, and baseball will be played starting at 19:05.

The Peruvian team will also give their all against Mexico in women’s hockey in Group FB. The match will be held in Villa María del Triunfo at 10:00. Also, in Group FB, Chile and the USA will face each other starting at noon.  Finally, Uruguay will play against Cuba and Canada against Argentina in Group FA.

MORE COMPETITIONS

The Punta Rocas beach will house a six-hour surfing competition starting at 9:00. Men’s and women’s open surfing will enter their repechage stage, while the men’s and women’s longboard and SUP surfing competitions will continue. 

Spectators at the Eduardo Dibós Coliseum in San Borja will continue enjoying the best basketball matches, with men’s preliminary round from 10:30 to 13:30 and from 18:00 to 21:00. Besides, the Villa María del Triunfo Sports Center will house the men’s softball semifinals.

The day started off well at Las Palmas Shooting Range, but Peruvian athletes did not reach the podium. Alessandro De Souza placed second in the qualifying trap event with 122 targets hit out of 125 attempts, but he did not reach the podium just because of a failed attempt. 

The Peruvian athlete already qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games could not reach the podium, but every shot was effusively celebrated. Brian Burrows from the USA won the gold, his fellow countryman Derek Haldeman won the silver, and Roberto Schmits from Brazil won the bronze medal. 

 “I apologize to the Peruvian audience for not winning the gold medal. What we experienced today in Las Palmas is something we’ve never seen in Peruvian shooting. I hope this is a starting point for this sport to improve. I almost reached the podium because I made a mark that qualifies you to any world event,” said De Souza.  

Anyway, De Souza still has a chance tomorrow at 09:00 in the mixed trap event with Daniela Pacheco. 

Shooting at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games includes 12 single events, equally divided in six women’s and six men's events, as well as three mixed double events. There will be precision events (pistol and rifle), as well as shotgun events (skeet and trap) that will be held from July 27 to August 3. 

Photo gallery (click here)

Perhaps several years ago, no one would have imagined such an attendance in a gymnastics event, a sport struggling to be recognized in Peru even though worldwide it arouses a lot of interest for the marvelous maneuvers performed by gymnasts in top competitions.

Thanks to Lima 2019, Peru has a new sports center: venue located on the heart of Villa El Salvador district. It was at this venue where the gymnastics events took place, raising a huge interest among its hundreds of attendees only in the first four days of competition.

All events were held with a full venue and with the best conditions of accessibility and comfort for the attendees and athletes. On July 30 afternoon, five high-level finals were held showing outstanding performances, such as the one made by the Chilean Tomás González. He fulfilled his promise to win the gold medal at Lima 2019 by defeating Robert Neff from the United States and the Colombian Andrés Martínez, who won the bronze. In this event, the Peruvian Daniel Agüero placed sixth, while the Brazilian Arthur Zanetti placed seventh.

The audience also enjoyed the pommel horse finals. In this competition, the Brazilian Carlos Barretto took home the gold; while Robert Neff from the USA and Colombia’s Carlos Calvo bagged the silver and bronze, respectively. The Peruvian Jesús Moreto placed eighth.

In women’s vault, the gold went to the Canadian Elsabeth Ann Black, followed by Yesenia Ferrera from Cuba and Shallon Olsen from Canada. Meanwhile, in the rings event, Mexico’s Fabián de Luna surprised everyone by defeating the Brazilian Arthur Zanetti, who obtained the silver medal. The Argentinian Federico Molinari was the happiest at the event. He reached the bronze and received a loud ovation from his fellow Argentinians.

Finally, on women’s uneven bars finals, the member of the gold-medal-winning team at the 2018 World Championships, Miley McCusker from United States, claimed the gold. Recently, she placed second at the U.S. Classic Gymnastics Tournament. Leanne Wong got the silver medal, while the Canadian Elisabeth Ann Black earned the bronze. Without a doubt this was a top level event with a huge audience, which forecasts a rising interest for this sport in Peru, where only football prevails.

Photo gallery (click here)

In recognition of their efforts and dedication and for making Peru proud, all Peruvian medalists of the Lima 2019 Pan American Games will receive, as a prize, an apartment at the Pan American Village, located in the Villa El Salvador district. 

As established by Law No. 30949, athletes who win a gold medal will receive an apartment of 75.83 m2. In addition, athletes who obtain silver medals will be awarded with a property of 73.83 m2 at the Pan American Village. Meanwhile, athletes who win bronze medals will be owners of a property of 70.87 m2. 

This good news also applies to Parapan American athletes who will compete as of August 23. All gold, silver or bronze medalists will be awarded with an apartment of 75.83 m2. 

So far, the outstanding national athletes that are now owners of a property in the Village are the marathon runners Gladys Tejeda and Christian Pacheco, who claimed a gold medal at the Lima 2019 marathon. Also Diego Elías, who took the gold medal after beating Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez in the fourth set with a score of 11-8 and Natalia Cuglievan, who gave Peru another gold medal at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games. The water skier bagged a medal in the trick event in an exciting final, held at Laguna Bujama. 

Another athlete that brought joy to his country was the taekwondo fighter Hugo del Castillo, who won a silver in poomsae. Additionally, the athlete Marcela Castillo also earned a silver medal in poomsae. 

Ariana Vera and Renzo Saux claimed the bronze medal in mixed pairs Luis Bardalez won the bronze medal in the men’s 67 kg event in weightlifting, at the Mariscal Cáceres Coliseum. The Peruvian boxer Leodan Pezo got the bronze medal in 60 kg light heavyweight. Therefore, he will have the chance to get one of the Village apartments, along with other athletes such as Alonso Escudero, who earned the bronze medal in squash, and José María Lúcar, the winner of the bronze medal in 91 kg men’s heavyweight. 

THE PAN AMERICAN AND PARAPAN AMERICAN VILLAGE 

The first residential complex of Villa El Salvador has 1096 apartments divided into seven towers (four of 20 floors and three of 19). In each tower, there are eight apartments of approximately 70 and 75 m2. 

All of them have three bedrooms, a living room, a dining room, a kitchen, and two bathrooms. They are accessible for people with an impairment. Some areas even have braille reading system. 

These buildings also have spacious inner corridors and 28 elevators to facilitate the transit of people with an impairment who have to move around in a wheelchair. 

Apartments will be transferred gratuitously to medalists once the sports event is over, at a public event and after corresponding Supreme Resolution. 

Yesterday, Nicolás Álvarez won on the first day of the men’s competition at Lawn Tennis de la Exposición Club. And this morning, a significant number of spectators witnessed the victory of tennis player Dominique Schaefer, the best-ranked Peruvian athlete in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). 

The constant support of the crowd at the main stadium of the Lawn Tennis Club gave her encouragement to advance to the next round. Although the match became complicated for her at the end of each set, she managed to win both sets 7-5 against Grenadine Akilah James. 

“It was a tough game because I wasn't so confident at times. I was winning the entire game, but when I failed some hits, she managed to raise her level. Anyway, my debut helped me relax. I will face the next matches more calmly. Today, the crowd encouragement filled me with lots of energy. This atmosphere makes me very excited to play for my country,” stated Dominique. 

The pair made up of Schaefer and Dana Guzmán will compete in women’s doubles in the afternoon. Additionally, Juan Pablo Varillas will make his debut in men’s competitions against Bolivian Boris Arias. The winners in singles and doubles (men’s and women’s), as well as in mixed doubles, will earn direct qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.  

TENNIS AT LIMA 2019 

Tennis competitions will be held at the stadium of the Lawn Tennis Club, from July 29 to August 4. Athletes will compete in singles and doubles (men’s and women’s), as well as in mixed doubles. A total of 80 tennis player from 16 countries, both male and female, will participate in the Games, competing in knockout round stages. 

There will be six stages in men’s singles, starting with a round of 64, and five stages in both women’s singles and men's doubles, starting with a round of 32. Meanwhile, athletes will start competing in a round of 16 in women’s doubles and mixed doubles. 

ABOUT LIMA 2019 

The Lima 2019 Pan American Games is a continental event that will gather 6680 athletes from 41 countries and started on July 26 at the National Stadium. There will be 17 days of competitions, which will take place in 14 districts of Lima and Callao. Some of the main venues will be the VIDENA, Villa María del Triunfo Sports Center, Callao Regional Sports Village, Villa El Salvador Sports Center, Punta Rocas, among others. 

Photo gallery (click here)