Happiest minutes of my life

(If you don't like suspense, scroll down and click the second link of the post)

Almost nothing in this universe makes sense: David Foster Wallace, Plan Colombia, Sarah Palin, the popularity of Everybody Loves Raymond, my supposed trip to Africa...

In the words of Werner Herzog, "the universe is full of chaos and murder."

Yesterday, however, the universe aligned itself for two short minutes. Some context:

Alicia Delgado was one of Perú's most beloved Huayno singers. Huayno is the country music of Perú and its protagonists are mostly stout, fake-blondes in elaborate dresses. Alicia Delgado was among the most famous of these musicians- when Mazac gets drunk, it's her name we call.

Tragically, Alicia Delgado was murdered in 2009, probably by her secret lover, Abencia Meza, another huayno singer. The scandal, both the same-sex romance and the murder, shocked Perú. It made headlines for months and when it reached me in the states, I became obsessed. Over and over I watched Jaime Bayly interviewing the lovers, coaxing their confession. After Alicia Delgado's murder, I searched for every lurid video of Abencia Meza denying culpability

The stage is set. It's Saturday, April 9, another scorching day in Lima, Perú. I'm walking through El Olivar, a tree-lined park providing respite from Lima's heat (thank you, Clau). At the fountain in the middle of the park is a woman in her elaborate huayno dress, dancing and pretending to sing for the camera. Entranced, I approach. I film:

Ghost of Alicia Delgado

If you followed that link and it bored you, I don't blame you. Huayno can be boring, and this particular woman's huayno is recylced- nothing but crude imitation. That's because the woman singing in the video is ALICIA DELGADO'S SISTER, Clarisa Delgado. She's being filmed as she impersonates her sister, mouths Alicia's songs and attempts to dance in her style. Essentially, it's the Ghost of Alicia Delgado.

It gets better. Because I love huayno, speak spanish and have no shame, I approached the Ghost of Alicia Delgado. I introduced myself, explained to her that her sister is well-loved in Mazac, and requested an autograph. It took all my restraint not to go all Jaime Bayly, demand the lurid details of Alicia's affair with Abencia Meza and ask Clarisa who killed her sister. Instead:

I kiss the Ghost of Alicia Delgado

Confirming my suspicion that I kissed the Ghost of Alicia Delgado and not her sister Clarisa, the woman in question repeated her own name "Clarisa, Clarisa, Clarisa..." as though trying to remember it for herself, then autographed her CD with the mysterious word "Clrpasa".