Peru promotes Super-Mummy to Aussie tourists
SYDNEY – The recent discovery of the mummy La Señora de Cao or ‘Lady of Cao,’ will be highlighted in a campaign next month to attract Australian travellers to Peru.
Travel industry presentations about the Cao mummy and Peru as a tourist destination will take place in Sydney and Melbourne.
Leading the delegation from Peru will be Rosana Guinea, Asia and Oceania market coordinator for PromPeru – the country’s national tourism board.
Also presenting will be the Peruvian ambassador, Claudio de La Puente and Lyda Garcia from the Wiese Foundation – caretakers of the mummy and the newly opened Cao Museum.
Four years ago in the remote desert area of the Chicama Valley near Trujillo in northern Peru, archaeologist Regulo Franco found a perfectly preserved, 1,700 year old tattooed mummy with long braided hair.
She was the first known governess of Peru – a powerful female leader in what was thought to be a society ruled only by men.
Wrapped in thick layers of cotton, she was entombed with precious gold jewellery, crowns, and ceramics, as well as two large ceremonial war clubs.
She was buried in El Brujo (The Wizard) – a major religious centre for the Moche People between the first and seventh centuries AD.
Alongside her was the body of a teenage girl with a noose around her neck, sacrificed to act as a servant in the afterlife.
The Cao museum was opened in April 2009. Exhibits include the mummy and all her possessions as well as 5,000-year-old weavings and ceramics.
PromPeru’s presentations will be held at the Mercure Hotel Sydney at 6pm Tuesday October 20 (media only), 6pm October 21 (travel industry) and the Rendezvous Hotel Melbourne at 6pm October 22 (media and travel combined).
Door prizes will include Peruvian souvenirs and a trip to Peru courtesy of Lan Airlines, Green Tails Expeditions and Chimu Adventures.
Media and travel industry representatives can register to attend by sending an email to [email protected] or calling 02 9997 1526.
Ian Jarrett
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