Barbara Drake is an American writer, editor and occasional news producer who has lived in Peru since 2007.  She teaches English in the translation & interpretation program at UPC, where she was recently named her department’s “Teacher of the Year.”  

Check out her articles and short stories, learn about her award-winning blog An American in Lima, and view some of the videos she helped produce for U.S. news teams.

Contact Barbara to say hello or to hire her for your next project.

Opinion Pieces & Essays

Deadly Negligence — Peru’s Red Cross & Cold Deaths in Andes

More than 500 children in the Andes died of extreme cold last winter, but the Peruvian Red Cross refuses to ask for much-needed international aid (An American in Lima)

Opinion Pieces & Essays

Confessions of a Redhead in the Callejón

Bullfighting is gory, morbid & frequently tedious. So why did I want to jump in the Acho bullring last November? Huffington Post, Feb. 23, 2010

Multi-media, Videos

Official: Van der Sloot confesses to killing

Joran van der Sloot confessed to slaying a 21-year-old woman in a Lima hotel room, a Peruvian official told NBC News. (TODAY Show/NBC News video, June 8, 2010)

Multi-media, Photo Stories

Peru’s Disappearing Holy Glacier

A glacier in the Andes worshipped since pre-Columbian times is disappearing due to rapid climate shifts, taking with it ancient rituals tied to the earth. (MSNBC photo story)

Articles

Escaping the U.S. Credit Nightmare

It took moving to a developing country for me to tune out the American mantra of "Spend, spend, spend" (Miami Herald, Oct. 12, 2008)

Opinion Pieces & Essays

The Heart Is a Muscle

I used to think France was the most food-obsessed nation on earth. Then I moved to Peru. (An American in Lima, Sept. 8, 2009)

Articles

Battle Over the Bulls

In recent years, bullfighting in Peru has been attacked by activists who call it "cruel and barbaric." So why is it becoming more popular? (Miami Herald, Nov. 21, 2008)

Multi-media, Videos

“Peru’s future depends on mountains”

Jorge Recharte of the Mountain Institute explains why glaciers are essential for the survival of Peruvian culture. (MSNBC.com video, Dec. 8, 2009)