Time for a change: The china is more powerful than the luca

I find I carry lots of change in Peru. It is not uncommon for me to have 20 coins in my pocket. Soles (S/.) is the currency of Peru. Soles come in bills and coin. Bills are denominated in S/.10, S/.20, S/.50, S/.100, and S/.200. Coins include S/.1, in slang called a luca (sounds like LUka), S/.2 and S/.5 as well as cents or centimos: 1, 5, 10, 20, and 50, known on the street as a china (pronounced as chEEna).

Most daily purchases, food, transportation, etc. cost less (much less) than S./10. As a result having lots of change in my pocket is not uncommon and in many respects, necessary.

The necessity comes from merchants not having enough change to effect a transaction. As an example, think about the breakfast merchant . She offers breakfast for S/.2. As each customer pays for their meal they will hand her change. If each one had a bill, with the minimum being S/.10, she would need to carry kilos of change to accommodate all of the customers.

The other evening I was waiting to get arroz con leche and mazamorra from a street merchant I call Mazamorra Wendy. Arroz con leche is rice pudding: warm, sweet, and creamy. Mazamorra is similar to a jelly made from purple corn, cinnamon, sugar, plumbs, and other delectables: served warm, tart, as a side or topping. Together the sweet and creaminess of the arroz con leche and the tart of the mazamorra make a wonderful, hearty dessert on a cold evening. I will write more about Wendy in a future vignette.

A patron purchased S/.2 of arroz con leche from Wendy and then presented her with a S/.50 bill. This created an issue. Wendy sells portions from S/.1 to S/.6 with the average sale being S/.1 to S/.2. Being presented the S/.50 bill was like watching an accident on the interstate. Everything immediately came to a halt. People in line became onlookers to the wreck: the need for change. Everyone knew this was going to be awhile, tossing their heads in disbelief. Almost out loud you could hear the thoughts, "a S/.50? What is he thinking? Is he crazy?"

Wendy was now having to find change. First she looked at those in line as if secretly hoping one of us could break the S/.50 bill. Instinctively those in front of her started shaking their heads, some after touching the outside of their pockets and others quizzingly peering upwards. You could imagine the thought bubbles above their heads saying "do I have change for a S/.50" before they looked forward and moved their chin from side to side acknowledging they did not. Wendy, with a line of patrons at her street cart, was off to find the balance that represented 24 times the purchase. She went from one bodega to the other, finally to emerge with the change needed.

Everyone carries change. Using bills for small purchases is considered a nuisance and a disruption to the normal flow. Change is the oil of transactions in Lima. Change is also power. Having change empowers the purchaser to get what they want at a price they want.

As you have read I ride the combis. The fare for the combi is some amorphous calculation of distance between stops. Each combi, privately owned, has its own fare structure. They are all similar, however, the job of the cobrador is to extract the maximum fare the market will bear. Not having the exact amount of change that you want to pay puts you at the mercy of what the cobrador wants to charge. I have been known as saying "la china tienes mas poder que la luca." Roughly translated from my poor Spanish, the 50 cent piece has more power than the 1 sol coin.

Two routes I take daily on the combi are not well defined fare areas: one slightly beyond a zone and the other just within two zones. My first combi everyday is a route that the cobradors will 9 times out 10 accept 50 centimos without asking for more. But if I hand them S/.1 I will be, in many cases, begging for my change. The second route I take is technically S/.1 but I have found if I have 70 centimos and announce where I am going that all will accept this. Though if I hand them S/.1 I will never get change.

I always make sure I have change, small change, because la china tienes mas poder que la luca. Change becomes a bargaining chip. Not only on the combis, but the taxis and the mercados (markets) too.

Change is a safety issue as well. It is important to understand the economies of scale. Consider that all bills in Lima are considered large bills, it is important to not be on the streets flashing a lot of money. If you were in New York City on the street you wouldn't be obvious with your large bills. The same holds true in Lima, a city like New York, with over 8 million people. Change purses or pouches will be carried by men and women in Lima: keeping their bills out of site.

With 2 chinas in hand, 20 coins in my pocket, and my bills in the other pocket, I feel empowered by my change. That is a nice way to start the day and go off to work, where I am going now. Enjoy your day. It is time, for a change.