Ley Seca: No Drinking Before and During Elections

From radioquintanaroo.com

48 hours before the day of elections, election day, and 12 hours the day after election day constitutes as "ley seca". So if elections are on the 17th, then starting from midnight on the 15th, all of the 16th, all of the 17th, and until noon on the 18th no alcohol will be sold. Selling alcohol results in a steep fine and extra police are out during this time.

One tip to remember is that speaking Spanish will help you greatly. You'll be treated differently than if you speak English all the time, it'll help you assimilate to the culture, and you'll be able to communicate easier.

Perhaps it's because voting is a requirement, not a right and people are afraid that Peruvians will be too drunk to vote properly, or easily persuaded to vote a certain way.

Another odd law is that the day before the election police aren't allowed to detain people or send them to prison, except for sex crimes. (El sábado 16 no se podrá detener o enviar a prisión a los ciudadanos habilitados para votar, salvo flagrancia.) I wonder about murder or homicide? Sometimes I really don't think Peru is advancing.

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Reader Request: Registering Your Peruvian Marriage Back Home

From happydietitian.wordpress.com

I've been asked a couple times if marriages in Peru are legal back home and the short answer is yes, they are.

Now if you get married in Peru, does that mean that it'll automatically show up on your records back home? No, it won't. If you get married in Peru and then go home and check if you have a marriage record, you won't. It'll still show that you're single.

So what do you do? It depends on where you're from. If you're from the US, they usually don't ask for official translations or apostillisations. Personally, I would still get my Peruvian documents notarised, apostillised, and translated. Here's a guide on how to use Peruvian documents abroad.

Update August 2014
Some counties in the US aren't allowing you to record foreign marriages or divorces anymore. Contact your county clerk for more info.

In the US you cannot register a foreign marriage. It's impossible. What exactly does that mean for people who get married abroad? It's simple. In the US you're only allowed to register a marriage that takes place on US soil. If you get married abroad all you have to do is bring your foreign marriage cert and a translated copy (Doesn't have to be official. You can translate it, a friend, Google, etc) to the county clerk's office. Then the record it and it'll show up on your record.

What does it mean? It's just semantics. You register marriages that take place on US soil and you record marriages that take place on foreign soil. The end result is the same: you'll show up as being married. If you get divorced, you follow the same procedure.

One tip to remember is that speaking Spanish will help you greatly. You'll be treated differently than if you speak English all the time, it'll help you assimilate to the culture, and you'll be able to communicate easier.

Disclaimer:

• Please join my Patreon page
• I use affiliate links. I may earn a commission if you make a purchase after clicking on links. Read more at my FTC Disclosure and Privacy Policy Statement