Monument Pride

New 7 Wonders  - Machu Picchu

DEmocracy in Action

UNESCO and New 7 Wonders are Poles apart  /  World votes for seven new wonders (Telegraph - UK)

Peru is big on parades and public spectacles. Usually centered around a Plaza de Armas (Plaza of Arms).
I found one in EVERY large city (Lima, Arequipa, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Tacna, Cuzco) I went to in Peru. 
Easy for navigation purposes, but it made me wonder why there are no - Plaza de Paz. Paz means Peace.  Anyway....

insert Peru map

I finally made it to Cuzco, the fabled gateway to Machu Picchu. I was thinking that since I arrived before the main tourist
season, it would be a little  more quiet. That it was clearly not. Rather than soak in the city ambiance before visiting Machu Pacchu,
I was getting turned off to being in the city. For the circus surrounding this New 7 Wonders was getting a bit annoying.  
When I first heard about the N7W -- right when it started, I thought it was interesting. Soon after, I thought it was dumb.
Some of the reasons already articulated in the linked news stories. But, two more reasons:

1) Blind Choice- How can one vote for something, when they don't even KNOW the choices? I've traveled and I have seen 50% of the finalists.
I don't feel qualified to say what should be in a final list. How can people then make an informed choice when they have
likely seen far fewer,  perhaps only the one they live near by.

Why do we need a list anyway for such a subjective issue?  And who came up with that original list anyway?

2) Monument Pride - As the voting turns into a popularity contest, people from their respective countries start attaching even more pride
to things that they did not build, let alone maintain.

All photos below from Cuzco, Peru April 27, 2007

My question to all of these Peruvians -- did you (Your own two hands) build Machu Picchu?

As for preservation, it did fine for the hundreds of years it was not discovered. Last I checked, mass tourism is damaging the site.
But, then maybe this whole New 7 Wonders effort orchestrated by the government, is really....just a matter of eCONomics!

Lost Civilization of Peru - The Moche video clips from the  BBC on Youtube - precursor to Incas? One collapse followed by another...

History Channel - Modern Marvels - Machu Picchu

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=BEF3E9CF1F20FB73

....oh yeah...saw this in a Brazilian church in Sao Paulo.
Promo to vote for the Cristo Redentor in Rio.

and if you are wondering....NO, I DID NOT vote in the N7W.

and NO, I DID NOT visit Machu Picchu either!
(Though I did visit the ruins in the valley around it. And not visiting MP was also partly due to a sold out train the day I wanted to go.
But, lets just say the hoopla about the N7W did not motivate me to stay longer. Another day.)