The presentation of the "Cacaos del Peru" dress had a great positive impact on the public attending the events for the 25 years of creation of the
(Chocolate Salon), Paris-based PromPeru Bureau Director Rosario Pajuelo has affirmed.
"Peru had the honor of opening the chocolate fashion show, and it has been the most anticipated event in the five days of the fair, having as a public the world press and the most prestigious chocolatiers from France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Japan," official expressed.
According to Pajuelo, the "
Cacaos del Peru" dress —commissioned by
PromPeru France and designed by Ricardo Davila— was inspired by all the ancestral cultures that had given life to the greatest variety of cacaos present
throughout the Amazon basin. Likewise, it incorporates chocolate pieces featuring Peruvian golden motifs painted by the best chocolate maker in Belgium: Frederic Blondeel.
"In order to enhance the dress, woven and goldsmith accessories were incorporated (…) made by local artisans, who were the admiration of 150,000 visitors during the five days of the fair," she said.
In the opening speech of the Paris-based fashion show, a presenter —in charge of portraying Hernan Cortes— publicly acknowledged that the chocolate story had begun in Peru, as a country that is the source of origin of the world's most bio-diverse native cacao.
Participants
"This year, more than 50 cacao producers from Peru participated representing more than 16,000 cooperative members and becoming the largest delegation that has been achieved for a chocolate fair abroad," Pajuelo underlined.
The participating producers come from all the cacao regions of the Inca country such as: San Martin, Junin, Piura, Amazonas, Cusco, Madre de Dios, Ucayali, Ayacucho, and the
VRAEM, which have the support of the Ministry of Agriculture, APPCacao, the
National Commission for Development and Life without Drugs (Devida), and
Sierra y Selva Exportadora (Exporting Andes and Jungle) Program.
The PromPeru office in Paris was in charge of articulating this great associative-public effort.
During the fair, a conference dedicated to Peru was organized at the Chocosphère central podium. It was titled: "Peru, a model of associativity, where the cultivation of aroma cacao is synonymous of sustainable development."