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I guess this has something to do with the fact that Polvos Azules has historically been one of the biggest black markets in Peru. While you’ll find great prices, you also run the risk of being cheated or robbed even though the area is located, ironically, about two blocks away from the Peruvian “Palace of Justice.”

As it currently exists, Polvos Azules is a semi-legal black market. Along with legitimate items, cheap knock-offs—referred to as "bamba" in Peru, can be found of music, movies and designer clothing as well as shoes, which are sold in an almost unnavigable maze of small booths.

While it may sound sketchy, shopping at Polvos Azules is a fascinating and fun experience. That is if you don’t mind being occasionally grabbed and pulled to a vendor’s stand.

If this happens, it should not be interpreted as a frightening act of aggression, but rather it is simply someone trying to make a sale. If you are clearly a foreigner, a visit to Polvos Azules is a bit like visiting a used car lot, only there are a hundred salesmen and you feel as though you must be walking around with a dollar sign tattooed on your forehead and money coming out of your ears.

I remember exploring the market with a friend who looks like she could be from Latin America and no one spoke to her unless she asked a question. I, on the other hand, occasionally had to fight off the hands of merchants trying to steer me towards their items.
The best way to handle a situation like this is to gently, but forcefully, pull yourself away if it is something that you are truly not interested in. However, if the vendor has that copy of “Romancing the Stone” in Spanish on DVD which you’ve endlessly been searching for, then happily play along and try to snag a bargain price.

While shopping at a black market is a great adventure and various products can be purchased at rock-bottom prices, few of us stop to think—or necessarily care what counterfeiting costs legitimate businesses.

According to the Washington-based International Intellectual Property Alliance, in 2003 the counterfeiting of movies, music and books in Peru alone cost US businesses over $99 million USD.

Clearly, the protection of intellectual property rights in all parts of the world, whether by the use of patents, trademarks or copyrights, is a major concern for businesses. Consequently, various international laws and multilateral agreements, such as the WTO’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), have been passed to try to alleviate some of the piracy that occurs.

However, the Peruvian authorities show little or no interest in arresting those who infringe on patents, trademarks, or copyrights. The reason for this is simple—they are too busy dealing with the multitudes of murders, rapes and robberies, not to mention corruption in their country to worry about the fake Adidas jerseys that are being sold.

In fact, pirating in Peru is taken so lightly that the vast majority of counterfeiters that are arrested are only given suspended sentences. As a result, there is little to deter bootleggers and Peru remains on the United States government’s “Watch List” of countries that are not in compliance with international intellectual property law.

Still, purchasing bootleg items is something that almost all budget travelers love to do. There is an inexplicable thrill that accompanies the purchase of a $0.95 DVD.

While it is indeed exciting to get a bargain item, you maybe wondering if it is legal to obtain such an item and to bring it back home.

Well, it’s abundantly clear that creating and selling counterfeit items infringes various copyright, trademark, and patent laws, however the laws that surround purchasing, possessing, and bringing these items home are a bit ambiguous.

In the United States, most existing laws focus on punishing those who create, with the intent to sell, counterfeit items. However, there is pending legislation which would make it a federal crime to possess a copy of an unreleased movie. This act would be punishable by up to three years in prison.

This has mainly come about due to the growing availability of movies and music that can be acquired online—not as a consequence of backpackers with a knock-off copy of “Shrek 2” in their luggage.

In the United Kingdom, it is a crime if you create packaging, which is identical to, or likely to be mistaken for, a registered trademark. It is also a crime to sell or distribute any such goods or have them in your possession with the intent to sell or distribute them. These offenses are punishable by an unlimited fine, or 10 years imprisonment, or both.

Again, this law is aimed at the distributors of contraband items, not the individual traveler who bought a pair of “Oakley” sunglasses, some “Calvin Klein” cologne and a copy of a Britney Spears CD in Bangkok.

Fortunately for those of us who thoroughly enjoy a really good semi-legal market, it will probably be a very long time before customs officials and their sniffer dogs search our luggage with the intent of ferreting out counterfeit products.

So, you are relatively safe in packing a reasonable amount of bootleg items in your checked and/or carry-on luggage.

But hey kids, please stay away from drugs because no one wants to spend any time in a Latin American prison. Trust me, I know. But that’s a whole different article…

Amy Loftsgordon is a contributing editor at InsideOut Travel Magazine and is particularly proud of the $7 USD "Rolex” watch that she bought in 1991 which amazingly still works.

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