I was reading the Discover Nikkei call, in Crónicas Nikkeis, it was about Nikkei heroes, the first thing that came to mind was the image of Don Gerardo Maruy Takayama, my admiration for him made me write an article about him on my blog . I acquired this affection from my father, he told me many things about him, I was amazed to listen to him because he was a bit sparse, but in his stories his eyes shone with emotion. When writing this article I understood that this feeling was shared by many people, all of whom agreed in their assessment.
A leader with so many achievements in his wake: from when he began his studies, at the Lima Nikko School; in baseball in the Lima league, as a player; as a leader in the federation, promoting the sport he loves so much; making his Wilson shirts, always involved in rags, as those of us who are related to textiles say; making all types of uniforms, both for school and sports teams. In that way he also collaborated with so many people to be able to dress the teams, because he loves sports and supported everyone. In his Maruy Stores, running his large company, a lifetime in it, he experienced many difficult situations and satisfactions.
He was head of the Peruvian Sports Institute (IPD) when the job was Ad honorem, hence his work is valued more; He participated in the transition from the Central Japanese Society to the Peruvian Japanese Association (APJ), in 1984, when the Nisei , those born in Peru, took over, since before they were only Japanese. The acid test was the organization of the 90th anniversary of Japanese immigration to Peru. Shimpo, a very important Nikkei newspaper in our country and the oldest one, was in Peru ; at the Japanese Peruvian Polyclinic; in Immanuel; at the Peruvian Japanese Theater; at the Centenario Clinic; at the Jinnai Center. He has been a master of ceremonies, an entertainer, a showman. So many successful entities with a team at their command, as you always recognize.
Don Gerardo was born in Huaura on September 24, 1929, a Nisei whose father came from Japan, from Hiroshima. From a very young age he liked baseball, a hobby inherited from his father and older brother. I always remember my father, I spoke of him with great respect and admiration. Charismatic, warm, joking, happy; He enjoyed every event he animated. The Kohaku Uta Gassen, Peru version, where he was the captain of the whites, he appeared dressed completely in white, with every occurrence he had on stage, he made everything turn in favor of his team, I think most of the time he won his team because he was the plus, the handicap.
He has a large number of achievements that when reading them turns out to be a long cold list on paper, but it has great meaning for each of us. In the case of health, how many people use the Peruvian Japanese Polyclinic, even the non-Nikkei community passes through it daily, between consultations, tests and analyses, people hoping to recover their health or doing their periodic check-up.
The Centenario clinic, which my mother uses many times, how many Nikkei faces do you see there, in addition to having a special place for all elderly people in geriatrics, there are even several advantages for Nikkei people over eighty years old, with prices preferential. When reading Perú Shimpo, the newspaper of our colony, we do not know that after its modernization our hero is also there; if it were not for him, we would still be with the old linotypes. What a joy it is to see the older members of our community at the Jinnai Center, having fun with activities and with people their age, that has a lot of meaning for them and also for us.
When attending the Peruvian Japanese Theater, what a pride to see that many artistic activities of our community and the community in general are carried out, with very good facilities, good lighting, sound, things that we deserve and that are ours. Something difficult to assimilate, but very important, is the Emmanuel nursing home, where our elderly will be well cared for, where they will be able to live with people their age and share daily activities. How many things we have thanks to our hero.
Who doesn't remember the Maruy Stores with their slogan “A store worth knowing”? Great assortment of products, good customer service, always one step ahead of the competition, with its discount keychains, to build customer loyalty. The first store was located in Jr. Andahuaylas, behind the Congress of the Republic, it was larger than a bazaar. He sold shirts, pants, jackets and ties; There he began to sell various products he made. Then he went to a place with greater public influx in the heart of the city, very close to the Government Palace, and was located in Jr. De la Unión, in a larger store, with more variety. The big leap was in the Jesús María district, a place with a higher social level, in a large and modern premises. Finally he specialized in making uniforms of all kinds, dressing many prestigious companies.
The most important thing about Don Gerardo is the human quality he has, a person at the service of others, who does things without asking for anything in return. Many people can attest to him, always paternal, treating his workers as if they were his children, caring about each person. I remember in a documentary in his tribute, they interviewed two employees who for years have followed him, one of them said that when there was the looting that affected the city of Lima, in a police strike, the mob came towards the store, a small A group of employees, all young, decided that they should defend him, without knowing how. Don Gerardo opposed, he told them that first it was the life and integrity of each one and then the material, the place was looted due to numerical superiority, but the most important thing was its people. Another thing they say is that the employees' children always had school uniforms, always helping in some way. He gave uniforms to the volleyball team, says Olga Azato and Lucha Fuentes, who belonged to our volleyball team at that time.
Mr. Maruy has always stood up in the face of adversity, our country suffered a lot during the time of terrorism, I myself remember that on February 4, 1986, members of these groups placed a type of incendiary bomb with retarder inside the store, in strategic locations. After a few hours they caught fire, when the premises were closed, causing them to completely burn down and even spread to neighboring premises. This was a message to the Government Palace, which was just a few blocks away. With this, the government of Alan García declared Lima in a state of emergency and the longest “curfew” in history, more than a year, those were the times we lived in. But this did not stop him from getting back up. The Nikkei colony, out of love for Don Gerardo, came together to support something, but in the end he did everything.
We have a clothing store in the center of the city, I remember talking to a Nikkei woman who came to buy, she told me that many years ago, she also sold clothes, I think it was in Huaral, north of our city. He came to Lima with his sister and went to Maruy, behind the Congress, in Jr. Andahuaylas. Don Gerardo gave them credit without even knowing them, he did not ask for collateral or their address, he told them “just take it, daughter, then you pay”, just for the fact that he was a Nikkei and because he is like that, he trusts people. They always hurried on the next trip, they came directly to cancel, so as not to make him look bad, that way they remembered him. This brought him a lot of joy in general, but also a lot of problems, because all people are not the same and sometimes he was disappointed, that's Don Gerardo, he trusts people and gives everything without asking for anything in return.
Mr. Maruy is a person who exudes sympathy, charisma and even when he already had a large store in the Jesús María district, he was focused on managing his company in his administrative offices, but he always stopped by his store, chatted with clients, their employees, exchanging opinions, giving advice, always treating people with great familiarity. We have had many suppliers in common, being in the same field, all the people I have spoken to about Don Gerardo have said the same thing: a gentleman, a correct person, charismatic, always giving advice, a joker, an exceptional character, Creole, his way of being always opened doors and the hearts of all people.
This is our small tribute to Don Gerardo Maruy, very small for a giant, a Nikkei pride, our hero.
© 2019 Robert Oshiro Teruya
