The Impossible Hug

In Cusco, a city that lives from tourism, artisans were among the most affected by the pandemic. Cusquena, Peru's flagship beer brand, together with Publicis Worldwide Peru; created a new landmark to attract tourists: The Impossible Hug, a statue that represents the embrace that all Peruvians wanted to give each other in times of social distancing and that, without a doubt, every tourist will want to take home.

Based on the two malts used for Double Malt and the claim of the campaign "made of impossible", Publicis Worldwide Peru and Cusqueña decided to do something that seemed impossible in times of social distancing. They created a two-part sculpture that would come together in an embrace in the Plaza de San Blas, an emblematic neighbourhood of artisans in Cusco, to transform it into a new tourist attraction to help economic reactivation.

The two sculptures were created by two artists, one from Lima by Rafael Lanfranco, a pop artist who combines Andean elements in contemporary proposals; and the other from Cusco, by the hand of Edi Mérida, sculptor heir to the legacy of the Mérida family, one of the important artisan families of Cusco and manager of the creation of the Inkariy museum that seeks to keep our pre-Columbian legacy alive.