It is largely used in the manufacture of chicha, a fermented drink popular among the lower classes.
Maize, beans and bananas, varied occasionally with dried meat and fresh pork, form their staple diet; drunkenness is common on pay-days and festivals, when large quantities of a fiery brandy called chicha are consumed.
The universal beverage of the people - chicha - is made from Indian corn.
A considerable part of the sugarcane produced is likewise devoted to the manufacture of chicha (rum), the consumption of which is common among the Indians and half-breeds of the Andean regions.