In 2007, before an 8.0-magnitude earthquake in Pisco, Peru, bright flashes of light lit up the sky, captured on security camera video. These earthquake lights were seen by many and documented in scientific studies, adding to the understanding of this rare phenomenon. The lights were likely caused by electrical charges generated by the seismic stress in the earth's crust.

The Peru earthquake lights were noted by Peruvian poets and writers, who saw in them a connection to the ancient Andean traditions of reading the earth's signals. The motif of seismic light appears in the poetry of the Andes, blending indigenous cosmology with modern scientific observation, as seen in the works of poets like César Vallejo and José María Arguedas.