"Llamas are
bitchy," a coworker explains to me, preparing me for the first hike on
Saturday, "do not get too close to them." From
there, we dive into a talk about Georgia O'Keeffe, who painted New Mexico all
her life, about Slovenia. We then jump to the “Fed up” documentary, to violence
against transgender people in New Orleans and to violence against women in
indigenous Peruvian villages, until
the office door displays Raul, the always-smiling creature who doesn’t like too
many rules, cooking or cleaning. He
asks if he can sleep at his uncle’s, who lives in the center Cusco… they’ll be celebrating
the purchase of a new car. Two
minutes after that, Talia knocks on the door. She
asks if she can use the Mosqoy’s stationary phone to call her mother, who lives
in Ollantaytambo, a small, poor town where rural, indigenous inhabitants live, and
tells us the dinner will be ready in 5 minutes. At
that moment my pronunciation of the name of her home town still constitutes a
problem. Who
would have thought that a few hours later I’d have known the history of that
place, which is - now I know - one of the most important in the history of the
Incas. Dinner is a heaped plate of a mixture of
pasta and potatoes with peas, carrots and eggs, which after yesterday, which I
spent entirely in bed and with abdominal cramps, does not seem like the best
idea. I
try a bit and save the rest and because they know what sorry condition I was in
yesterday, they do not take offense. Talia
says that her stomach also hurts, from which the chat develops into a
conversation about dance which she has been practicing since she was little,
the traditional dances here, in Slovenia and in New Mexico, the salsa, which we
danced on Friday and about reggaeton,
which is popular here. I
sigh a bit inside, as I’m relieved that these boys and girls, the students Mosqoy
supports and that will be my house-mates for at least the next month, are
becoming more relaxed with me. We
come from completely different backgrounds, half of them are still in puberty,
my Spanish is still limping, and every couple of months they have to get used
to the new people who come here. Until
yesterday it seemed to me that they will have a hard time opening to me. But
today, after dinner, we spontaneously start dancing and dancing obviously
always and everywhere brings people together. We show
them salsa and bachata that are new to them. And then, before
I know it, I’m learning the typical dances of Peru's highlands! The
heels are creating the rhythm. We are gesturing with the invisible skirts and imaginary
hats are sitting on our heads as clothing and highlighting its movement is an
important part of the dance. Christian
is standing shyly in the corner, but when I ask him if he knows these dances, he
nods quickly and a strong memory suddenly fills his eyes. Who
knows what the story is there? The Peruvian-African dances follow, which are a
result of the mixing of the Peruvian culture and the cultures of the former African
slaves brought to Peru - rapid waves that are bending the bodies, wide smiles. My hips which are painfully
trying to follow… lots of laughter. We decide to give the floor to the
dancers on Youtube. The
dances of the Northern Peru follow - solid, elegant, suggestive, and deriving
from Spain…rigid as passion that isn’t allowed to happen. Finally, the dances of
the jungle (which covers more than half of Peru) - now I know where Shakira
got her inspiration from!
The evening takes
a new turn as I mention that I'm sorry that I didn’t arrive to Cusco a few days
earlier because that would have allowed me to experience the 24th of
June’s Inti Raymi, the Inca festival of the Sun and the New Year, the old-Inca
ceremony in honor of the god Inti, which is celebrated on the shortest day year, the winter solstice. The
girls start giggling because it turns out that their first association to the
Inti Raymi is Nivardo Carillo, an actor who each year plays the part of the
Incan king. Very
tall, with broad shoulders and strong hands, with long, black hair and a
substantial, sharp nose, he is a typical Inca man, they tell me in an unusual
voice, expressing at the same pride and shame. It
is not clear to me whether the shame stems from his resemblance to the Incas or
from the fact that they are ashamed to say that they like someone. Both
options are possible, given how much propaganda in Peru dictates the white,
Western ideal of beauty, which bodes from all the posters and advertisements
and is creepily watching over people which don’t resemble it in almost any way.
From
the talks from the previous days I also know that many natives are ashamed of
their heritage and that in Cusco they try to assimilate to such an extent that
they sometimes deny that they understand their first language, Quechua. I
wonder what the girls’ reaction will be, so I say that to me he seems very
attractive, and I ask them who they think the most attractive Peruvian actor is.
After
the inevitable "uuuuuuu" and a fit of giggles, they collect
themselves and agree in a hurry that that yes, yes, of course, he is the most
attractive Peruvian actor. On the
inside I smile - advertising clearly did not work on them. Of
course, it is now necessary to check out this reincarnation of Inca kings in
action, so they show me the video of the famous play “Ollantay”. To
my surprise, it turns out that the place where the majority of the students
come from, Ollantaytambo, which today is the poorest in its province, and in
which approximately 70% of the population lives in poverty, wasn’t always in
such state – that in fact, it is home to one of the oldest and most important Incan
dramas and one of the biggest revolts against the Incan kings. Concerning
the origin of the drama, there are different theories, but the most likely one
is that the story stems from the Inca times and was preserved through oral
tradition until the Spaniards first set it on stage and wrote it down.
 |
| Nivardo Carrillo, the reincarnation of the Incan kings |
So how does the
story go? A general of the Incan armies, Ollantay is a warrior of commoner
origin that has been decorated and elevated to the nobility in return for his
service to the empire. He falls in love with Cusi Coyllur (or Kusi Quyllur,
"happy star"), the daughter of the Inca ruler Pachacutec, but this
love is prohibited due to his commoner background. Nevertheless, blinded by
love, he pursues a secret relationship with Cusi Coyllur, a secret shared only
with the Queen Ccoya Anahuarqui. Despite ominous
omens from the Incan high priest, Ollantay decides to ask the Incan king for
his daughter's hand. Pachacutec, reminding Ollantay of his humble origins,
reproaches Ollantay for his audacity and angrily expels him from the court.
Cusi Coyllur is then imprisoned in the Acllahuasi ("house of chosen
women") where she is to expiate her sins; there she gives birth to a baby
girl, fruit of her love with Ollantay, that she names Ima Sumac ("how
beautiful"). Ollantay, on
learning that Cusi Coyllur is no longer in the pallace, believes that she has
been murdered and decides to leave the imperial capital Cusco together with his
servant and confidant Piqui Chaqui ("flea foot"). He threatens to one
day return and destroy Cusco, then flees to the city which carries his name,
Ollantaytambo, where he and his followers arm themselves and prepare for
battle.
The Incan ruler
Pachacutec orders his general Rumi Nawi ("Stone-eyed") to gather
forces and march to confront Ollantay. Ollantay sends his general Orqo Waranka
("A thousand mountains") to ambush Rumi Nawi in a mountain pass,
defeating Rumi's forces but allowing him to escape. Other battles ensue. Ten
years later Pachacutec dies without having defeated Ollantay, and his son Tupac
Yupanqui succeeds him. Meanwhile, in the
Acllahuasi, Cusi Coyllur has endured hardship at the hands of Mama Caca
("Stone Mother") but also found an ally in Pitu Salla ("Twinned
Love"), who has raised Cusi's daughter Ima Sumac as her own. When Ima
accidentally discovers her true heritage, she proposes to go to the new Incan
king and ask for clemency for her mother.
At the same time,
new Incan ruler Tupac Yupanqui resolves to finally defeat and capture Ollantay,
and sends Rumi Nawi, who promises to redeem his earlier failure. Rumi Nawi
employs a deceptive plan: he presents himself at the gates of Ollantaytambo
covered in wounds, pretending that the new Incan ruler has abused him and
suggesting that he would like to join Ollantay's rebellion. When the gates are
opened, Rumi Nawi's men capture Ollantay, Orqo Waranka, and other rebels
without resistance, eventually bringing them to Cusco to face Tupac Yupanqui's
judgement. After consultation with his advisors and his generals, Tupac
condemns the prisoners to death, but then reverses himself at the last minute
and not only pardons them, but decides to give them high-ranking posts in the
empire. Ollantay is named the senior general and deputy of the Inca ruler,
while Orqo Waranka is named ruler of the state of Antisuyu.
Soon afterwards,
Ima Sumac enters the imperial pallace to ask for clemency for her imprisoned
mother. Although Tupac doesn't yet know who this is, he takes an interest in
the case and together with Ollantay goes to the Acllahuasi. There they find a
woman with very long hair and a ghostly appearance that Tupac finally
recognizes as his sister. Cusi Coyllur tells her story, and a magnanimous Tupac
Yupanqui frees her and immediately gives her hand to Ollantay, ending the Incan
drama on a happy note.
When
the video finishes, our evening
also ends. The night brings me a restless sleep and dreams in which I'm
fighting for supremacy in
spitting with a llama and obviously lose.
Apparently they deserved that comment from my coworker.
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