Blogs

Music is important in the Andes, and we have certainly heard plenty over the last few days. As I write, outside in the Plaza de Armas is some kind of “battle of the bands,” which has been going on for … Continue reading → read full post >>

Today I participated in the Hatun Phaway, Qusqo 10K race. Hatun Phaway in Quechua for “great flight”, and it is the first year that this event has taken place. It is organized and hosted by la policia de turismo (tourism police). Apparently if you are a tourist and the unfortunate victim of a crime, such […] read full post >>

Today I participated in the Hatun Phaway, Qusqo 10K race. Hatun Phaway in Quechua for “great flight”, and it is the first year that this event has taken place. It is organized and hosted by la policia de turismo (tourism police). Apparently if you are a tourist and the unfortunate victim of a crime, such […] read full post >>

What a whirlwind Cusco has been. Everything here in the plaza seems to revolve around spectacle through the senses. During our time in Cusco, I feel all 5 of my senses have been continuously engaged (read: overstimulated) almost all of the time. Sight: We have seen a lot. The Corpus Christi festival, the churches, the […] read full post >>

“Is this the real Peru?” has become somewhat of a running joke as we navigate the bustling, somewhat chaotic streets of Cusco. I’ve been pondering this question ever since John posed a similar one in a lecture: “Where is the real Vancouver?” To me, the “real Vancouver” is just a concept—it’s subjective. Even if you […] read full post >>

My questions about what materials the Spanish would have used to construct their buildings has been answered (at least in Cusco). I’m deeply saddened. I think the grandeur of the Catedral del Cuzco would not even have come close to the grandeur of Saqsaywaman. When we visited Qorikancha, the tour guide told us the walls […] read full post >>

Just a Q-pop stan over here read full post >>

Throughout our week spent experiencing Cusco’s iteration of Corpus Christi, I have been trying to see how the Catholic celebration attempts (or doesn’t attempt) to reflect Peru’s deeply entrenched ‘hybridism’ (syncretism? I keep changing my lingo) that we have read so much about. Dean’s book focuses especially on ‘Cusco’s Corpus Christi’ as unique, so I […] read full post >>

I won’t lie, my memory is shaky like a trembling aspen in the autumm breeze and my mind is tangled like the crocheted flowers my friend made me to serve me tea but I don’t want to drop the metaphors so it sucks to be you. Hence since my mind may only carve out the flahses of the last three or so days it is what I shall uncover in what I hope will remain my most unhinged blog post reflection. read full post >>

Some days passed in Cusco. La ciudad Puma. The heart of the Inca empire, Cusco is shaped like a Puma. The plaza, located at the great puma’s heart, is constantly beating. Pumping life forces, coherent and disjunct. Honking of car horns, tubas and trumpets, bark-bark, BANG. Each morning, the sounds of shots fired burst my being from dream-space to place of regimented performance. On Thursday, it was a Catholic celebration, the day of Corpus Christi. The day before it was a colegio band precession. On Saturday, a military parade. The experience of rest is a privilege that need be rivaled by the insistent movements of la puma. As I willingly stay horizontal, slightly opening the ears and re-wiring the mind to attempt to understand the voices projected throughout the plaza, I wonder, who is this for? I wish curiosity could replace one of the 5 medications I was given to de-enflame my intestines (damaged 5 days ago by our last meal in Lima: langostinas + cerveza = XXXX), I wish curiosity could invigorate a sleepy morning with the energy to go out and witness, become a part. I guess its not that urgent. After snooze, I went to the roof with my yoga mat, the message then received more directly, like a voice of the gods raining down from above. Is this war? Breathing, extending, flowing, coming serenely into myself. Am I involved in this war? The processions of militant bodies, bearing weaponry and national pride, is but a spectacle today. A play, a re-creation, a remembrance. It could turn real, as it once was. So much history in humanity. I am here to learn; I hope my learning can keep us safe. read full post >>