La sagrada familia, la catedral de Cusco, y la iglesia de triunfo

  The group of churches in la plaza de armas was by far the most salient, outstanding feature of the area. They stood over all other buildings, imposing their authority and presence in an ancient city center that revolved around Catholicism. One large cathedral standing on the southern eastern side was called the Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus, ornate with brick of a copper-like color, and complete with golden accents. The structure was extremely symmetric, with clocks and crosses mirroring each other. Just above the door at the center stood a figure of Jesus or a saint. To the northeastern side stood a monolith of a church, of which we entered. This church was a group of three different churches, which included La sagrada Familia to the very left, la catedral de Cusco at the center, and la Iglesias de triunfo to the very right. The colors and structure of the churches looked marginally similar, all boasting the same dull copper colored brick, with the main cathedral being brighter in brick color, and much larger than its surrounding counterparts. 

         La Iglesias de triunfo was constructed in response to the Spanish victory over the Incan empire at the citadel of Sacsayhuaman. It boasted a symmetric chiseled brick altar on both sides of the entrance, resembling scripture that gave symbolic representations of the Virgin Mary in protecting the Spaniards and assisting them in defeating the Incan empire. The top of the church is decorated with bells and a cross at the center. The inside of the churches was even more fascinating than its exterior architecture. Inside of the Iglesias de triunfo, multiple murals decorated the ceiling and its surrounding walls, depicting several circumstances that generally revolved around the conquest of the Incan empire. Murals depicted Jesus, the virgin Mary, and God as assisting Spaniards - complete with their weapons and horses - in subjugating the Incas. The layout of the church was like any other: rows of seats leading to a platform at the front where a vertically large altar depicted the virgin Mary, Jesus, and several saints. The same alters dotted the periphery of the church, complete with different saints and other ornate features. This was generally the same for la sagrada Familia and the main cathedral, except everything was significantly larger in the main cathedral. It had altars several times bigger than that of the other churches, in addition to similar murals that depicted the subjugation of Incas.

         It was thought-provoking to walk through the churches and see what altars had been constructed. This was formerly Incan territory, and Spaniards had pillaged and desecrated everything belonging to them, creating large catholic altars and murals depicting Incan defeat in return. Incans had also been forced to create such murals depicting their own defeat, considering Spaniards saw it as a dishonor to commit to manually intensive labor. It felt as if the religious and cultural identity in Cusco was highly ambiguous. Once known as the capital of the great Incan empire, huge altars and churches were built for Incans at that time to be forced into worshiping, which has extended for many generations into what is now current-day Cusco. Are locals opinionated in how they feel about these depictions about what is generally the desecration of the sacred values of their ancestors? Moreover, can anything even be done or amended to reduce what is, in my opinion, a huge insult to Incan culture? 

Sacsayhuaman

 The first stop of our weekend trip to the town of Pisac was the Incan stronghold of Sacsayhuaman. The stronghold’s functions varied, the guide told us as we stepped out onto the large clearing that offered an undivided view of the entire structure. The uses were variable, either having served a religious purpose or an area for storing goods for later use. What it mostly resembled, however, was an incredibly elaborate fortress, complete with impressively large walls laid out in a terraced, zig-zag pattern.

    As we walked up the steps of the fortress, I noticed how geometrically-structured everything seemed to be. The massive doorway leading up to the next level was shaped like a trapezoid, wide at the bottom and narrowing as it neared the rock at the top. The boulders making up the gigantic walls were incredibly large, pointing to the nearly impossible prospect of humans once carrying each boulder to its respective spot. The pattern of the rocks was beautiful, as if the fortress planner had thought the pattern out so deliberately and meticulously that there was absolutely no margin of error for the placement of each rock. It was gorgeous. I found it difficult to comprehend how one could plan out the fitting of thousands of uniquely shaped rocks to fit into one another as if it were all a puzzle, creating a visually stunning display of multiple walls layered on top of each other. 

As we neared the top of the fortress, we began to see the backdrop of Cusco appear above the queuña trees that dotted the surrounding landscape. Added to the stunning display of the perfectly-fitted boulders was the deliberate intention by the Incas to place the fortress in such a way that overlooked the entire city. It was imposing, strategic, intimidating, and incredibly genius. The fortress was incredibly long, meaning there was no shortage of the sight of Cusco along the entire corridor at the top level. At first confusing, I became very appreciative at the value the Incas placed on the patterns and placements of their structures, something that I continued to see throughout the rest of the weekend trip in the sacred valley. The main questions that occurred to me was one of understanding how Incas were able to carry such large boulders from the quarry to the fortress, and how, with such primitive tools and capacities in today’s standards, were they able to construct such geometrically and decoratively beautiful patterns void of error or flaws. How was such an engineering feat accomplished? Additionally, with the speculations of the polyfunctionality of the citadel, what other reasons was the fortress used for, if not only for military strategy and the storage of goods?

Peruvian drinking culture

      Most of the day in Peru, I find myself mildly dehydrated. This is a result of the culture surrounding drinking here. This is not about drinking alcoholic beverages, but water and other soft drinks. Because water is not free here, it is not common to drink multiple full cups of water throughout a meal. Drinking is less based on reaching a certain hydration goal, but instead to simply drink when you are thirsty. Even then, it may not be easy to find a drink for cheap, as some restaurants will charge up to 8 soles for water. 

    Even outside of the price for water, many other drinks are very popular in Peru. Chicha morada is a drink made from purple corn. Different types of fresh juices are also common in every restaurant.  Another common drink is tea, since it is a form of tap water that is safe to drink as a result of boiling it. Even with all these options, the lack of free water, something that every restaurant in the United States offers, leads to drinking until a mostly-hydrated state. There are bodegas that sell large bottles of water for cheap prices, but when at a restaurant it is hard to fully hydrate to a level I am accustomed to, simply because it is not typical to have a goal of drinking a certain number of glasses of water each day.

Vendors in Cusco

 Something that has stuck out to me while we’ve been traveling in Cusco is the way in which those people that sell tourist goods or products interact with tourists. In other places where I have traveled, especially considering that I’ve been a teenage girl for most of these experiences, I’ve felt that vendors will come into my personal space, or not leave me alone when I say no to what they are selling. Here I have had a very different experience, with most of the people selling things being very soft spoken, not getting up at times, and not really continuing to press the issue after you’ve said no. A part of this might be that a good amount of vendors are women, and that they have to be soft spoken or less aggressive because they are trying to avoid a situation in which any tourist becomes mad at them. 

I’m not sure if this is intended or not, but I feel like the less aggressive manner in which attention is drawn to the vendor’s goods makes me more inclined to take a look. I think this would be the case with a lot of tourists, as it is easy to avoid places that seem unpleasant when there are so many equal alternatives. The best places seem to have almost nobody coming up to you, or just someone sitting outside of the store mentioning what is inside of it. 

The one situation where I saw a really pushy vendor was late at night both on the way to a bar and back where there were people waiting outside of bars, coming up to you and saying pretty loudly that you had to come. There was also one guy selling some kind of vape thing which came up to us probably three times in the course of the night. Even if I don’t like this kind of interaction as much, I can understand why that is the attitude these vendors have later at night, especially when they have to deal with drunk, loud people, or with big groups that are waking past. 

Child Labor in Peruvian Tourism

 

When we were trekking up Rainbow mountain, at the beginning of the trail I noticed two young children dressed in traditional clothing with llamas who were asking our group if we wanted to take a picture with them. The most disturbing thing about this encounter was that our tour guide was encouraging us to take pictures with these children. This is modern day child labor in the tourism industry. While there must be laws against child labor in Peru (as it is commonly recognized as inhumane), it must be very difficult to regulate child labor in tourism because the children are self employed (in that they work for tips). However, tourist agencies and government tourism officials should prohibit these children from selling their image. 

Additionally, on the car ride to Rainbow mountain, we stopped and a woman and her child were selling snacks. The woman was dressed in Western clothes while her daughter was dressed in traditional Peruvian clothing. Was this woman attempting to use her child’s traditional clothing to sell more snacks and appear authentic to tourists? It is impossible to know, especially because traditional clothing was more common in the rural mountains we were visiting. Even if her child’s traditional clothing was not of importance, why was this girl not in school? Child labor in tourism needs to be recognized and addressed. 

Restaurants at a slower pace

    When going to a restaurant in Peru, a consistent theme among the service is how much slower it is than the service in the United States. No matter if it's lunch or dinner, Cusco or Pisac, the service has remained the same. Some restaurants may be slower than others, but none of them are particularly quick. This was most noticeable when we went to lunch at Cicciolina, a tapas restaurant in Cusco. We spent two hours from when we sat down, until we got up to leave. In the United States, spending two hours at lunch typically would mean eating for 30-45 minutes followed by sitting and talking for a long period of time. Here each course has a long pause between each, without the waiter checking in. The server is typically friendly, but not very involved other than taking orders and bringing the check.

    The lack of involvement urgency from the restaurant staff could be a reflection of the tipping culture here. It is standard to tip between 3-5 soles unless the service is truly terrible, and then no tip is given. It is not based on the price of the meal. Because of this, there is less of a need from staff to be involved and "earn their tip" like in the United States. The slow pace of receiving the food also demonstrates the slower pace of life in Peru. When people go out to eat, it is not to rush through the meal, but rather to enjoy the company and the food. Going out to dinner is a little more expensive in terms of soles, which could indicate that going out to dinner is more for a treat, rather than a typical evening. Therefore, the time in the restaurant is more valued, and there is no rush to leave.

Rainbow Mountain Colors

I drew the view from the hike to the Rainbow Mountains! It was definitely a beautiful hike, but what i wanted to highlight in this photo is how photoshopped most of the photos from the hikes are. The mountains themselves are generally darker colored, rust, or dark green in color, but in the photos, they are overexposed and the saturation is turned up, making them seem white, pink, blue, and green.

 

Eucalyptus trees in Cusco and Pisaq

     I was very intrigued to learn about the presence of Eucalyptus trees, which originate from Australia, in Cusco and Pisaq. The presence of the Eucalyptus trees in Peru represents cultural fusion, and the replanting of native trees is part of a repurification of Incan culture. The ancient Incan city above Pisaq is surrounded by Eucalyptus trees. This is especially significant because the physical environment was very important to the Incas. They celebrated the physical earth, which they called the “Pachamama” with offerings, and they heavily modified their environment by building terraces. Therefore the modification of Inca land by planting non native Eucalyptus trees modifies the Inca culture. However, it could also be claimed, that since the archaeological ancient city of Pisaq is no longer inhabited by Incas, how can it modify Inca culture? Perhaps it does not modify the culture itself, but the perception of the culture. The interaction between the Australian and Inca physical land (and therefore culture), can be seen as a fusion or as a desecration of native land. The latter perspective represents the almost obsessive movement towards repurifying Inca culture, and removing other cultural influences on the Incas. When we were visiting Sacsayhuaman, it was interesting to learn that the Peruvian center for culture is replanting native trees around historical Inca sites. Aside from the environmental reasons to replant indiginous trees, is the removal of Eucalyptus trees in part to honor the Incas? Does it help Peruvians reclaim their indiginous identity? Is it to give the tourist a more authentic experience? 

Additionally, I found it interesting that at the festival of the saint of agriculture that we happened upon in our night in Pisaq that Eucalyptus branches were burned in the bonfire. It is especially interesting to think that the Eucalyptus trees were burnt in a festival that celebrated agriculture. Are the people of Pisaq thankful for the Eucalyptus trees? It could be interesting to think of this event as a fusion between three cultures: remnants of indiginous culture (indigenous clothing, food and instruments), practicing a European religion, while burning an Australian tree. I would be curious to talk to more Peruvians with indigenous descent to ask what their perspective is of the role of the Eucalyptus trees on Inca culture.

Street Dogs in Cusco

 One of the most astounding elements of the city of Cusco that I have experienced thus far is the sheer amount of dogs that roam the street without being under the care of an owner. No leash, no collar, sometimes matted fir, these dogs are almost all amiable; I haven't heard one bark or act hostile towards us the entire trip. According to globalteer.org, the last official estimate puts the number of stray dogs in the city at 14,000, but more recent figures suggest that number could be as high as 40,000!! That's a lot of canines! I noticed this same problem in the surrounding town of Pisac, as well. 

When discussing this with our tour guide, Patricia, she talked about how these dogs (those who aren't strays) often roam around during the day, playing with their canine friends, and then come home at night. To me, this is fascinating because of the vastly different dog culture that exists in the United States. In the United States, I've noticed dogs be overall less open towards people that aren't their owners. In the U.S., I feel that dogs are treated with more of that "man's best friend" attitude and are always by the side of a human owner. 

I told Patricia that in the United States, especially in the South where I originate, the problem of stray cats is more prevalent. She then replied to me that this isn't really an issue in Peru because the dogs end up killing any stray cat they find (a fact that made my feline-loving heart sink). Overall, I'm not sure whether these dogs are more a problem or just a quirk of the city. One has to consider the potential of disease and the potential of attacks from these dogs, with globalteer.org citing an average of 1,200 dog bites being reported in the city of Cusco each year. I wonder if there are any plans by city planners to control this growing canine population? 

Ambulance in Cusco

 As we were walking to class one morning, I noticed an ambulance stuck behind a tourist van. The ambulance was flashing its lights but there was no siren or alarm coming from the ambulance; only honking. I was so surprised to see that the tourist van lacked urgency to move out of the way. The tourist van didn’t move out of the way until everybody's belongings were packed and everyone was seated inside the van. Once the van started moving, the ambulance followed behind. The next thing I noticed that surprised me was that the ambulance was then stuck at a red light. A little later on our walk to class, I noticed that the ambulance was stuck at another red light. To give perspective for how slow the ambulance was making its way down the street, our group caught up to it, just by walking, at the second red light.

I wondered why there seemed to be less urgency for the ambulance here than in the United States. In the states, the van would have moved out of the way without loading the passengers and the luggage. In the states, the traffic lights would have changed to green to allow the ambulance to get through. 

This occurrence could be simply explained by the fact that the ambulance was not in a hurry and did not have anywhere to go. However, I was confused by the fact that the ambulance was flashing its lights making it seem like it needed to get to its destination quickly. I then researched ambulances in Peru. I found a government document giving an overview of the ambulances and the types of ambulances (I included the link below). I was surprised to find that there are three different types of ambulances. Type 1 ambulances carry patients that are in a stable condition. Type 2 ambulances carry patients in an unstable condition and have the ability to provide medical assistance. Type 3 ambulances carry patients in an unstable condition that require specialized medical assistance. The ambulances are labeled with their types; however, I did not know this when I saw the ambulance earlier so I did not see which type it was. I hypothesize that the ambulance was not needed for a patient at that time or that it was a Type 1 ambulance that was on its way to or carrying a patient that was in a stable condition.

https://www.inen.sld.pe/portal/documentos/pdf/normas_tecnicas/2006/11052010_NORMA_TECNICA_DE_SALUD_PARA_TRANSPORTE_ASISTIDO_DE_PACIENTES_POR_VIA_TERRESTRE.pdf

"La Negrita"

Recently in the United States, the popular “Aunt Jemima” syrup changed its brand name to “The Pearl Milling Company”. This controversial change was due to the racist stereotype from which this original brand name came from. While many saw Aunt Jemima as a friendly, homely African American woman of the past, in reality there was no Aunt Jemima. Instead, the name was appropriated from a blackface character, and is based on the “Mammy” stereotype. In reality, the recipe comes from a woman named Nancy Green, who never received credit for her contributions. I think in America, we see “cancel-culture” as predominantly American, so I was surprised to learn that Perú was going through a similar crisis.

A brand of vanilla, originally called “La Negrita”, has recently rebranded in order to become more inclusive and conscientious. In Pisac, Professor Falconí pointed this out  at the store within the hotel we stayed at. There, we were able to see both types of vanilla. The original, “La Negrita” had an image of a black woman on it, similar to the image of “Aunt Jemima”. This change caused reactions of all kinds, as the vanilla has been around for 60 years and is a staple across Peruvian households. For some, the original branding cast a positive light on black culture across Perú. For others, this was a necessary change to combat systemic racism and stereotypes across Perú. Personally, I think this change was an important proactive step for Perú. Oftentimes in the United States, just like with Aunt Jemima, we wait until people call out racism and then take steps to fix it, rather than taking responsibility proactively. These sort of changes to me feel fake, and as if companies only pretend to care but in reality only want to escape public criticism. Altering this name prior to real backlash feels more authentic, as if the company genuinely cares about combating racism. I find it very interesting to compare these cultural phenomena between Perú and the United States, and hope to see more in the next couple weeks!

Natural vs Synthetic Coloring

 

Natural (left); Synthetic (right)

In my drawing, I used the colors from pictures I had taken by using a tool that matched the color. In pictures I had taken, I had seen indigenous individuals wearing both naturally and synthetically colored ponchos. Although I do not know the exact reason for this, I have a couple of ideas. It may have to do with personal preference and style as some may prefer the brighter colors and some may prefer the more natural colors. In addition, one may be cheaper to buy than the other or at least more accessible to buy. It was interesting to see the process of how the natural colors were dyed with minerals and plants. Some of the minerals and plants are shown in the above illustration.

Modernity Meets History in the Pisac Church

     When traveling to the town of Pisac, we stopped in a church to observe the Sunday mass. We sat outside waiting for the locals to file in, and as they did we were able to watch tradition unfold. The locals were primarily wearing traditional woven clothing with patterns that represented their status. First, young boys walked in while blowing into shells that acted as horns. Following this group of boys was adult men that were playing a variety of instruments. After the musical procession, people came in dressed in traditional clothing and modern clothing. The older citizens were the ones typically wearing the more traditional outfits, while the parents with young children had the more modernized look. Those in the modern outfits did not seem to be wearing formal clothing, but rather the same clothes you would see them wearing when walking around the city. Some people arrived slightly late as they had to walk from farther away to attend services.

    As the service started, the first thing I noticed was that the priest was speaking in Quechua, the native language of the Incas. The priest spoke very passionately and almost sounded angry at times. There were several words in Spanish that snuck into his sermon. This makes sense, however, as there would not have been a word in Quechua for the three parts of the holy trinity. The priest pointed out two people sitting in the front, likely to honor important members of the Pisac community. 

    I was fascinated by the way the traditions of the Incas were incorporated into the religion of the conquistadors. The use of Quechua in a sermon was surprising to me as I would have expected the conquistadores to force the Incas to assimilate to their customs of using either Latin or Spanish for church services. It was also impressive how the outfit choices seemed to be more wide ranged than services in the United States, which tend to be more formal. I can't help but wonder if the Incas had to fight to use Quechua in their services, and if there was a struggle as well to have a more modern outfit choice available to wear to mass.

Catholic Mass: The Difference Between Mass in Pisaq and Mass in the States

On the first Sunday of the Maymester, we attended a mass in the city of Pisac, a small city about an hour away from Cusco. As a Catholic myself, I was excited to be able to attend mass and to see the differences between catholic mass in my church at home and catholic mass in an indigenous city with a separate culture. 

I genuflected before I entered the pew as I always do. However, as I was seated in the pew waiting for mass to begin, I observed that all of the locals would genuflect in the middle of the church, before the altar, and then would walk into the pews. This is one of the small differences I noticed. In both cases, genuflecting is occurring, but just at different points. I think it is just a community norm that has been passed down.  

Another small difference was that there was no opening or closing procession for the priest during the Pisaq mass. Instead, the priest started at the altar and told everyone to rise. Furthermore, I believe that the priest told the congregation when to sit and stand whereas in my church, we follow what the priest does. For example, if the priest stands, the congregation stands. Going off on a little tangent, the constant standing, sitting, and kneeling in mass was normal to me as I had been raised catholic. However, other peers in the group were shocked by the amount of standing and sitting (something that I had always seen as normal).

In addition, the way communion was done shocked me. In the United States, we all line up in an organized manner to receive communion. However, in Pisac, only about half the church went up for communion. It was also more of a gathering, than an organized line. I believe it is because of an important catholic rule that is not practiced in the states as often. It is said that one should not receive communion if they are not to be in a “state of grace”. This occurs when one has committed a serious sin and has not gone to confession. Without having the pressure of an organized line, I believe more people are inclined to choose not to receive communion. Another hypothesis is that the individuals who did not go up for communion were simply not baptized Catholics. However, I believe that catholicism has a large presence in Pisac so I am not entirely sure. Another difference is that communion was taken orally. In the states, it is possible to take communion orally, but most individuals choose to take communion by hand. I think this is a cultural difference in the sense that many individuals in states may find it unhygienic to take communion orally. 

Finally, the first thing I noticed when I walked into the church was the altar. There was one large statue in the middle with 4 smaller surrounding statues at the 4 corners of the altar. It shocked me to see that Jesus was only represented on one of the 4 smaller statues. The largest statue was an individual in religious attire similar to a pope; I believe it represented an important religious figure of the time. However, in the states, the altar is reflected around Jesus or the cross and sometimes with smaller statues such as Mary, Joseph, or other saints. The church in Pisac was most likely founded and built by the Spanish conquistadors and that is why the altar is centered around a religious figure rather than Jesus. This is because churches were built as triumphs and victories of the Spanish conquistadors.

It was so interesting to be able to attend a mass of the same religion but with different cultural aspects and in a different language. Although I was not able to understand the readings and the homilies, I was able to observe the passion in the voice of the priest and the importance of catholicism in Pisac. I would like the opportunity to attend mass to see if there are any more differences or similarities between my church in the United States. I wonder how simple aspects of the church change between cities and why they do.

A mix of identities

        Walking through Cusco, it is obvious that tourism is really important to the city, as well as that of the tourist experience in the city. We’ve heard from almost every tour we have done that the city heavily relies on tourism, and that it’s taken a big hit with covid. Even now, in the center of the city, the streets are lined with shops which cater to tourists, whether that is scheduling excursions and hikes or selling paintings and traditional goods to take home as souvenirs. The importance of tourism was expressed in ways I found unexpected, such as there was an altar for the patron saint of tourism in Cusco that people were giving their own ofrendas to in the church, la Merced. This was an interesting juxtaposition given that the church commemorated the Spanish conquest, was also a popular tourist destination, tried to force us to pay for a tour guide, and was a sacred place that included a patron saint of tourism

It is obvious through what we have seen in Cusco that religion, specifically Catholicism, is very important to not only the culture, but also to the history of the area, given the past of the conquistadors, and the impact that has had on the society. The same can be said for the Incan culture that is Cusco’s past but also present, as there seems to be a sort of revitalization or new awakening of interest in Incan culture. Given the cross section of the Incan and colonial past, the combination of things that I saw in the church was really representative of what I have seen in Cusco in general, which is a mix of all of these different aspects. It is kind of hard to wrap my head around this combination because the different aspects seem to contrast and are not identities I would think could easily mix in a city; the Inca, the colonial, and the vacation destination all exist in tandem.

As a result, I find that it is a little confusing at times to decide what I am supposed to take away from seeing these sites. For example, when we visited Qorikancha, I saw a church built on top of sacred Incan temples, and the museum both run by the church, and collecting entry fees. Yes, it is an amazing museum, and very well kept, but I can’t decide how I feel about the experience itself. Is it the blending of two cultures that we spoke about in class, or is the church still profiting off of its evangelizing and colonizing efforts? I guess there is no right answer, as it is probably a mix of the two and would depend on who you ask. Whether I make up my mind on the topic, I found that the contrasting historical and cultural identities of Cusco give me a lot to think about as we walk around.