DOCSLIB.ORG

FIELDSTAFF Reports

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
FIELDSTAFF Reports WEST COAST SOUTH AMERICA SERIES Vol. XVII No. 4 (Bolivia) THE CONCEPT OF LUCK IN INDIGENOUS AND HISPANIC CULTURES by Ricliard W. Patch Bolivian beliefs about luck and destiny are clearly illustrated in the Feria de Alacilas, when people buy in miniature those objects they wish to possess in real- ity. The association of Alacitas with the Ekeko, a stylized dwarf-like figure laden with worldly goods, links present beliefs to precolonial ones. FIELDSTAFF Reports [RWP-2-'7O] WHSTCOASI LATIN AMKKKAS1 KIIS Vol. XVII No. 4 (Bolivia) THE CONCEPT OF LUCK IN INDIGENOUS AND HISPANIC CULTURES Alacitas and the Ekeko by Richard W. Patch March 1970 Do you wish to have an extra $2,083 during There is no such intriguing interpretation of Latin year? You may receive a bill of tender American Catholicism, particularly as it is mixed mised for this amount by the Feria de Alacitas with pre-Columbian beliefs, perhaps because the sending an addressed envelope, stamped with conclusions lead to ideas of predestined and ivian postage (1.40 pesos), to me at Casilla unalterable fate, indifference, and resignation to 50, La Paz, Bolivia. You will receive an Alacitas the will of an unknown. for 50 pesos (cincuenta pesos bolivianos) which I increase a thousand times in value during the Neither concept of destiny exists in pure form r to 50,000 pesos, or $2,083. The bills are apart, perhaps, from beliefs held by some individ- ted according to "the law of January 24." The uals who have become marginal in their own 083 will be yours if you believe in Alacitas and societies. Especially in Bolivia beliefs in destiny are law of January 24. The front of the bills carry uncommonly varied-from the entrepreneur who epiction of a campesino, his head covered with a risks everything to build a thirty-story building in UCHO,1 issuing a stirring call by sounding the La Paz to the UKURUNA (Quechua), the out- TUTU. On the reverse there is a genuine lander, the man who is still an Indian in the remote iroduction of the Tiahuanaco Portal of the Sun, highlands, who will not risk changing the centuries- I the assurance that the bill is indeed "Fifty old style of his clothing. »os of Good Luck." Life as Luck ck and a Dwarf Alacitas is the purest representative in the Andes of the phenomenon of life conceived as The miniature money is a basic part of the Fair luck, a luck which can be manipulated by cautious Alacitas which is held each year for a week selection of miniatures which should become real- ginning January 24 in La Paz. The basic premise ities. It is an attitude toward fate, a fate which can that everything bought in miniature will become be influenced by small plaster objects but not by reality during the year. A model of a house will individual effort. Fate and destiny are beyond the come a real house. A small truck, provided it is reach of the individual and in the hands of the ided with tiny freight, will insure plenty of supernatural, by an association of the Ekeko with erything during the year. But beware of the Alacitas. If the theory of a Bolivian archeologist, :eko.2 The Ekeko is a dwarf with elfin face Carlos Ponce Sanjines, is correct, the Ekeko and lose back is loaded with packages, baskets, a Alacitas predate the arrival of the Spaniards and oom, bales, buckets, and a feather duster. He have a special importance in persisting as an image list be bought but not kept. Given away, he and a celebration which neither Catholicism nor ings luck; kept by the buyer he brings ill luck. any other religion (except perhaps the ancient fear of TUNUPA [Aymara'-god of thunder, storm, and There exists, of course, a multitude of ideas lightning], has been able to affect.)3 iout destiny. Two quite different views are held I United States Protestants and by Latin If Ponce is right, and his argument runs to 288 merican Catholics. Weber and Tawney have given pages plus 149 illustrations, the Ekeko was origi- teresting interpretations of the Protestant ethic. nally an Aymara god of fertility and love, as well as Copyright © 1970, American Universities Field Staff, Inc. RWP-2-'7O -2- typical indigenous and criollo boxes, bales, ant! houshold items. It strikes me that if Ponce can link TUNUPA with the EKAKO, I would be justified in deriving the freighted truck, another feature ot Alacitas, from descendents of the Ekeko. Alacitas There is more, below, on the origins of Alacita^ and the Ekeko. But the reader should have an idc; of the Fenade Alacitas of today and the role lucl plays in life each January 24 in La Paz. The Church has little to do with Alacitas except toilless the trucks, houses, bills, and othc miniatures in a spectacular ceremony in the Metro politan Cathedral of La Paz. There is an attempt t( identify Alacitas with Nuestra Senora de La Pa/ but aside from the single ceremony of January 24 few persons except some older women make an; connection between Alacitas and the Saint of L Paz. The Mayor's office (the Alcaklia) is not happ about Alacitas. It is another opportunity fo drunkenness, sleazy games of chance, and smal makeshift restaurants which serve out heaping bv possibly poisonous servings of such things as cu A modern three inch Ekeko made of plaster (guinea pig), fried with head attached. Furthe; and smoking an outsize cigarette. His load of more, there is no place for Alacitas except on abundance is typical. In the center is a guitar, public thoroughfare, which in the past few yeai although reduced to three strings. Above are has been Avenida Montes, the main artery to enU the usual broom and parasol. Left are a or leave the city. And La Paz has too few tourist suitcase, candy, a house, a silver pitcher, and a especially in this cold season of torrential rail soup bowl. Left is a basket containing a bale of (summer), to make Alacitas into a substanti; coca, a ceramic chato or pitcher, more parasols, economic enterprise. Thus the Fair is made u and tied to the basket a bar of soap. almost exclusively of transactions betwee campesinos and townspeople. luck. I do not have the twelve volumes of The Golden Bough at hand, but I can think of no other The stalls of Alacitas line the Avenida MonU male god of fertility in the world, in history, or in for about a third of a mile. They are four deep i prehistory. The Ekeko is definitely male, with the sense that there are two lines of stalls facit early pre-Columbian figures exhibiting a pro- 4 each other along both lanes of the avenue. Eat. nounced phallus. All figures are of hunchbacked stall is formed by three sides of muslin or old sug; dwarfs, with pathological spinal curvature, a slight sacks suspended from a simple frame, and roofc hump, and hunched shoulders which make a neck with pieces of corrugated iron. impossible. Through time the figures become in- creasingly stylized, with only slight representation .': ' of a phallus, until it finally disappears in colonial The Fair is divided into several sections. Upc times, and the hump is replaced by an enormous entering the Avenida Montes, one first encountt burden of earthly goods. The present Ekeko is a miniature representations of money, and tv plaster dwarf, a few inches high, loaded with recent innovations small checkbooks and litt Left: A modern representation in silver of the pre-Columbian ancestor of the Ekeko. Half an inch high. Modern copies are rare and are sold as "an old god of the Incas." The originals are not only pre-Columbian but pre-Incaic. They demonstrate the primordial fertility function of Ekekos before and after 1781. Bottom Left: The proto-Ekeko showing identi- fying hunchback. Bottom Right: Rear view of the proto-Ekeko. R\M" United Suites. So again I fell victim to the spirit of would be incredible in llie United Stales. Axles Alacitas (which means "buy me" in Aymara), break, brakes fail, and about a (ruck a week t'oes bought a truck and loaded it. This is supposed to over a precipice. Sometimes thirty persons ride be general "good luck," and reflects what is atop the cargo. Nineteen persons were killed this probably the greatest single aspiration of the week, including the pilot, when a truck failed to agricultural campesino to promote his position- to make the hairpin descent into Cochabamba and own and live by driving a loaded truck among the rolled down a precipice of 200 meters. commercial centers of Bolivia: La Paz, Caranavi, Oruro, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, Sucre, and per- Here religion does become mixed with luck. All haps even Potosf. However, a stranger who buys a trucks have names. Mine has the unusually religious truck without cargo is fated to drive an empty "Apdstol Santiago" painted on the front panel of truck and end in bankruptcy. One has to be careful the overload which extends above the cab. Other in Alacitas. names range from "Superman" to "Flower of the Cloves." Having names, trucks are baptized. The Truck is Luck miniatures are blessed en iriasse in the Cathedral on January 24, but a priest usually gives an individual My truck (S3.00 with load) is a remarkable ceremony for the actual truck which is supposed to miniature of the monsters which grind up and appear during the year. down the mountains. It is made entirely by hand, and does not resemble toys in the United States.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Universidad Católica De Santa María
    UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA DE SANTA MARÍA FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS ECONÓMICO Y ADMINISTRATIVAS PROGRAMA PROFESIONAL DE ADMINISTRACION DE EMPRESAS TESIS: “ANALISIS DE LA GESTION DE BRANDING DE LA FRANQUICIA TGI FRIDAY´S Y SU IMPACTO EN LAS PREFERENCIAS DE LOS CONSUMIDORES, AREQUIPA 2015” PRESENTADO POR LOS BACHILLERES: ALENCASTRE FLORES, BRISA MARIA SANCHEZ FERNANDEZ, JOSE DANIEL PARA OPTAR EL TITULO PROFESIONAL DE LICENCIADOS EN ADMINISTRACIÓN DE EMPRESAS AREQUIPA- PERU 2015 “Si no desnudamos nuestra propia mente, jamás podremos desnudar la mente de nuestros consumidores. En un mundo de tanta razón, dejemos de pensar y empecemos a sentir!” Cristina Quiñonez DEDICATORIA A nuestros padres, que nos ayudan siempre y en todo momento. A Dios, por brindarnos la fuerza necesaria. A todas las personas que nos ayudaron de una manera u otra a concluir este trabajo, y finalmente a todo el equipo de TGI Friday’s, que nos ayudaron en toda manera posible. INDICE INTRODUCCION .....................................................................................10 RESUMEN ...............................................................................................11 ABSTRACT ..............................................................................................13 CAPITULO I 1. PLANTEAMIENTO TEÓRICO ..............................................................15 1.1 PROBLEMA ...................................................................................15 1.2 DESCRIPCIÓN ..............................................................................15
    [Show full text]
  • 3. Indigeneity in the Oruro Carnival: Official Memory, Bolivian Identity and the Politics of Recognition
    3. Indigeneity in the Oruro Carnival: official memory, Bolivian identity and the politics of recognition Ximena Córdova Oviedo ruro, Bolivia’s fifth city, established in the highlands at an altitude of almost 4,000 metres, nestles quietly most of the year among the mineral-rich mountains that were the reason for its foundation Oin 1606 as a Spanish colonial mining settlement. Between the months of November and March, its quiet buzz is transformed into a momentous crescendo of activity leading up to the region’s most renowned festival, the Oruro Carnival parade. Carnival is celebrated around February or March according to the Christian calendar and celebrations in Oruro include a four- day national public holiday, a street party with food and drink stalls, a variety of private and public rituals, and a dance parade made up of around 16,000 performers. An audience of 400,000 watches the parade (ACFO, 2000, p. 6), from paid seats along its route across the city, and it is broadcast nationally to millions more via television and the internet. During the festivities, orureños welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors from other cities in Bolivia and around the world, who arrive to witness and take part in the festival. Those who are not performing are watching, drinking, eating, taking part in water fights or dancing, often all at the same time. The event is highly regarded because of its inclusion since 2001 on the UNESCO list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, and local authorities promote it for its ability to bring the nation together.
    [Show full text]
  • Miniaturas Y Cosmovisión En El Mundo Andino: Forma, Función Y Agencia
    MINIATURAS Y COSMOVISIÓN EN EL MUNDO ANDINO: FORMA, FUNCIÓN Y AGENCIA Carina Circosta Universidad de Buenos Aires Facultad de Filosofía y Letras [email protected] Palabras clave: Alasitas – Ekeko – miniaturas – agente mediador Presentación: las miniaturas en la fiesta - feria de Alasita, el ritual al Ekeko Las imágenes en miniatura se han registrado desde tiempos prehispánicos en la zona andina y en el Noroeste argentino, y son numerosas las evidencias que dan cuenta de la presencia de estos objetos en contexto ritual: fuentes coloniales, registros arqueológicos y relatos etnográficos nos hablan del “uso” de estos objetos en ceremonias domésticas, funerarias o chamánicas. No obstante, no hay sido estudiadas de manera sistemática por la historia del arte ni por la antropología. Esta presentación es parte del proyecto doctoral en el que estudio el uso y agencia de las miniaturas en la Feria de Alasitas, una fiesta del altiplano boliviano que hace más de una década se celebra también en la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. La celebración de Alasitas o Fiesta del Ekeko que se realiza cada 24 de Enero es una de las prácticas culturales que se pusieron en escena en la ciudad de Buenos Aires tras la llegada de inmigrantes bolivianos identificados con las culturas quechua y aymara. El ritual al Ekeko, dios de la abundancia, se realiza desde tiempos ancestrales en la zona del altiplano andino, en la actualidad tiene su epicentro en la ciudad de La Paz y en su versión local se organiza en varios espacios de la CABA1. En esta investigación me refiero a la realizada en la wak´a del Parque Avellaneda, por tratarse de un espacio ritual y legitimador de los pueblos originarios en el ámbito urbano.
    [Show full text]
  • Formato De Proyecto De Tesis
    UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DEL ALTIPLANO FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS SOCIALES ESCUELA PROFESIONAL DE ARTE LA MÁSCARA DEL DIABLO DE PUNO, COMO ELEMENTO SIMBÓLICO, EN LA OBRA BIDIMENSIONAL TESIS PRESENTADA POR: Bach. ROSMERI CONDORI ALVAREZ PARA OPTAR EL TÍTULO PROFESIONAL DE: LICENCIADO EN ARTE: ARTES PLÁSTICAS PUNO – PERÚ 2018 UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DEL ALTIPLANO – PUNO FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS SOCIALES ESCUELA PROFESIONAL DE ARTE LA MÁSCARA DEL DIABLO DE PUNO, COMO ELEMENTO SIMBÓLICO, EN LA OBRA BIDIMENSIONAL TESIS PRESENTADA POR: Bach. ROSMERI CONDORI ALVAREZ PARA OPTAR EL TÍTULO PROFESIONAL DE: LICENCIADO EN ARTE: ARTES PLÁSTICAS APROBADA POR EL REVISOR CONFORMADO: PRESIDENTE: _________________________________________ D. Sc. WILBER CESAR CALSINA PONCE PRIMER MIEMBRO: _________________________________________ Lic. JOEL BENITO CASTILLO SEGUNDO MIEMBRO: _________________________________________ M. Sc. ERICH FELICIANO MORALES QUISPE DIRECTOR _________________________________________ Lic. YOVANY QUISPE VILLALTA ASESOR: _________________________________________ Mg. BENJAMÍN VELAZCO REYES Área : Artes Plásticas Tema : Producción Artística Fecha de sustentación: 10 de octubre del 2018 DEDICATORIA Quiero dedicarle este trabajo con mucho cariño. A mis padres, Julio, Matilde A mi novio Tony Yack. A todos mis hermanos. A Dios que me ha dado la vida y fortaleza para terminar este proyecto. Rosmeri, Condori Alvarez AGRADECIMIENTO ▪ A la Universidad Nacional del Altiplano de Puno, que me dio la oportunidad de formarme profesionalmente. ▪ Al Dr. Cesar Calsina y Lic. Joel Benito, a quienes me gustaría expresar mis más profundos agradecimientos, por su paciencia, tiempo, dedicación, expectativas por sus aportes para la consolidación del presenté trabajo de investigación. ▪ Mg. Oscar Bueno, por haberme brindado enseñanzas. ▪ A mi padre, por ser el apoyo más grande durante mi educación universitaria, ya que sin él no hubiera logrado mis objetivos y sueños.
    [Show full text]
  • Las Danzas De Oruro En Buenos Aires: Tradición E Innovación En El Campo
    Cuadernos de la Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales - Universidad Nacional de Jujuy ISSN: 0327-1471 [email protected] Universidad Nacional de Jujuy Argentina Gavazzo, Natalia Las danzas de oruro en buenos aires: Tradición e innovación en el campo cultural boliviano Cuadernos de la Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales - Universidad Nacional de Jujuy, núm. 31, octubre, 2006, pp. 79-105 Universidad Nacional de Jujuy Jujuy, Argentina Disponible en: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=18503105 Cómo citar el artículo Número completo Sistema de Información Científica Más información del artículo Red de Revistas Científicas de América Latina, el Caribe, España y Portugal Página de la revista en redalyc.org Proyecto académico sin fines de lucro, desarrollado bajo la iniciativa de acceso abierto CUADERNOS FHyCS-UNJu, Nro. 31:79-105, Año 2006 LAS DANZAS DE ORURO EN BUENOS AIRES: TRADICIÓN E INNOVACIÓN EN EL CAMPO CULTURAL BOLIVIANO (ORURO´S DANCES IN BUENOS AIRES: TRADITION AND INNOVATION INTO THE BOLIVIAN CULTURAL FIELD) Natalia GAVAZZO * RESUMEN El presente trabajo constituye un fragmento de una investigación realizada entre 1999 y 2002 sobre la migración boliviana en Buenos Aires. La misma describía las diferencias que se dan entre la práctica de las danzas del Carnaval de Oruro en esta ciudad, y particularmente la Diablada, y la que se da en Bolivia, para poner en evidencia las disputas que los cambios producido por el proceso migratorio conllevan en el plano de las relaciones sociales. Este trabajo analizará entonces los complejos procesos de selección, reactualización e invención de formas culturales bolivianas en Buenos Aires, particularmente de esas danzas, como parte de la dinámica de relaciones propia de un campo cultural, en el que la construcción de la autoridad y de poderes constituyen elementos centrales.
    [Show full text]
  • ÁNGELES Y DIABLOS EN EL CARNAVAL DE ORURO
    ÁNGELES y DIABLOS EN EL CARNAVAL DE ORURO FERNANDO CAJÍAS DE LA VEGA / BOLIVIA INTRODUCCIÓN es el cuadro de la "Muerte" de Caquiaviri. Este cuadro está dividido en dos partes. En la primera, se representa OS españoles introdujeron en nuestro territorio la Muerte de! Bueno (ver Imagen 1). El "Bueno" es asistido la concepción que, después de la muerte, de la por un ángel y está recostado sobre tres almohadas; en resurrección de los muertos y de! juicio final, a cada una de ellas están pintadas, sucesivamente, tres Llos seres humanos, según su comportamiento, virtudes: la Fe, representada por una mujer con los ojos les está destinado e! cielo o e! infierno. Desde la Edad vendados, una cruz y un cáliz; la Esperanza, como una Media hasta hace pocos años, también se concebía un mujer que lleva un ancla, y la Caridad, como una mujer destino intermedio: el purgatorio. amamantando a un niño. Alrededor, en forma de escul­ En Hispanoamérica, como en Europa, artistas y literatos turas, están las representaciones de: la Prudencia, mujer se encargaron de presentar imágenes de cómo podrían ser leyendo con cirio; la Justicia, mujer con espada y balanza; e! cielo, e! infierno y e! purgatorio. la Fortaleza, mujer con columna (atributo de Hércules) Se han conservado numerosas obras de arte de la época y la Templanza, mujer escanciando una copa de vino. colonial en las que se representa e! cielo, paraíso o gloria, Todas las representaciones coinciden exactamente con a los ángeles y virtudes; así como el infierno o averno con los manuales de iconografía cristiana.
    [Show full text]
  • Moving Away from Silence: Music of the Peruvian Altiplano and the Experiment of Urban Migration / Thomas Turino
    MOVING AWAY FROM SILENCE CHICAGO STUDIES IN ETHNOMUSICOLOGY edited by Philip V. Bohlman and Bruno Nettl EDITORIAL BOARD Margaret J. Kartomi Hiromi Lorraine Sakata Anthony Seeger Kay Kaufman Shelemay Bonnie c. Wade Thomas Turino MOVING AWAY FROM SILENCE Music of the Peruvian Altiplano and the Experience of Urban Migration THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS Chicago & London THOMAS TURlNo is associate professor of music at the University of Ulinois, Urbana. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637 The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London © 1993 by The University of Chicago All rights reserved. Published 1993 Printed in the United States ofAmerica 02 01 00 99 98 97 96 95 94 93 1 2 3 4 5 6 ISBN (cloth): 0-226-81699-0 ISBN (paper): 0-226-81700-8 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Turino, Thomas. Moving away from silence: music of the Peruvian Altiplano and the experiment of urban migration / Thomas Turino. p. cm. - (Chicago studies in ethnomusicology) Discography: p. Includes bibliographical references and index. I. Folk music-Peru-Conirna (District)-History and criticism. 2. Folk music-Peru-Lirna-History and criticism. 3. Rural-urban migration-Peru. I. Title. II. Series. ML3575.P4T87 1993 761.62'688508536 dc20 92-26935 CIP MN @) The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI 239.48-1984. For Elisabeth CONTENTS List of Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction: From Conima to Lima
    [Show full text]
  • MEDIA GUIDE LIMA 2019 PAN AMERICAN GAMES OPENING CEREMONY #Jugamostodos #Letsallplay
    MEDIA GUIDE LIMA 2019 PAN AMERICAN GAMES OPENING CEREMONY #jugamostodos #letsallplay AMAZING PERU! | Media Guide 4 INTRODUCTION FOREWORDS 3 PANAM SPORTS 7 THE LIMA 2019 PAN AMERICAN GAMES 8 AMAZING PERU! 9 SET DESIGN 10 OPENING CEREMONY SCENE BY SCENE 12 CREDITS MAIN PERFORMERS 44 LIMA 2019 CEREMONIES TEAM 45 Embargo The information contained in this media guide is embargoed until 19:00 Lima time EXECUTIVE TEAM 45 on 26 July 2019. CREATIVE TEAM 46 Please keep details of the Lima 2019 Pan American Games Opening Ceremony confidential until they appear in the show: surprises represent an important element of the experience for the audience, both in the stadium and at home. SPECIAL THANKS 47 AMAZING PERU! | Media Guide 5 The Pan American and Parapan American Games will be a true platform MARTÍN VIZCARRA President of the Republic of Peru for inclusion and equality” Dear friends from the 41 countries of the Americas and the world, The Pan American and Parapan American Games will be a true platform for welcome to the largest sports celebration in the continent! inclusion and equality, because they will showcase various disciplines and the diverse skills of our competitors. Peru, the home of great cultures and ancient history, welcomes the Lima 2019 XVIII Pan American and VI Parapan American Games with open arms. Dear athletes, on your shoulders rest the dreams of your people. You are bearers of hopes and dreams. We are happy to host this great sports event that, since its first edition in 1951, has been uniting countries of the Americas in healthy competition that highlights Starting today, we will witness your talent, we will share your joys and your tears talent, discipline, effort and perseverance.
    [Show full text]
  • Rebuilt Indigeneity: Architectural Transformations in El Alto
    ISSN 2624-9081 • DOI 10.26034/roadsides-202000402 Rebuilt Indigeneity: Architectural Transformations in El Alto Juliane Müller The colorful façades are best seen from the Blue Line of Mi Teleférico, the aerial cable- car network that has been the backbone of urban transport in the metropolitan area of La Paz and El Alto since 2014. From above, the multistory buildings internationally known as Neo-Andean Architecture can be admired in their distinctive splendor, rising over the sober and nearly treeless landscape of El Alto, Bolivia’s youngest and Latin America’s foremost indigenous city. Populated through rural–urban migration since the early twentieth century, but only founded as an independent municipality in 1985, El Alto has been devoid of monumental sites. These buildings and the new cable-car system are the first structures with sufficient aesthetic and symbolic qualities to evoke positive reactions from residents and tourists alike. In this essay, I approach them through an architectural lens. The cable-car infrastructure is not primarily conceptualized as a network but rather analyzed through its historically informed symbolism and as a series of distinctive material forms with specific social and political effects (Seewang 2013). I show that the Neo-Andean Architecture and the cable-car station buildings not only reshape the city’s landscape but are themselves materializations of an urban understanding of indigeneity that embraces infrastructural development and accommodates social difference. collection no. 004 • Architecture and/as Infrastructure Roadsides Rebuilt Indigeneity 09 Neo-Andean Architecture Regardless of its broad denomination, Neo-Andean Architecture originated in El Alto and is associated with a single name, the Aymara Freddy Mamani.
    [Show full text]
  • Peruvian Mail
    CHASQUI PERUVIAN MAIL Year 13, number 25 Cultural Bulletin of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs July, 2015 Monolithic sandeel, drawing by Wari Wilka, 1958. Wari by Monolithic sandeel, drawing CHAVÍN DE HUÁNTAR, MYTHICAL ANCIENT RUINS/ CHRONICLER GUAMAN POMA / MARIANO MELGAR´S POETRY Huántar, where at least some evidence of the use of ceramics erty claims and specialized skills organic materials were preserved and the emergence of the earliest emerged in the Early Formative thanks to the rough dry desert Andean 'classic' civilizations, period (circa 1700-1200 BC.). WHAT IS CHAVÍN Museum. Larco climate. The artifacts found in i.e. the Nazca and Mochica, was At various sites, competition for the tombs of the Paracas civiliza- called Early or Formative period resources and arable land led to tion bear some resemblance to (circa 1700-200 BC.). the creation of larger and more the Chavín stone sculptures, and The authors of this catalog ostentatious ceremonial centers. DE HUÁNTAR? also provided the first reliable agree that it is time that the ar- In the next period, the Middle dating since organic material can cheology of the Central Andes Formative period (circa 1200-800 Peter Fux* be dated physically. During the transcends preconceived notions BC.), the distinctive artistic style second half of the twentieth cen- of the Old World and in order and iconography associated with Chavin was one of the most fundamental civilizations of ancient Peru. Its imposing ceremonial center is included in tury, archaeologists preferred not to reflect this trend they use new the later findings in Chavín de to speculate on the social structure words.
    [Show full text]
  • Carnival Fêtes and Feasts 1
    Carnival Fêtes and Feasts 1. Rex, King of Carnival, Monarch of Merriment - Rex’s float carries the King of Carnival and his pages through the streets of New Orleans each Mardi Gras. In the early years of the New Orleans Carnival Rex’s float was redesigned each year. The current King’s float, one of Carnival’s most iconic images, has been in use for over fifty years. 2. His Majesty’s Bandwagon - From this traditional permanent float one of the Royal Bands provides lively music for Rex and for those who greet him on the parade route. One of those songs will surely be the Rex anthem: “If Ever I Cease to Love,” which has been played in every Rex parade since 1872. 3. The King’s Jesters - Even the Monarch of Merriment needs jesters in his court. Rex’s jesters dress in the traditional colors of Mardi Gras – purple, green and gold. The papier mache’ figures on the Jester float are some of the oldest in the Rex parade, and were sculpted by artists in Viareggio, Italy, a city with its own rich Carnival tradition. 4. The Boeuf Gras - The Boeuf Gras (“the fat ox”) represents one of the oldest traditions and images of Mardi Gras, symbolizing the great feast on the day before Lent begins. In the early years of the New Orleans Carnival a live Boeuf Gras, decorated with garlands, had an honored place near the front of the Rex Parade. 5. The Butterfly King - Since the earliest days of Carnival, butterflies have been popular symbolic design elements, their brief and colorful life a metaphor for the ephemeral magic of Mardi Gras itself.
    [Show full text]
  • Peru's Modern Culture
    A Cultural Tour Around Fabulous Peru ○○○○○○○○○○○ 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword 03 Peru, General Information 05 Peru, Millennial Culture Ϭϳ Symbols that Identify Peru 11 Peru’s Pre-Columbian Art 15 Peru’s Colonial Art 21 Peru, Melting Pot of Races 25 Peru’s Dresses 27 Peru’s Folklore - Songs, Music and Dances : Coast 31 Peru’s Folklore - Songs, Music and Dances : Highlands 35 Peru’s Folklore - Songs, Music and Dances : Amazon Region 38 Peru’s Folklore - Songs, Peruvians Believers by Nature 39 Peru, Gourmet’s Paradise : Coast 44 Peru, Gourmet’s Paradise : Highlands 49 Peru, Gourmet’s Paradise: Sweets and Desserts 51 Peru, Gourmet’s Paradise: Beverages 55 Peru’s Architecture 57 Peru’s Handicrafts 66 Peru’s Modern Culture : Photography, Cinema, Theater, Music and Dance 74 Peru’s Modern Culture : Literature, Poetry, Painting, Sculpture 78 Major Festivals and Holidays 87 A Cultural Tour Around Fabulous Peru ○○○○○○○○○○○ 2 FOREWORD Peru is an extraordinary country with a rich and diverse historical background and is known for its ancient culture as cradle of civilization. The purpose of this booklet is to provide a panoramic cultural overview of Peru, the archaeological, cultural and ecological jewel of America. From the pre-Columbian cultures, the Inca splendor of Machu Picchu, its coastal desert region, the towering mountains, the verdant jungle waterways of the majestic Amazon River, to the rich artistic expressions of its people — Peru has something for everyone to enjoy. Talk to any scientists and they will tell you that Peru is one of the most exciting destinations for archaeologists today. From Caral, the oldest city in the Americas, to the mysterious Inca ruins of Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley, to the spectacular gold, silver and jewel encrusted artifacts recently uncovered in the tombs of the Lords of Sipan, to ongoing digs along the Northern coast and highlands, Peru is an ever-expanding open-air museum.
    [Show full text]