The Peru Reader: History, Culture, Politics (The Latin America Readers)

Sixteenth-century Spanish soldiers described Peru as a land filled with gold and silver, a place of untold wealth. Nineteenth-century travelers wrote of soaring Andean peaks plunging into luxuriant Amazonian canyons of orchids, pythons, and jaguars. The early-twentieth-century American adventurer Hiram Bingham told of the raging rivers and the wild jungles he traversed on his way to rediscovering the “Lost City of the Incas,” Machu Picchu. Seventy years later, news crews from ABC and CBS traveled to Peru to report on merciless terrorists, starving peasants, and Colombian drug runners in the “white gold” rush of the coca trade. As often as not, Peru has been portrayed in broad extremes: as the land of the richest treasures, the bloodiest conquest, the most poignant ballads, and the most violent revolutionaries. This revised and updated second edition of the bestselling Peru Reader offers a deeper understanding of the complex country that lies behind these claims. Unparalleled in scope, the volume covers Peru’s history from its extraordinary pre-Columbian civilizations to its citizens’ twenty-first-century struggles to achieve dignity and justice in a multicultural nation where Andean, African, Amazonian, Asian, and European traditions meet. The collection presents a vast array of essays, folklore, historical documents, poetry, songs, short stories, autobiographical accounts, and photographs. Works by contemporary Peruvian intellectuals and politicians appear alongside accounts of those whose voices are less often heard—peasants, street vendors, maids, Amazonian Indians, and African-Peruvians. Including some of the most insightful pieces of Western journalism and scholarship about Peru, the selections provide the traveler and specialist alike with a thorough introduction to the country’s astonishing past and challenging present. Contents A Note on Style Introduction Part I: The Ancient Civilizations The Chavín Cult Nazca Pottery The Huarochirí Manuscript Moon, Sun,Witches The Origins of the Incas Cloth, Textile, and the Inca Empire Taxation and the Incas Officials and Messengers The Search for Machu Picchu Part II: Conquest and Colonial Rule Atahualpa and Pizarro In Defense of the Indians Our House The Tragedy of Success Diary of Colonial Lima Friar Martín’s Mice The Rebellion of Túpac Amaru ‘‘All Must Die!’’ Part III: The Republican Peru The Battle of Ayacucho Comas and theWar of the Pacific Priests, Indians, Soldiers, and Heroes Women of Lima Amazonian Indians and the Rubber Boom Part IV: The Advent of Modern Politics Tempest in the Andes Water! Reflections Human Poems The APRA The Massacre of Chan Chan Lost to Sight Part V: The Breakup of the Old Order The Pongo’s Dream ‘‘The Master Will No Longer Feed Off Your Poverty," The 24th of June Villa El Salvador Recipe for a House Featherless Vultures Peru’s African Rhythms A Guerrilla’s Word Liberation Theology A World for Julius Part VI: The Shining Path ‘‘A Frightening Thirst for Vengeance,’’ We Are the Initiators The Quota Memories of a Cadre Oath of Loyalty Part VII: Manchay Tiempo Vietnam in the Andes Death Threat Women and Terror Chaqwa Huamanguino ‘‘There Have Been Threats,’’ Peasants at War Time of Reckoning Part VIII: The Cocaine Economy The Hold Life Has My Little Coca, Let Me Chew You! The Cocaine Economy Drugs, Soldiers, and Guerrillas Part IX: The Struglle for Survival Soup of the Day Nightwatch ‘‘A Momentous Decision,’’ Choleric Outbreak Bribing a Congressman Simply Pascuala Part X: Culture(s) Redefined Chayraq! The Choncholí Chewing Gum Rap Sarita Colonia Comes Flying Is Peru Turning Protestant? Interview with a Gay Activist Adrenaline Nights Reencounter I Am the Bad Girl of the Story Conversation in the Cathedral The Slave Aguaruna Adventures Self-Images Suggestions for Further Reading Acknowledgments Acknowledgment of Copyrights Index "This volume presents an interdisciplinary anthology of work from and about Peru, including nonfiction, poetry, journalism, history, and cultural analysis. It includes many primary resources never before published in English, and is a thorough introduction to the country's astonishing past."

an Interdisciplinary Anthology Of Work From And About Peru, Including Nonfiction, Poetry, Journalism, History, And Cultural Analysis, That Includes Many Primary Resources Never Before Published In English.