SMITHSONIAN JOURNEYS QUARTERLY
TRAVEL QUARTERLY FALL 2015
N R E U Y O S J SE EING TH E WORLD IN A N E W LIG HT
Inca power and glory • Stalking the world’s first tomato • Peruvian mummies Lima’s hot food scene • Star-trekking in Chile • Spirited away in La Paz • Best crafts
FALL 2015
The
THE INCA ROAD
Inca Road
S E E I N G T H E W O R L D I N A N E W L I G H T • FA L L 2 0 1 5
AT L A S O F E AT I N G
Ca Cajam jama arrcca a
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PPEERRUU
Lim Lima a
Tu Tumb mbes es
A tough, tiny tomato
Cu Cusc sco o
10
What endures
Hu Huan anca cayo yo
Qu Quito ito
EECCUUAADDOORR
TOUCH STONE
88
The Great Liberator
Lima’s hot food scene
90
Mystery of knots
100
One thread at a time
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T I M E T R AV E L
NONO RTRT HH
00 00
100 100 mimi 100 100 kmkm
Star trekking
108
Mount Chimborazo
116
Cover illustration by Jean-Manuel Duvivier
9 THINGS
Spirited away in La Paz
44
58
Handicraft heaven
If only it could stay this way
60
Bridging the past
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LIKE A LOCAL
InIlnalnan d dInIcnc a aRoRo adad
A Arrequ eq ip uipa a
L Laa Pa Paz z
BBOOLLI V I VI A IA Bird-watchers of a feather
68
LOCAL LENS
CoCaosas tatlaIl I ncnaca RoRaoa dd
CCHHI L I LEE
Like a journal
84
AARRGGEENNTTI N I NAA
102 L AST STOP
S Saant ntiag iago o
RESOURCES
M Meend ndoz oza a
Peru’s mummies
Before you travel
126
Ahead of the curve
128 MAP BY NICK SPRINGER, SPRINGER CARTOGRAPHICS
WHAT ENDURES T of ancient civilizations s the central Andes 10 SMITHSONIAN JOURNEYS FALL 2015
S The power and glory s still pulses through By Charles C. Mann
Photographs by Juan Manuel Castro Prieto
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LIVING HISTORY Vestiges of the Inca Empire shine through the faces and brightly colored clothes of Gregoria Quispe and Mario Cusi Huama (left) who pause with their llamas on Cusco’s Hatun Rumiyoc Street, in front of the polished rock wall base of the Inca ruler’s 14thcentury palace.
ROUTE OF AN EMPIRE The Inca Road spread goods, culture, and dominion over large swathes of present-day Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, and Colombia. The now-paved stretch (left) ribbons through Peru’s Sacred Valley of the Incas, connecting Cusco with the salt-producing town of Maras.
Huayna Capac had a problem: He didn’t like his hometown, Cusco, in the bracing heights of southern Peru. Unfortunately, Cusco was the center of the Inca Empire, and he was the empire’s supreme ruler. Running the empire obliged him to spend a lot of time in the chilly capital city. Fortunately for Huayna Capac, he was king. With a word he could command thousands of his subjects to build a second capital. Huayna Capac said the word. His new capital was near the Equator, in what is today Quito, Ecuador. The palace was bigger and more luxurious than the first. And the weather was nearly perfect. The king was pleased with his new digs but
memory of people I doubt there is record of another
now faced a second problem. More than a thou-
highway comparable to this,” he wrote in the 1540s.
sand miles of steep, rugged mountains separate
It was called the Qhapaq Ñan—which translates
Quito and Cusco. The royal personage required a
from the Quechua as “Road of the Lord.”
comfortable passage between them. He ordered
Huayna Capac died around 1527, still seek-
hundreds of villages to dispatch all their able-bod-
ing to incorporate the northernmost parts of the
ied men to build a highway. The finished roadway
Andes into the empire. His death set off a civil
was lined with guesthouses for travelers and so
war, fought bloodily along the Qhapaq Ñan. Euro-
straight and flat, the chronicler Agustín de Zárate
pean conquerors arrived in 1532, accompanied by
later marveled that you “could roll a cart down it.”
European diseases: smallpox, measles, typhoid,
Pleased with what he had conjured into existence,
influenza. More than half the population of the
the king ordered up a second huge thoroughfare,
Andean realm died. For the next three centuries,
this one along the coast.
Spain tried to wipe out the histories and traditions
The Inca highway network—the two main
that remained. But the conquistadors did not suc-
arteries and the mass of secondary courses that
ceed. Native peoples tenaciously held on to their
joined them—was arguably the biggest, most com-
beliefs and practices. And archaeologists discov-
plex construction project ever undertaken. Running
ered ever more about the pre-conquest past.
A PERFECT FIT
for 3,700 miles between Chile and Ecuador, about
For decades schoolchildren have learned that
the distance from New York to Paris, the backbone
civilization has four ancient origin places: Mesopo-
Cusco’s famous 12-angle
of the system cut through every imaginable land-
tamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and China’s Yellow
stone anchors the wall
scape, from icy mountain peaks to tropical lowlands,
River. In the past 20 years researchers have added
at the Inca ruler’s palace.
from the world’s driest desert to one of its wettest
a fifth member to this select list: the central Andes,
Without metal implements,
forests. It astounded the Spaniards who saw it—the
which includes southern Ecuador, northwestern
14th-century Inca masons
conquistador Pedro de Cieza de León said that the
Bolivia, and most of Peru. Here, we now know, were
carved and placed rocks
road through the Andes should be more famous
pyramids and temples as old as or older than those in
so precisely that mortar
than Hannibal’s route through the Alps. “In the
Egypt, vast irrigation networks that rivaled those in
proved unnecessary.
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PHOTOGRAPHER JUAN MANUEL CASTRO PRIETO IS REPRESENTED BY AGENCE VU
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Spirited away in La Paz Among sacred mountains, in a city where spells are cast and potions brewed, the otherworldly is everyday
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By Annie Murphy
F
or most of the seven years I lived in La Paz, my home was a small stucco cottage pressed into a hillside. The cement floors were cold, and the second-story roof was corrugated metal, which made rain and hail such a
racket that storms often sent me downstairs. But the views more than compensated for the hassles. When I moved in, I painted the bedroom walls heron-egg blue and put the mattress so close to the window I could press my nose against the glass. At night I fell asleep watching the city lights knit up into the stars, and in the morning I woke to a panoramic view of Illimani, the 21,000-foot peak that sits on its haunches keeping watch over Bolivia’s capital. It was like living in the sky.
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“We’re all influenced by the indigenous notion that these mountains have spirits —apus—and that those spirits watch over everything that lives nearby.” — Oscar Vega
Once you get used to all that altitude, La Paz is best explored on foot. Walking allows you to revel in the staggering vistas while dialing into an intimate world of ritual and ceremony, whether inhaling the sweet green aroma of burning herbs
entry is a silhouette of Illimani—the mountain—and after it, a page with a few sentences: Illimani is simply there—it is not something that is seen… / The mountain is a presence.
along a well-worn path or coming upon a proces-
Those lines ring especially true during the win-
sion celebrating the saints who safeguard each
ter solstice, when Illimani virtually presides over
neighborhood. One of my closest friends, Oscar
the many celebrations. In the Southern Hemi-
Vega, lived a ten-minute walk from my house.
sphere, the day usually falls on June 21, which also
Oscar is a sociologist and writer with dense gray
marks the New Year in the tradition of the Aymara
hair, freckled cheeks, and thick eyeglasses. Every
people, for whom the New Year is a deeply felt hol-
few days we had a long, late lunch or coffee, and I
iday. The celebration hinges on welcoming the first
liked nothing better than going to meet him, hus-
rays of the sun—and while you can do so anywhere
tling along steep cobblestone streets that cascade
the sun shines, the belief is that the bigger the view
down into the main avenue known as the Prado,
of the mountains and sky, the more meaningful the
hoping to imitate the elegant shuffle-jog used by
welcome.
many paceños as they negotiate the pitched ter-
Most years I joined friends to celebrate in
rain. Men in leather jackets and pleated trousers,
Tupac Katari Plaza, a tiny square up in El Alto that
women in full skirts or 1980s-style pantsuits, or
looks down into La Paz, with an unobstructed
teenagers in Converse sneakers; they all seemed
view of all the biggest peaks: sentry-like Illimani
to understand this common way of moving. In La
and many others. Every year, about a dozen peo-
Paz, life happens on a vertical plane. Negotiating
ple showed up early, staying warm by sipping cof-
the city is always spoken of in terms of up and
fee and tea and Singani, Bolivia’s potent national
down because it’s not just surrounded by moun-
spirit, while whispering and pacing in the dark.
tains: It is mountains.
And every year, I would be sure that the turnout
The most important things to consider in La
would be equally understated, only to watch as,
Paz are the geography and the fact that its identity
just before sunrise, sudden and overwhelming
is closely tied to indigenous Aymara culture. “The
crowds gathered in the plaza. Each person’s el-
mountains are everywhere,” said Oscar. “But it’s
bows seemed to be quietly pressing into someone
not just that they’re there; it’s also the way we’re
else’s ribs, everyone charged with anticipation
influenced by the indigenous notion that these
that something sacred was about to happen. As
mountains have spirits—apus—and that those spir-
the sun lifted over the Andes, we all raised our
its watch over everything that lives nearby.”
hands to receive its first rays, heads ever so slightly
Oscar is also passionate about seeing the city on foot. Ten years ago, when we became friends, he told me about Jaime Sáenz, the poet-flaneur of La Paz, and Sáenz’s book, Imágenes Paceñas. It’s a strange, unapologetic love letter to the city, a cat-
bowed. As if the sun—and the mountains—were something to be felt rather than seen.
W
In the shadow of Mururata and three-peaked Illimani, La Paz (top) and its neighboring city of El Alto reach up into the hillsides to create unusually vertiginous streetscapes. PREVIOUS PAGE
hen I told Oscar I wanted to learn more
Aymara tradition says that
about the rituals I’d seen around La Paz, he
good fortune comes to
alog of streets and landmarks and working-class
sent me to talk to Milton Eyzaguirre, the head of
those whose hands first
people, punctuated by blurred photos with cap-
the education department of Bolivia’s ethnographic
feel the sun’s rays as New
tions that resemble Zen koans. The very first
museum—known as MUSEF. The first thing Milton
Year dawns.
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PHOTOS (INCLUDING PREVIOUS PAGES): PATRICIO CROOKER
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9 THINGS
Field, forest, stream Crafts in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru have ancient pedigrees and contemporary appeal. Decorating gourds is a 4,000-year-old practice; weaving palm leaves draws on techniques reaching back to 3,500 B.C. and the region’s much admired textiles date back 3,000 years. All these treasures are handmade. All reflect the land’s rich natural resources.
HONEY Local communities are granted the right to keep bees on the protected land of the Pomac Forest, an arid tropical preserve on the northern coast of Peru. The amber-colored honey they collect comes from the nectar of the flower of carob trees. Noted for its woodsy aroma and buttery flavor, the honey can be bought at regional markets.
BLANKET This handwoven manta, or blanket, was crafted by a weaver from the Chawaytiri community near Cusco, Peru. It is ennobled by natural dyes and a pattern passed on from generation to generation. Others like it are at the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco, Av Sol 603, Cusco. textilescusco.org
HANDBAG Artisans in the village of Eten in the northern Peruvian region of Lambayeque made this handbag with macora palm leaves twisted into straw. The leaves are washed in soap and left to soak. After rinsing and drying, they can be worked into strands and woven by hand. At regional markets.
GOURD Mates burilados—engraved gourds—are traditionally used as drinking vessels, bowls or spoons. This gourd from the Seguil-Dorregaray family atelier displays a narrative of the tropics where humans live in harmony with toucans, snakes, and other animals. Av Los Precursores 449, Lima.
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HAT Though it’s called a Panama hat, the Homero Ortega toquilla, as it’s known locally, has been made in Cuenca, Ecuador, by five generations of the Ortega family. The traditional art of handweaving these hats began in the early 17th century. Benalcázar N 2-52 y Sucre, Quito, and Avenida Gil Ramirez Dávalos 386, Cuenca. homeroortega.com
SALT The town of Maras, Peru has mined peach-colored salt since pre-Inca times. During the dry season, workers fill pools with salt water from a subterranean stream. Once the water evaporates, the salt is ground, supplemented with iodine, and packaged for sale in regional markets.
SWEATER Artesanía Sorata sits halfway up Sagarnara Street in La Paz. The cooperative enables indigenous artisans, who make pieces like this child’s alpaca sweater, to achieve a higher standard of living. Casilla 4365, Calle La Bolivia, Boqueron 1050 La Paz. artesaniasorata.com
PLATE The distinctive geometric shapes decorating this plate are the signature designs of Julia Sarabia, daughter of the famed Bolivian ceramicist Mario Sarabia. It—as well as a charming collection of art and handmade jewelry—can be found at Ceramic Sarabia, located in La Paz’s wealthy southern district. Calle 4, No. 7 Mallasa, La Paz. ceramicsarabia.com
CHOCOLATE For hundreds of years, the Hacienda La Concepción in Ecuador’s Los Rios Province has produced highly prized chocolate. The families who maintain the ancient “cacao arriba” trees also preserve the traditional methods of harvesting, drying, and fermenting the beans. At República del Cacao, Reina Victoria y Joaquín Pinto Esquina, Quito; Calle Larga 8-27 y Luis Cordero, Cuenca. republicadelcacao.com
From Carmen Arellano in Peru, Ruxandra Guidi in Ecuador, Sara Shahriari in Bolivia
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S PA N N I N G T H E A 72 SMITHSONIAN JOURNEYS FALL 2015
Each year over the past half millennium, villagers in Peru’s Canas Province have gathered to weave, install, and consecrate a new 100-foot Q’eswachaka suspension bridge over the Apurímac River. PHOTO: DOUG MCMAINS, NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
E A BYSS OF T I M E An exhibition at the National Museum of the American Indian celebrates the great Inca Road and the people who live in its presence FALL 2015 SMITHSONIAN JOURNEYS 73
By Hannah Bloch
E
very June, after the rainy season ends in the grassy highlands of southern Peru, the residents of four villages near Huinchiri, at more than 12,000 feet in altitude, come together for a
three-day festival. Men, women, and children have already spent days in busy preparation: They’ve gathered bushels of long grasses, which they’ve then soaked, pounded, and dried in the sun. These tough fibers have been twisted and braided into narrow cords, which in turn have been woven together to form six heavy cables, each the circumference of a man’s thigh and more than 100 feet long. ¶ Dozens of men heave the long cables over their shoulders and carry them single file to the edge of a deep, rocky canyon. About a hundred feet below flows the ApurÍmac River. Village elders murmur blessings to Mother Earth and Mother Water, then make ritual offerings by burning coca leaves and sacrificing guinea pigs and sheep. ¶ Shortly after, the villagers set to work linking one side of the canyon to the other. Relying on a bridge they built the same way a year earlier—now sagging from use—they stretch out four new cables, lashing each one to rocks on either side, to form the base of the new 100-footlong bridge. After testing them for strength and tautness, they fasten the remaining two cables above the others to serve as handrails. Villagers lay down sticks and woven grass mats to stabilize, pave, and cushion the structure. Webs of dried fiber are quickly woven, joining the handrails to the base. The old bridge is cut; it falls gently into the water.
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An 1877 woodcut published by American archaeologist E. G. Squier captures the massive scale of the Q’eswachaka suspension bridge over the Apurímac River.
COURTESY OF SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION LIBRARIES
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LOCAL LENS
“My images are like my journals” By Simon Worrall
Originally from Mexico, and trained as a photographer in Buenos Aires, Yolanda Escobar Jiménez (@yolafotografa) worked as a sports reporter in Mexico, documenting that essential Latin passion: soccer. When she moved to Ecuador, she started to photograph everyday people and places and to post her pictures on Instagram. From her studio in Quito she talks about the freedom of working with an iPhone, what she loves about Ecuador, and how sometimes being a woman is an advantage. You are originally from Mexico but
Instagram instead of writing. I show the
currently live in Ecuador. What made
things I experience every day and the
you move to the Andes?
happy side of the people. Sometimes I
I had a boyfriend in Quito. I was
have the time to wait and be patient and
also invited to join a magazine as
stay in the same place. But sometimes I
a photographer. I still work for that
have to rush, because of the magazine.
magazine, and I am still with my boyfriend,
I’ll go to a place, knowing I probably won’t
who is today my husband. [Laughs]
come back, so I have to do everything
What do you love about Ecuador? I love the multicultural life here. Everywhere, in the city or in small towns
in one day. I am also looking for the light and for the right moment, but above all, the people.
and communities, there is an amazing
You use a cell phone and post your
diversity in the way people dress, in their
photographs to Instagram. Why do you
food, and their way of life. I love that.
like that way of working?
How did you learn photography? I always loved photography, but I didn’t think I was going to be a photographer. I started working in marketing, but I didn’t like it, so I decided to quit my job and go to Buenos Aires to study photography. Then I realized I wanted to do photography as a job.
I love the practicality. It’s fun and it’s easy. Today almost everybody has a cell phone with a camera, so I don’t stand out, as I would with my real camera. With my cell phone in my hand, I am just one more person taking pictures. But there is a difference between a professional photographer and people who take pictures just for fun. I don’t want to
Cartier-Bresson referred to “the
sound arrogant or elitist, but it’s more
decisive moment,” when, after waiting
than just being able to manage a camera.
for something to happen, a photo
It’s about framing and composition, and
“appears.” Is that how you work?
when to take a picture or not.
My images are like my journal. But I use
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HUIRIRIMA
10.16.2014 • 11:19 a.m. Students from Teniente Rodríguez Loaiza school play in the break between classes.
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