Ben's Peru Blog

This week, I found Garcilaso de la Vega to be a fascinating contrast to Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala. The tone in which the two writers presented their narratives is very different despite covering similar subject matter. The Guaman Poma reading took on a critical and confrontational tone that focused heavily on the abuses and exploitation suffered by the Inca during the Spanish colonial project. Garcilaso’s narrative on the other hand offered a more romanticized perspective than Guaman Poma. Garcilaso’s writing seemed to aim to create harmony between Spanish and…read more

Upon first reading Guaman Poman De Ayala’s “The First New Chronicle and Good Government”, I was originally inclined to read it as text that was inherently based firmly within colonial idealogy, though, with slightly more progressive (for lack of a better word) tone than I am used to in these Spanish colonial texts. The text is clearly built on colonial frameworks, with Guaman Poman De Ayala, writing the entire thing in Spanish and basing his text, including his critiques, in core principles of Christian morality. While he is, in fact,…read more

Yesterday was one of the best days of my life. I would like to say it is because I got the chance to stand in the presence of a ceremonial Incan fortress….but it’s not…It was because of the llamas and alpacas. I will be chasing the high of meeting these creatures for the rest of my life.    As I write this I am trying to explain to Orla the difference between an Alpaca and a llama She is trying her best to understand, bless her soul, but it’s not…read more

While I have long been aware that many of the buildings in Cusco are built on top of Inca structures, I realized that I have never *really* taken the time to consider the origins of the materials for the colonial buildings that sit atop these Inca remains. The second chapter of Inka Bodies by Carolyn Dean explains that The Cathedral of Cusco was constructed using the stones that were taken, or perhaps more appropriately, stolen from Sacsayhuamán, an Incan citadel that lies just north of where we are now. The…read more

Back home in Vancouver, it is very possible to live day-to-day life without thinking of religion or interacting with religious institutions or iconography in any substantial way. Despite the religious motivations that existed for settler colonialism in Canada, I think that the more secular nature of contemporary Canadian society has caused me not to think as deeply about the early interactions between Christianity and indigenous systems of belief. This isn’t to say I don’t think about Christianity’s enduring role as it relates to indigeneity at home at all, but here…read more

I wouldn’t have thought that out of all the things we have seen thus far I would have the most to say about the erotic art section of the Museo Larco, but alas, here we are. In this exhibit awash with Moche sexual effigies, functional as pots and expressive as sculptures, adorned with sex acts ranging from realistic representations to borderline body horror, myself and others noticed commonalities and trends among these pieces that got the ol’ gears turning in my head. A particularly interesting trend was that despite the…read more

After reading The Lettered City, an aspect that I’ve been mulling over in my head is the discussion of Neoplatonism specifically, and how this philosophy could be (and was) applied to the design of colonial cities. While I’m certainly no philosopher, I am a big Plato fan, so I did have an understanding of what Neoplatonism means. Still, I had never before made the connection or even considered it as a basis for urban design, but it makes sense. I find it fascinating in the role it played in shaping…read more

Hey there! My name is Ben, or you can call me Benjamin if you’d like, I don’t mind. I am beyond excited to use this blog to share my experiences in Peru and all the wonderful new things I learn. I am writing this from My mom’s home in Nayarit Mexico. While I’m officially here to visit my mom, it’s also a place to fumble about with my comically limited Spanish and soak in some Latin American vibes before landing in Lima. However, in typical Ben Collins fashion, I came…read more