Yawar Fiesta by José María Arguedas is a novel that takes place in the Andean town of Puquio, the story follows the events leading up to the titular fiesta. Early on, we learn that the central component of the fiesta is the bullfight. This is also a source of conflict between the Indigenous, misti, and Spaniard groups living in Puquio, and is reflective of larger social dynamics in 20th century colonial Peru. Arguedas navigates complex relationships between colonizer, colonized, and those who fall somewhere between. This is not just visible in the story itself, but also in Arguedas’ use of language. The written words jump back and forth between Spanish (originally, though I am reading the English translation) and Quechua, indicative of the linguistic and cultural gaps faced by the inhabitants of Puquio. Personally, I wondered if this story was a way for Arguedas to articulate and reckon with his own identity as a mestizo/misti living in Peru, and if the simultaneous use of Quechua and Spanish was a way to convey a larger feeling of displacement and isolation, never belonging quite to one group or another. Throughout the novel, the misti are shown to be rejected by both the Indigenous and Spaniard groups, despite some incidental and case-specific acceptance.
Using the lens of the bullfight allowed Arguedas to converse with other issues present in the colonial context. For example, the main tension around the bullfight is that the national government has passed an edict stating that only professional toreadors may be hired for the event. This is in conflict with the traditions of the Indigenous people in Puquio, who would be unable to participate in the fiesta if the edict is upheld. This alone shows us a few levels of social stratification. First, we have the national government making the edict, who are likely not Indigenous people and are not making choices with the best interests of the Indigenous population at heart. We have those in Puquio who are calling for the edict to be upheld as well- predominantly also Spanish. Many who are supportive of the edict are doing so for the “good” of the Indigenous people- but have not considered the significance of the event for the community, or have thought what a law that effectively bars Indigenous people from participating might lead to later on. A professional toreador would have different (Spanish-influenced) training from that of an Indigenous bullfighter- likely, training that would be inaccessible to Indigenous peoples wanting to pursue it. Of course, we also have the misti and Indigenous communities, who struggle against the edict and are the ones most affected by it. Within this one conflict, we can see how colonial structures manifest outwardly and work to effectively lock-out the colonized populations from positions of power, influence, and eventually from their own traditions.