As I wanted to have some reading done for this course before my trip, I initially read Death in the Andes by Mario Vargas Llosa in early May. Of course, back then, I was trying to navigate the reading with very little context. I did not know what Sendero referred to, and for whatever reason I did not feel the need to look it up; instead, I assumed that it was a group that was made up particularly for the book. The same thing occurred to me with the term “terruco.” Although the term in itself suggests an association with terrorism, I was unaware of some of the context with which this term was sometimes used. Being in this class has definitely helped enlighten me on much of what Death in the Andes refers to. Now that I am re-reading some of the first chapter, I definitely feel like I am approaching the book under a slightly different light.
One thing that cannot be missed about this text, however, is the way that Indigenous/Andean people are portrayed in comparison to those who are from outside of that area. This is prevalent not only in how Lituma talks about his hometown of Piura, but also in how Andeans are portrayed in comparison to people from more “western” society in general. One example of this comes when the story of Michele and Albert from France is being told. Albert seems to especially marvel at the Andeans that share the bus with him, speaking about them more as if they were props or objects than people. Vargas Llosa describes Albert’s thoughts on them as:
These were the real descendants of the Incas, not the people in Lima; their ancestors had carried the gigantic stones up to the aeries of Machu Picchu, the sanctuary-fortress he and his friend would explore in three days’ time. (11)
Vargas Llosa, in situating this tragic story around the only foreigners present at the scene, almost presents their lives as even more important and more worth highlighting. They are the stars of the scene while everybody else does become a prop of a sort; a prop to situate this story within the Andes.
My question relating to all of this is: how is it determined whose stories are important and/or worth telling? Why does a story surrounding characters with little significance for the rest of the story have to be told from the point of view of foreigners? (Particularly when they were largely not the ones being impacted by these events in reality).
3 replies on “Death in the Andes: The Perspectives of the Stories We Tell”
That’s awesome. I did the same thing when initially reading How Difficult It Is to Be God when the course reading list was first sent out. I was listening to it on audiobook while on the bus, so a lot of the names and other identifying details were very foreign to me. It sure is nice to have the context now as I reread the book. Maybe the reason that forieners are used is so that foriegners can relate, humans can be pretty self centered creatures after all.
“They are the stars of the scene while everybody else does become a prop of a sort; a prop to situate this story within the Andes.” In this passage you have identified one of the problems that this novel has for me, but that I had not seen when I read it a few weeks ago. Thanks for noticing and sharing it. Vargas Llosa shows that he is not in a position to write about Andean lives. The story progresses haltingly and shows more sympathy for those occasional visitors, with whom he perhaps identifies.
Hey Yasmine:)
Thank you for sharing your thoughtful insights on “Death in the Andes”. I found your observations on the portrayal of Indigenous and Andean people in the novel particularly enlightening.
Regarding your questions, the determination of whose stories are important often reflects broader societal and cultural biases. In many cases, narratives are framed from the perspective of those perceived as having more power or relevance, which can marginalize local voices. Vargas Llosa’s choice to highlight the lives of foreign characters might stem from a desire to make the story more relatable to a global audience, albeit at the expense of authentic representation. It’s a critical point for discussion about the impact of narrative perspective on our understanding of historical and cultural events.