Monthly Archives: August 2011

Peru may be turning a corner on its treatment of indigenous people Peru's divisions only deepened under the previous administration. A new law gives grounds for cautious optimism

Peru may be turning a corner on its treatment of indigenous people Peru's divisions only deepened under the previous administration. A new law gives grounds for cautious optimism
  • August 31, 2011
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The symbolism could hardly have been more striking as indigenous Awajún member Eduardo Nayap – in suit, tie and colourful Amazonian feather crown – addressed Peru's new congress last week. Nayap, a member of President Ollanta Humala's Nationalist party, was welcoming the chamber's unanimous approval of a bill requiring prior consultation with indigenous peoples about legislation or infrastructure projects that would affect them or their territories. Humala is expected to sign it into law this week. The measure, repeatedly blocked by Peru's previous president, Alan García, is being hailed as a major advance…Read more …

Lucha de gigantes Yawar Fiesta, emblemática tradición de los Andes peruanos que enfrenta a un toro bravo con un cóndor, está en auge. Pero el ave majestuosa del que depende está cada vez más amenazada.

Lucha de gigantes Yawar Fiesta, emblemática tradición de los Andes peruanos que enfrenta a un toro bravo con un cóndor, está en auge. Pero el ave majestuosa del que depende está cada vez más amenazada.
  • August 23, 2011
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Mientras que el toro se retuerce y corcovea, el atemorizado cóndor amarrado a su lomo bate sus gigantescas alas, casi eclipsando al enfurecido animal. Con un coro de cuernos aballados, un comunero con una capa arrugada entra a la plaza. Son las dos de la tarde, en Cotabambas, un pueblo a cuatro horas de Cuzco, la antigua capital del imperio inca, en Perú. Han estado fluyendo la cerveza y chicha -el jugo de maíz fermentado que tanto gusta a los andinos- desde hace horas, y la fiesta Yawar está llegando a su irresistible…Read more …

Morales, his moral maze and a road into Amazon wilderness Bolivia's President hopes a highway through virgin land will lead to prosperity – but indigenous groups are furious

Morales, his moral maze and a road into Amazon wilderness Bolivia's President hopes a highway through virgin land will lead to prosperity – but indigenous groups are furious
  • August 19, 2011
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The Isiboro Sécure Indigenous Reserve and National Park might strike many as paradise on earth. Located in the verdant head waters of the Amazon basin, the protected area is home to a stunning array of species, from howler monkeys and spectacled bears to myriad birds and insects, not to mention 64 native communities and billions of tons of forest carbon. It is the last place where the credentials of Evo Morales as a globally renowned defender of indigenous rights and the Pachamama, or Earth Mother, seem likely to be called into question. But…Read more …

Why the day of the condor could be drawing to a close A decline in the numbers of the giant Andean bird casts doubt on the survival of a spectacular Peruvian tradition

Why the day of the condor could be drawing to a close A decline in the numbers of the giant Andean bird casts doubt on the survival of a spectacular Peruvian tradition
  • August 4, 2011
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As the bull twists and bucks, the frightened condor strapped to its back helplessly flaps its huge wings, almost dwarfing the enraged animal. To a chorus of battered horns, a villager with a tattered cape steps into the dusty square. Chicha, the fermented maize juice that is the preferred tipple of many Andeans, has been flowing for hours and the man appears unsteady on his feet. The bull snags the cape on its horns as the man barely manages to sidestep the charging beast before leaping over the barrier, back into the safety of…Read more …