The other day I attended one session of a multi-part, multi-day colloquium on Marxism in Latin America held at the San Marcos University.
The talks were interesting enough, but there was nothing particularly revelatory in them. Nonetheless, I was glad to have attended, but what really got my interest was the university campus itself.
The last time I had been there was, I think, 25 years ago, still during the war between the Peruvian state and the Shining Path guerrillas.
At that time, the university had been practically taken over by the Shining Path, who had infiltrated its student body and employees, and had cowed everyone into leaving them relatively undisturbed. Guerrilla flags flew over the campus and the walls of the classrooms were covered in red-painted slogans in support of their "People's War."
The government, meanwhile, stuck in fiscal crisis after fiscal crisis, and disdainful of the university, let San Marco's coffers become nearly drained, such that repairs went undone, salaries were low and late, and even basics such as desks or chalkboards were not kept up, nor the campus repainted --not that anyone would have dared erase the guerrilla slogans. A truly sad state for the oldest university in America (it was chartered in 1551).
Today, by contrast, despite signs left over from the recent university elections, the campus was neat, clean, and orderly. The atmosphere was truly relaxed, and young people milled about chatting and smiling.
It was neat, but also a little odd because of the contrast with all my previous experiences there. It was, though, nice to see.
Equestrian statue of Gen. Antonio Jose de Sucre, one of Bolivar's lieutenants, who led the Independentist forces to victory over the last remnant of the Spanish colonial army at the Battle of Ayacucho.
Most of the plaza was built in the late 1500s and 1600s and all the buildings are in the Spanish style of the time. There is one detail, however, that passes unnoticed even by people who've grown up in Ayacucho:
Portion of a wall in Portal Independencia, along the north side of the plaza, showing that at least one Inca mason was used in erecting the original building along the plaza. Note the close, mortarless fit between stones, and that the face of the each stone bulges out, and recedes toward the joining edges.
The Cathedral
Ayacucho cathedral, erected in the 1600s and consecrated in 1671. To it's right is the Zamora y Castilla mansion, which once belonged to Bishop Cristobal de Castilla y Zamora, who donated it to the newly-created University of Huamanga in 1677.
Central nave and the Baroque main altar of the Cathedral.
Baroque wooden pulpit.
Detail of one of the chapels along the side naves of the cathedral. In this case, the depiction is of the Holy Trinity.
The main altar.
Litter bearing the image of Our Lady of Mt Carmel, ready to be borne in procession in the upcoming Fiesta de la Virgen del Carmen (July 16th).
The University House
Patio of the Zamora y Castilla mansion. According to some authorities, that fig tree is 500 years old and is the first one to have been brought to Peru.
We arrived in Ayacucho on the evening of the 27th of July, and as we all were starving we headed to the restaurant nextdoor to the house, the Wallpa Sua, for some pollo a la brasa. We kicked off the evening with some toddies and after dinner continued with more drinks around the firepit in the restaurant's patio, while fireworks went off overhead.
Afterward, some of us went off to keep it going, while others headed off to bed. At the park across from Santo Domingo church we happened to run into members of the tuna from the university's Civil Engineering program. A tuna is a musical ensemble in the tradition of 17th century Spain. Tunantes dress in archaic clothes and play for donations. The university of Huamanga has a well-known and prestigious tuna, and these young people were following in that tradition. In exchange for some wine and an appreciative audience, they played for us for several hours.
I didn't take the camera, but I did happen to find a video of the tuna that includes some of the very same members whom we met:
The next day, on July 28th proper, we hired a bus to take the whole gang to Quinua and Wari.
Quinua
Quinua is a small town 37 km NE of Huamanga at 3300 meters. On 9 December 1824 it was the site of the final fight for the liberation of South America from Spanish colonial rule, the Battle of Ayacucho.
On the morning of the battle, the Spanish army under Gen. Canterac, some 8,000 strong and armed with 14 cannon, arrayed on the slopes beyond the plain, called the Pampa de la Quinua, while the multinational liberation army composed largely of Colombian, Chilean, Argentine, and Peruvian troops, headed by Gen. José de Sucre, lined up on the pampa itself. Though outnumbered by 3000 men and with only one cannon, the independence army carried the day.
In 1974, for the 150th anniversary of the battle a monument was erected on the pampa. It is 44 meters high to signify the 44-year struggle for independence, and bears statues of the commanders of the independence army. The site is a popular tourist destination, and offers some great views of the region, including the distant city of Huamanga.
Today, Quinua itself is a quiet little town and is well-known for its pottery and as a good place to eat traditional foods. One of its distinctive features is the local custom of placing small ceramic churches or other effigies atop the houses.
Wari
Between Quinua and Huamanga, lies the archaeological site of Wari (aka Huari). Wari was a large city, the capital of a state and culture that spread from Ayacucho to dominate the central and southern Peruvian Andes between 800 and 1100 CE. Today the city lies in ruins, mostly underground, and what is visible is a vast rubble field from collapsing walls, along with literally millions of pottery shards littering the ground.
When I was a kid we'd spend the day wandering among the cacti, picking up shards and hunting for arrowheads and turquoise, some of which was carved into beads by the Wari a thousand years ago. Today such activities are forbidden and access is limited.
Excavations have revealed complex ceremonial structures and even sophisticated plumbing systems made of carefully-shaped stone conduits.
While my dad showed my cousin Carla's in-laws around, my mom and I just took the opportunity to wander a bit and to look back on our days there so many years ago and enjoy the beauty of the place.
Today (Wednesday) the kids and I went to what was one of my favorite places when I was a child: the Natural History Mueseum of San Marcos University. The museum was founded in 1918 and houses a collection of natural history specimens primarily focused on Peruvian fauna.
The museum is around the corner from the Hospital Edgardo Rebagliatti Martins, where I was born back when it was still the Hospital del Empleado, and from the Social Security Institute. On the way I was amused to see that a building that was begun back in the 1970s is still not finished. This time, however, unlike the suspended animation of other years, they seem to have accepted that it won't be finished and removed the cranes and other accoutrements indicative of work.
At the museum itself, there are some new installations, but old specimens I saw in my youth -which were mouldering even then- are still there, much to my delight.
Most of the specimens seem to have been donated to the museum or gathered ad hoc, and were not stuffed or mounted according to what would be considered good museum, or even good taxidermic standards today. Sometimes, specially with the mammals, the results can be quite amusing.
The bird collection, though somewhat faded by time, is still quite impressive and better prepared than other areas.
There are some new exhibits centered on cetaceans and prehistoric life which are much better done, and are quite impressive and interesting. One particularly cool exhibit involves life-sized models of Peruvian dinosaurs which extend clear out of the rooms that house them, their tails protruding into adjoining halls and passageways.
I'm not sure which looks scarier, the dinosaur or the children...
Afterwards, because Susana had been asking to go to a chifa (Chinese restaurant), we walked to the Restaurante Royal, on Ave. Prescott a couple of blocks from San Felipe, for the lunch buffet.
The service was great, and the food good. Not great, but good. However, both Susana and Nico were very happy - Susana said she felt "like a lady" because the waiters pulled out her chair for her and helped with her coat- and the dessert selection met with aproval all around.
