Presented by Andrea Guzmán Giura and Pedro de Jesús Gonzales Durán
About the presentation: In this presentation, we discuss how the battle of Andean societies to define time in Peru determines resistance as a particular action but also as a continuous necessity. In Western societies, time is a core notion that determines a social, economic, and cultural model. This model validates the importance of modernity as a discourse of linear progress, supported by chronological time development. Concurrently, it denies and eradicates other ways of understanding time because they could problematize the power’s colonial structure. However, these alternatives exist, and their manifestations work as decolonial resistance to the Western model. The notion of time in the Andes is twofold. It denotes a particular event of change known as pachacuti, but also a cyclical understanding of time that means repetition as a return of the past to embrace the future. Following this double interpretation, we analyze two distinct events that embody this duality on two relevant levels of Andean societies: the political and the religious. First, from a political perspective, we examine the marches for the coup against ex-president Pedro Castillo as a milestone, representing the return of the Inkarri myth. Finally, from a religious perspective, we present the analysis of the dance Auqa Chileno’s performance, which problematizes the relationship between linear time and history, in an annual festivity that entwines Andean and Catholic traditions.
About Andrea Guzman Giura: Andrea Guzman Giura is a Ph.D. student of Anthropology of the University of Wisconsin, Madison (UW). She is interested in researching dance and performance and gender topics in the Andean area. Her research has an interdisciplinary perspective due to her previous formation. She received her BA in History in 2016 and MA in Anthropology in 2019, both degrees from Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru (PUCP). There she worked for the Andean Program Studies at PUCP. In 2023 she obtained a MA in Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies (LACIS) program at UW. Also, she takes part in the Andean Studies Students Association (ASSO) at UW.
Pedro de Jesus Gonzales Duran is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Spanish and Portuguese Department, UW-Madison. He is from Perú, where he taught Spanish and Literature at many different levels. His research and interest focus on Latin American theater and performance. Currently, he is studying the relation between Andean knowledge and decolonization in theater, performance, and visual arts. Last year, he published an article in the Latin American Theater Review: “Post-materialidad en los Andes: espacios performativos andinos en Yuyachkani.”