Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
Municipalidad de Cusco
Plaza Mayor
Presentacin
La ciudad de Cusco, antigua capital del Tawantisuyu, hoy capital histrica del Per,
se honra ser sede del Octavo Coloquio de las Ciudades Patrimoniales del Mundo, y
como alcalde de esta milenaria ciudad me complace presentar esta breve historia.: El
centro del universo andino, escrita por el distinguido investigador cusqueo Dr. Jorge A. Flores Ochoa, ex Rector de la Universidad Nacional San Antonio Abad del Cusco.
Cusco, con ms de 3000 aos de ocupacin continua, la ciudad ms antigua de
Sudamrica, es depositaria de mltiples y diversas evidencias culturales, de tradiciones locales e influencias forneas, que permitieron que sea nominada Patrimonio
Cultural de la Humanidad hace 23 aos.
Sus valores esenciales que se traducen permanentemente en el quehacer cotidiano
de sus habitantes, los ambientes monumentales en los que diariamente cusqueos y
visitantes comparten sensaciones y sentimientos, el vasto patrimonio material e inmaterial que es admiracin del mundo aunado al patrimonio natural que lo rodea,
hacen de esta ciudad un lugar excepcional, de lo cual nos sentimos orgullosos.
En El centro del universo andino, Dr. Flores Ochoa narra la historia del valle de
Cusco desde hace 7000 mil aos. El autor menciona la emergencia de las culturas
Qotakalli, Killki y Lucre entre 600 d.C. y 1000 d.C., pero la historia comienza con la
ltima etapa del desarrollo de la cultura andina, cuando alrededor de 1100 d.C. los
incas se establecieron en este frtil valle, alcanzando apogeo desde 1438 hasta 1532,
momento que se produce la irrupcin europea.
Aunque lo que el autor llama con tanta precisin lo inca define hasta hoy en da lo
que significa Cusco para sus habitantes y visitantes, la historia de Cusco siempre ha
sido la de la superposicin de una cultura sobre otra, y la magnfica ciudad que
vemos hoy es el resultado de este fenmeno de la cultura occidental sobre la andina,
tanto en sus incomparables monumentos arquitectnicos como en el carcter y las
costumbres de sus pobladores.
El Dr. Flores Ochoa nos lleva desde los orgenes lejanos de la ciudad, por la poca
colonial con las tensiones que sacudieran a Cusco tanto como el terremoto de 1650,
la era republicana y la lucha para la independencia de Espaa, hasta el siglo XX y el
surgimiento de los primeros obreros urbanos, la llegada del ferrocarril y de las ciencias modernas, y finalmente del turismo internacional, con el descubrimiento por la
ciencia de la ciudad inca de Machupicchu, acontecimiento que asegurara que el destino de Cusco se halla ligado para siempre a su glorioso pasado.
Plazoleta Espinar
Presentation
The city of Cusco, the ancient capital of Tawantinsuyu, and now the archaeological
capital of Peru, is honoured to be the venue of the 8th Symposium of World Heritage
Cities, and as mayor of this ancient city it is my pleasure to introduce this brief
history: The Centre of the Andean Universe, written by the distinguished Cusco
academic Dr. Jorge Flores Ochoa, ex-Rector of the Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad of Cusco.
Cusco, with more than 3000 years of continuous occupation the oldest city in South
America, is the repository of the vestiges of diverse cultures, as well as local and
foreign traditions and influences, all of which led to it being declared a World Heritage
City twenty-three years ago.
Its essential values, reflected in the daily life of its inhabitants and the monuments
enjoyed by both locals and visitors, plus its enormous cultural wealth, make Cusco
an exceptional city of which we are rightly proud.
In The Centre of the Andean Universe, Doctor Flores Ochoa narrates the history of
the Cusco valley during the last 7000 years. The author mentions the emergence of
the Qotakalli, Killki and Lucre cultures between 600 and 1000 AD, but his history
really begins with the final stage of Andean cultural development, when around 1100
AD the Incas established themselves in this fertile valley, experiencing their imperial
golden age from 1438 to 1532, the year of invasion from Europe.
Although what Doctor Flores Ochoa calls with such precision the Inca defines to this
day what Cusco means for both visitors and inhabitants, the history of Cusco has
always been that of the superimposition of one culture upon another, and the
magnificent city we see today is the result of the imposition of Western culture on
Andean culture, both in its incomparable architectural treasures and in the character
and customs of its population.
Doctor Flores Ochoa takes us from the distant origins of the city, through the colonial
epoch and the tensions that would shake the city as much as the 1650 earthquake, to
the Republican era and the fight for independence from Spain, up to the 20th century
and the rise of the urban working class, the arrival of the railway and of modern
science, and finally international tourism, with the scientific discovery of the Inca city
of Machupicchu, an event that would ensure that Cuscos destiny will always be
linked to its glorious past.
TO THE READER:
AL LECTOR:
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AGRADECIMIENTOS
Al Ingeniero Dante Astete Canal, Vicerrector
Acadmico de la Universidad Nacional San
Antonio Abad del Cusco por permitir el uso
de las fotografas del Archivo del Museo Inka.
Igualmente a la Arqueloga Antonia Miranda
Ayerbe por las facilidades concedidas para
revisar el archivo fotogrfico del Museo.
A don Jos Ignacio Lmbarri Orihuela por su
gentil autorizacin para usar fotografas de
su Archivo personal.
Al arq. Mario Castillo Centeno por facilitarnos las fotografas de su archivo personal.
A la Embajada de los Estados Unidos, por el
auspicio en la versin digital de este texto.
Al Sr. Stephen Light, traductor de la versin
en ingls.
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Cuesta de la Amargura
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Casa Cuzquea
El Centro del Universo Andino
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The city of Cusco is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, in the Americas.
The first history was written by Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, the son of
an Inca princess and a Spanish captain. The book combines the
devotion the author felt towards his native city with original source
material and the oral traditions passed on by his maternal relatives,
who were members of the Inca royal family. This information was
interpreted and presented in the context of the theories of the time.
Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, for the benefit of his Iberian readers, used
metaphors from the ancient history of the Old World, one of which
was the idea that the city of Cusco formed the navel of the world,
paralleling the Catholic symbolism of the sacred history of Jerusalem.
Garcilaso de la Vega, thinking in the aforementioned terms, was
undoubtedly thinking of other Andean concepts, such as that which
considered Qosqo to be the centre of the Andean universe, or Chawpi
in Quechua, the centre of the centre: a sacred city, like Jerusalem
in the Old World. The phrase navel of the world, was taken up
quickly and is still used to the present day.
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La ciudad es una de las ms antiguas, sino la ms antigua del continente. Su primera historia es obra del Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, hijo
de princesa inca y capitn espaol. La obra conjuga la devocin que
senta por su ciudad natal, con uso de fuentes escritas del momento,
unida a tradiciones orales odas de sus parientes maternos, miembros de uno de los linajes reales incas. La informacin fue interpretada y expuesta utilizando teoras que se utilizaban en la poca.
El Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, para que le entendieran los lectores
peninsulares, utiliz metforas de la historia antigua del Viejo Mundo. Una fue afirmar que su ciudad fue centro, el ombligo del mundo,
parafraseando el simbolismo que se daba a la Jerusaln de la historia sagrada del catolicismo.
Garcilaso de la Vega, al usar esta valoracin, pens, sin duda, en
otras concepciones andinas. Como la que consideraba que el Qosqo
natal fue centro del universo andino, en palabras quechuas el chawpi,
el centro del centro. Ciudad sagrada, similar a la Jerusaln del mundo clsico. Su nominacin de ombligo del mundo, encontr fcil y
rpida acogida, como que se sigue utilizando hasta la actualidad.
El Centro del Universo Andino
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Calle Hatunrumiyoc
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Calle Cabracancha
Garcilaso goes on to give details of the organisation of the city, the buildings that were
erected and the roles of men and women. In conclusion, he writes:
Nothing related to human life was forgotten by our princes as they taught their first vassals,
and the Inca King was lord of the men and the Coya Queen ruled over the women (1609).
The myth of the Brothers Ayar is told in several barely differing versions, and seems
to have been a well-known story told by ordinary people.
Polo de Ondegardo relates an interesting version of the myth, called The Four Ayar
Brothers. In the place known as Pacaritambo, named also by Garcilaso, is the hill of
Tambo Toco, which has three caves called Maras Toco, Sutic Toco and at the centre
Capac Toco, the main cave, decorated with gold and other riches. From Maras
Toco the Maras nation emerged, who live in Cuzco. From Sutic Toco the Tambos
nation emerged, who populated the outskirts. From Capac Toco emerged four men
and four women. It should be noted that the Quechua kinship system is bilateral, and
the term cousin is not used. All the members of a family are considered brothers
and sisters. The myth states:
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La ciudad inca
Los incas relatan su origen mediante la narracin de mitos. Los ms conocidos son de
La pareja de Manko Qhapaq y Mama Oqllo y de Los Hermanos Ayar.
La versin de Manko Qhapaq y Mama Oqllo, es la ms conocida porque la narra el
Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. Cuenta que Nuestro Padre el Sol, viendo la vida primitiva
de los humanos, se apiad de ellos. Envi del cielo a la tierra un hijo y una hija para
que los civilizaran, les diesen preceptos y leyes, para que viviesen como hombres en
razn y hurbanidad, para que tuviesen casas y ciudades, aprendiesen a trabajar la
tierra, cultivaran plantas, criaran ganado, gozando de la tierra como hombres racionales y no como bestias.
El Padre Sol puso a la pareja original en el Lago Titicaca, mandndoles caminaran
con una barra de oro, que clavaran en el suelo. Donde se hundiera, hasta desaparecer, indicara que haban llegado al sitio elegido para fundar la ciudad capital, que era
su mandato.
La pareja caminando lleg a Pacarec Tampu, ms o menos a cuarenta kilmetros de
la actual ciudad del Cozco, a donde como refiere el Inca Garcilaso:
llegaron [Manco Capac] y su mujer, nuestra Reina, a este valle del Cozco, que entonces todo
l estava hecho montaa brava.
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y otras riquezas. De Maras-Toco sali sin tener padres, la nacin de los Maras, que
viven en el Cuzco. De Sutic-Toco sali la nacin de los tambos, que poblaron los
alrededores. De la ventana Capac-Toco salieron cuatro hombres y cuatro mujeres,
que se llamaron hermanos. Se hace notar que el sistema de parentesco quechua es
de tipo bilateral, no usa el trmino de primos. Por tanto todos los miembros de un
linaje se tratan como hermanos-as. El mito cuenta:
[...] Salieron y fueron producidos de la dicha ventana [Capac-Toco] por mandato de Ticci Viracocha,
Dios Supremo, que los haba criado para ser principales, por lo que tomaron el nombre inga, que
es lo mismo que decir seor. Y porque salieron de la ventana Capac-Toco, tomaron por sobrenombre capac, que quiere decir rico (1609).
Qued slo Mango Capac, acompaado de las cuatro mujeres, que fueron esposas de
sus hermanos. Ingresaron al valle, tomando posesin de sus tierras, luego de algunos
encuentros violentos con los habitantes, en los que Mama Guaco pele con tal nimo
que hizo huir a los ocasionales enemigos. Tomado que fue el valle dentre los dos
ros, construyeron con gran diligencia la Casa del Sol, que llamaron Indicancha.
Para edificar viviendas trazaron cuadras o cancha. Tal era el origen de la ciudad.
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And he remained as a marker, which in the language of this valley is called coszo, from
which the name the city bears today comes from.
Only Manco Capac remained, accompanied by the four women, who were his brothers
wives. They entered the valley, taking possession of its lands after a series of violent
clashes with the inhabitants, during which Mama Guaco fought so bravely that she
drove the enemy away. With the valley between two rivers under their control, they
built with great care the House of the Sun, which they called Inticancha. For the
construction of their dwellings they laid out a series of canchas, or blocks, which
formed the origin of the city.
Inca Splendour
In the government of the first Incas of Cozco, myth is interwoven with history. From
the reign of the Inca Yupanqui, who took the name Pachacutec, the oral traditions of
the Incas, recorded by the Spanish chroniclers, acquire consistency and veracity,
although there exists always the possibility that they are in part propaganda designed
to embellish the origin of the Incas. Such is the case with the Chanca invasion, for
there is no archaeological evidence to prove their existence, or any other record of
this people in the Qozco valley. Inca history gave special significance to this invasion,
marking as it did the beginning of Inca greatness in the context of complex material,
social and ideological development in the 15th century up until the moment of European
irruption.
The Chancas came from the north. According to the origin myths they emerged from
Lake Choclococha, located in the present-day department of Huancavelica. They may
have been llama or alpaca herders, an activity that would lend credence to their
supposedly bellicose nature and also account for their mobility. The herders of the
Andean puna tell how the llamas and alpacas emerged from the underworld using the
lakes and springs as pathways, and that they came to serve mankind.
According to tradition, the Chanca invasion occurred during the reign of Inca
Wiracocha. This Inca is said to have fled the city with his children and other relatives.
He took refuge in the citadel of Caquia Xaquixaguana, also known as Huchuy Qosqo,
or Little Qosqo.
Cozco was defenceless, easy prey for the invading Chancas. It was then that Inca
Yupanqui gathered the chiefs and soldiers who remained in the city to organise its
defence. Their requests for help from neighbouring settlements were met with refusal.
When everything seemed lost, Inca Yupanqui saw the god Wiracocha in a dream, and
the god told him he would defeat the invader.
Inca Yupanqui deployed his troops strategically. In order to frighten the enemy, he
ordered that shields, helmets and weapons be placed on rocks to simulate combatants.
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Calle Choquechaca
Esplendor inca
En el gobierno de los primeros incas del Cozco, la historia se entreteje con el mito. A
partir de Inka Yupanqui, que tom el nombre de Pachakuti, los registros de la tradicin oral inca, que tomaron los cronistas, adquieren consistencia y veracidad, aunque siempre con posibilidad que sean cantares de gesta creadas por los incas para
realzar su origen. Es lo que sucede con la conocida invasin chanca, puesto que no se
cuenta con evidencias arqueolgicos que prueben su existencia, menos la presencia
de este pueblo en el valle del Qosqo. La historia inca consider esta invasin como
referencia especial, que marca el inicio del auge incaico, que alcanz desarrollo material, social e ideolgico, con niveles de gran complejidad en el siglo XVI, al momento
de la invasin europea.
Los chancas procedan del norte. Segn sus mitos de origen salieron de la laguna de
Choclococha, que se encuentra en el actual departamento de Huancavelica. PosibleEl Centro del Universo Andino
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The battle was fierce. At a certain moment the Inca let out two great shouts, invoking
divine intervention, and it is said that the rocks transformed themselves into warriors
who pressed home the attack on the Chancas. These rocks became known as the
pururauca, and became objects of veneration. This divine intervention rallied the
Inca troops and they won their reputation as invincible soldiers that day. It was this
myth that was to later persuade several tribes to surrender rather than risk combat.
At the height of the battle, Inca Yupanqui, surrounded by his closest followers, tackled
the enemy in person. He took possession of the image of the sun the Chancas had
been carrying as their royal standard. The terrified Chancas turned and fled, pursued
by the Incas who caught up with them at Ichopampa, where they were finally defeated
and submitted to Inca rule. In 1619, Cristbal de Albornoz wrote:
... The Changas ran, and it is said that they became condors in order to escape. And
the remaining clans of the Changas are known as condor guachos (orphan condors)
(1613).
In the midst of the battle fought around the city many heroic deeds were performed by
the Incas. It is said that the Coya Queen Chaan Curicoca fought valiantly with the
courage of a man, and according to another historical source: A woman called Chaan
Curicoca fought like a man and so effectively that she put the Chancas into retreat.
The deeds of Chaan Curicoca were said to have been of such magnitude that they
were portrayed on Inca ceremonial vessels of the 17th and 18th century, during colonial rule. An oil painting of her exploits which now hangs in the Museo Inka in the city
of Cozco was also produced during this period.
After his victory, Inca Yupanqui took the name Pachacuti, or Pachacutec. The name
means Transformer, The Earth Shaker, or Cataclysm and Earthquake.
Splendour of Qosqo
With the government of Pachacutec began the period of Inca imperial splendour and
the golden age of their capital city. With his own hands, the Inca modelled the image
of the new city. He demolished buildings and introduced urban and architectural
changes. He built the new House of the Sun Qoricancha. He altered the social
structure, redistributing land and crops, organising state administration and initiating
political expansion. As he was a deeply religious man, he modified religion to include
ceremonies and worship.
Without question, Pachacutec was also the builder of Machu Picchu, which formed
part of his royal hacienda, as John H. Rowe has described the properties pertaining
to the last Incas. He also ordered the construction of Saqsaywaman, known to the
Spanish as the fortress.
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En la cruenta batalla, que se generaliz por los alrededores de la ciudad, se produjeron hechos de heroicidad de los incas. Uno lo protagoniz la qoya Chaan Curicoca,
que pele balerosamente como muger baronil y segn otra fuente histrica una
mujer llamada Chaan Curicoca, pele varonilmente, y tanto hizo por las manos
contra los Chancas que por all haban acometido que los hizo retirar.
La accin de Chaan Curicoca fue de tal magnitud que su hazaa se perenniz en las
pinturas de los vasos ceremoniales incas de los siglos XVII y XVIII, en el gobierno
colonial. Tambin fue pintada en singular lienzo que se exhibe en el Museo Inka de la
ciudad del Cozco.
El Centro del Universo Andino
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Qosqo became the real and ideal Inca urban model, and the new cities founded by the
Incas during their period of expansion reproduced its characteristics. These were not
simply material repetitions of Qosqos architectural forms, as the Quechua writer
Guaman Poma de Ayala describes:
There is another Qosqo in Quito and another in Tumi and another in Guanuco and another in
Hatuncolla and another in the Charcas. (1615)
Subsequent descriptions reiterate or confirm such praise. It is evident that the urban
organisation of the city was unique. Other eyewitnesses who saw the Inca city are
also generous with their praise for the capital of the empire of Tawantinsuyu.
The city was designed in the form of the silhouette of a puma. Todays street names
confirm this. The present-day street of Pumacurco corresponds to the spinal column
of that feline. The confluence of the Tullumayu and Saphy streams is the Pumaqchupan
street, the pumas tail. The great plaza of Haucaypata, the celebration platform,
transformed by the Spanish into their Plaza Mayor or Plaza de Armas, was the area
separating the fore and hindquarters of the puma. The head was Saqsaywaman, which
several sources mention as Saqsauma, which means lions head in Quechua.
The puma city motif is confirmed in the arrangement of other Inca urban centres,
which variously resemble the images of birds, felines or other animals linked to Inca
mythology.
The city plan is based on kanchas, or blocks. These were enclosed spaces with a
single entrance. The interior rooms were built around an open central area. This
arrangement is confirmed by the archaeological remains of Kusikancha, the kancha
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located on the present-day street of Maruri. This was one of the properties of Pachacutec
Inca Yupanqui. The excavation and restoration work made by the National Institute
of Culture confirms the Inca kancha system.
The important public buildings, the sovereigns houses and those of the elite occupied
the nucleus of the city. The centre was the great plaza and the adjoining streets. Its
ideological importance stems from the Andean conception of space. Qosqo was
considered to be the centre of the Andean universe of Tawantinsuyu and the chawpi,
the great plaza at the centre of the city, was also the centre of the world.
In the citys nucleus the Inca governors lived with their extended matriarchal royal
lineage, or panaca, as well as the many servants needed to run their household. In
the outskirts of the city were the secondary settlements, where the common people
lived. Many of these became parishes after 1533. There were also temples and storage
facilities. It is difficult to estimate with any precision the number of urban inhabitants.
Estimates vary between 20,000 and 200,000. A significant figure if we remember its
pre-industrial nature, for it was much larger than 16th century European cities.
Inca Garcilaso affirms that Cozco was the description of the whole empire 1609).
The city itself was laid out according to principles known today as duality and
opposition, which govern the organisation of the space and structure of Andean society
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to this day. The natural and social universe follow this division, combining the
relationship between above and below, east and west, masculine and feminine. The
sacred city and imperial capital was planned and built according to these principles.
del espacio y la estructura de la sociedad andina del pasado y del presente. El universo natural y social sigue est divisin, completada con relaciones de arriba y abajo, este y oeste, masculino y femenino. La ciudad sagrada y capital del imperio, estuvo planeada y edificada de acuerdo a estos principios.
La divisin dual
Desde Manco Capac, el fundador mtico, la ciudad tomando como referencia la plaza
central, se dividi en mitades. Una se llam Hanan Qosqo, el Qosqo de Arriba, con
sentido masculino, la otra mitad es Hurin Qosqo, el Qosqo de Abajo, con sentido
femenino. La lnea imaginaria que traza la divisin, cruza la gran plaza del Haucaypata
de levante a poniente, siguiendo el movimiento del sol.
De arriba y abajo se desprenden relaciones mltiples, como originario y forastero,
ms antiguo o recin llegado, masculino y femenino, mayor y menor, sagrado y profano, hasta formas de alta complejidad ideolgica.
Hanan y Urin estaban divididos por otra lnea imaginaria, que cruzaba la plaza del
Haucaypata con direccin norte a sur. El centro de la plaza era del cruce de las lneas
imaginarias, formando el eje o axis del universo andino. Este centro o chawpi fue el
centro del centro.
La cuatriparticin que resultaba del cruce de lneas, sealaba las direcciones de las
cuatro partes del mundo o suyu del imperio. Su ubicacin define los cuartos, aunque
no exactamente, puesto que no se trataba de representaciones fsicas del espacio
real, sino del ideolgico.
En la mitad Hanan estaban, hacia el este, la direccin del Antisuyo, la regin
amaznica, hacia el oeste el Chinchasuyu. En el Urin hacia el levante se ubicaba el
Qollasuyu, al poniente el Cuntisuyu. La relacin inicial de mitades expresaba que
Antisuyu y Chinchaysuyo eran masculinos y Qollasuyu y Cuntisuyu femeninas, en
principio, puesto que el desarrollo ideolgico se presta a diversas transformaciones.
La cuatriparticin representa el equilibrio del mundo material y espiritual. De esta
manera la armona se estableca con la presencia, en la mitad de arriba, masculinomasculino y el masculino-femenino. La simetra y equilibro se corresponda con la
mitad de abajo que era femenino-femenino y femenino-masculino. Estas relaciones
reglamentaban las uniones matrimoniales de los linajes reales.
Chinchaysuyu se vincula con la agricultura, en contraposicin Qollasuyu posee mayor riqueza ganadera. Antisuyu en direccin a la amazona, representa la caza de
animales silvestres, provea coca, madera, plumas, cera, oro. El Cuntisuyu es la costa, que permite acceder a pescados, coca y algas (qochayuyo).
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This ideal city structure corresponds to a complete vision of the social, material and
spiritual world of the Incas. It is important to add that the harmonious relationship
between masculine and feminine continues to the present day in the mentality of
Quechua and Aymara people, governing thought, life and actions in Andean culture.
The other half of the great plaza, across the Huatanay river, was Cusipata, a plaza
almost as large as Haucaypata. According to Gonzlez Holgun this was the plaza of
joy, where displays or military shows were staged. It stood on the site of the presentday Town Hall square, where the Republican-era Municipal Palace stands. Its other
name is Plaza Regocijo, a direct Spanish translation of the Quechua Cusipata, which
it is also known as to this day.
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La plaza central
La gran plaza estaba dividida por el ro Saphy, que corra por cauce canalizado con
muros de piedras finamente labradas. La parte que corresponde a la actual Plaza
Mayor se denominaba Haucaypata. Para el etnohistoriador John H. Rowe, de acuerdo
a fuentes escritas de los siglos XVI-XVII, significa andn del descanso. Diego Gonzlez
Holgun autor de magnfico diccionario quechua del siglo XVII, refiere es la plaza del
Cuzco, de las fiestas, huelgas y borracheras (1608). El Inca Garcilaso incluye valiosa
descripcin de la plaza, que contribuye a entender su nombre:
Delante de aquellas casas que fueron casas reales est la plaza principal de la ciudad,
llamada Haucaipata, que es andn o plaza de fiestas y regocijos. Tendr norte sur, doscientos pasos de largo poco ms o menos que son cuatrocientos pies; y leste hueste, cincuenta
pasos de ancho hasta el arroyo [...]. (1609)
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The idealised lines that divided the plaza in quarters were ceques. Each suyu had
three levels known as qollana, payan and cayao, which corresponded to the first,
second and third. These referred to the generations of grandfather, father and son, as
well as to the hierarchy of the Inca, his wife and other relatives.
The ceques emerged from the city and extended in the four directions or suyus. Along
these lines were located sacred sites known as wakas. There were 360 of these, although
some sources state that there were as many as 400. This division of sacred wakas
along the ceques is related to the measurement of time within a predetermined space.
The interpretations are diverse, from those that describe them as signposts to sacred
sites, marking territorial or social possession, to those that see them as a form of
calendar. They clearly indicate sacred directions. The system was applied in other
cities built in the image of imperial Cozco.
Clearly, the square was a most sacred place. The sand was renewed continuously,
because it was taken to other places to be venerated, conferring on those sites where
it was deposited the sacred characteristics of Cozco. The sacredness of the imperial
capital was exported to the entire Andean world.
The coastal sand had other meanings. Sources of water, such as lakes, had special
religious significance. They are still sacred sites for communicating with Ukhupacha,
the Interior World, the origin of life, where living beings are regenerated and return
to Kaypacha, This World, in order to continue the cycle of life and death. Lakes and
springs are paths for communication between these two worlds, these two planes of
life experiencing constant renewal.
The ocean, as the greatest body of water, has the greatest capacity to generate life. To
the modern Quechuas it is known as Mamaqocha, the mother of all sources of water.
Water, sand and living creatures from this immense life source possess magical powers.
The importance of seashells and starfish for the Incas is still felt today. When in the
36
de abuelo, padre e hijo. Tambin se considera que estaban en relacin con la jerarqua del inca, su esposa y los dems parientes.
Los ceques salan de la ciudad, prologndose por las cuatro direcciones -suyu-. A
lo largo de estas lneas se ubicaban lugares sagrados conocidos como waka. Fueron 360, aunque de acuerdo a otras fuentes sumaban 400. Esta divisin de waka,
sagrado, en los ceques, se relaciona con medicin del tiempo, dentro de un espacio
determinado. Las interpretaciones son diversas, desde las que afirman son seales
de sitios sagrados, que marcan posesin, referencias territoriales y sociales. Tambin las consideran forma especial de calendario. Es evidente que sealan direcciones sagradas. El sistema se aplic a otras ciudades, construdas a imagen del Cozco imperial.
The gold and silver objects referred to by Polo de Ondegardo are illas, sacred
representations of what the inhabitants of this world wish to obtain. Their function
was to increase herds, crops and human reproduction.
In the main plaza, each day, llamas were sacrificed. The quantity, colour and other
characteristics varied according to the nature of the ceremony, the day and the god to
whom the offering was being made. Sometimes hundreds of llamas were sacrificed, at
other times dozens. Sometimes they were white, although they might also be black or
multicoloured. This type of offering is still practiced today, especially in the highland
herding communities.
Public ceremonies were also performed. Pedro Pizarro describes those he was able to
attend. Interestingly, he refers to the mummified remains of the Inca sovereigns:
Each day they took them all to the plaza and sat them in order according to their age,
lighting fires for them with wood they has already dried and carefully cut. They then burned
everything that had been placed before the dead for them to eat and the fire consumed it all.
Also in front of these dead there were gold or silver or pottery vessels in which chicha was
served and shown to the dead, with living saluting the dead and the dead saluting the living.
They also took out a small bundle they said was the sun. There was in the middle of the
plaza a stage covered with weavings and painted and very delicate feathers, and on this they
placed the bundle then they gave this bundle food and drink.
In the centre of the plaza stood the usnu, a ceremonial platform with finely-wrought
stone walls, with steps leading to the top where there was a sacred stone and a
fountain. It was here that the main ceremonies were performed. The sun was invoked,
and he would descend to drink the chicha which the priests offered him from golden
cups. According to Betanzos:
38
charon de arena de la costa de la mar como hasta dos palmos y medio, en algunas partes ms;
sembraron por toda ella muchos vasos de oro y plata y ovejuelas y hombrecillos pequeos de los
mismo, lo cual se ha sacado en mucha cantidad que todo lo hemos visto; de esta arena estaba
toda la plaza cuando yo fui a gobernar aquella ciudad, y si fue verdad que aquella arena se trajo
de ellos afirman y tienen puestos en sus registros, parecem que ser as que toda la tierra junta
tuvo necesidad de entender en ellos, porque la plaza es grande y no tiene nmero las cargas que
en ella entraron y la costa, por lo ms cerca, est ms de 90 leguas, a lo que creo, y cierto yo me
satisfice, por todos dicen que aquel gnero de arena no la hay hasta la costa. (1571)
En la plaza, cada da, se ofrecan sacrificios de llamas. El nmero, color y otras caractersticas variaban de acuerdo a las ceremonias, los das y la divinidad a la que se
ofrecan. En ocasiones se ofrendaban cientos de llamas, en otras decenas. Unas veces blancas, otras negras o coloradas. Este tipo de ofrendas se practican hoy da,
especialmente en las comunidades de pastores de las tierras altas de la puna.
39
Calle Palacio
The usnu was placed in the plaza by Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui as a symbol of the Sun.
(1551)
It was not a statue or a figure or a representation of the sun, but rather an abstract
symbol considered to be its equivalent (Rowe 1995).
Wherever it is found, an usnu is a sign of the presence of the Inca. They are found
throughout the old territory of Tawantinsuyu. In Ecuador there is one at Ingapirca. To
the south of Santiago de Chile and in northern Argentina they were also built, as they
were near the source of the Amazon, at almost 5000 metres above sea level, at
Condesuyus in the department of Arequipa.
From the great plaza the great road system of Qhapaq an, or Hatun an, began,
following the directions of the four suyus. Today the start of these highways can be
traced by following the colonial-era streets, where the bases of Inca walls remain as
evidence. The road to Chinchaysuyu is now the streets of Plateros, Saphy and Con40
Tambin haba ceremonias pblicas. Pedro Pizarro describe algunas que pudo presenciar. Es interesante cuando se refiere a los cuerpos momificados de los reyes
gobernantes:
[...] cada dia los sacaban la plaza todos, sentndolos en la ringlera cada uno segn su
antiguedad [...] y [...] hacanles unas lumbres delante de ellos de una lea que tenan labrada
y cortada muy igual y muy seca; encendida esta quemaban aqu todo aquello que la muerte
le habian puesto delante para que comiese de todo lo que ellos comian y aqui en este fuego lo
consumian. Tenan tambin delante destos muertos unos cangilones grandes que ellos llamaban verquis de oro de plata de barro, cada uno como queran y aqu hechaban la
chicha que el muerto le daban mostrndosela, convidndose unos muertos otros, y los
muertos los vivos y los vivos los muertos [...] Ansimesmo sacaban un bulto pequeo
tapado que decian que era el Sol [...] Al Sol tenian puesto en mitad de la Plaza un escao
pequeo, todo guarnecido de mantas de pluma muy pintadas y muy delicadas, y aqu ponian
este bulto [...] puesto que daban de comer a este Sol por la orden que tengo dicho le daban
los muertos, y de beber [...].
El Centro del Universo Andino
41
quista. The road to Antisuyu became the streets of Triunfo, Hatunrumiyoc and Cuesta San Blas, and went on to the village of Pisaq. The great highway to Qollasuyu
followed the route now taken by the streets of Santa Catalina Ancha, Ruinas, Recoleta
and the avenue that conserves the name Qollasuyu. Cuntisuyu lay in the direction
now covered by the streets Marquez, Santa Clara, Almudena and then on to Chala on
the Pacific coast.
42
En el centro de la plaza estaba el usnu. Denominacin que corresponde a la plataforma, de muros finamente labrados, con escalinata de acceso a la parte superior, donde estaban la piedra sagrada y una fuente. En ellas se efectuaban las principales
ceremonias. Se invocaba al Sol, que descenda para beber la chicha que le ofrecan
los sacerdotes en vasos de oro. De acuerdo al informe de Betanzos, el:
Usnu fue puesta en la plaza por Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui como smbolo del sol [...] para en
que la gente comn adorase [...] usnu fue una piedra que significaba el Sol (1551).
No fue una estatua, figura o representacin del Sol, sino smbolo abstracto que se
consideraba su equivalente (Rowe, 1995).
Donde quiera que se le encuentre, el usnu es signo de la presencia inca. Se los halla
a lo largo del antiguo territorio del Tawantinsuyu. Estn en sitios de Ecuador, como
El Centro del Universo Andino
43
They were accommodated in one of the royal houses known as the Amarucancha which
had belonged to Huayna Capac, for as divine beings they were to stay in the house of the
greatest and most beloved of their kings. It was a beautiful round chamber at the entrance to
the Amarucancha. I saw the building; the walls were very high, but the roof was so high it
rivalled any tower in Spain I have seen, except the one in Seville. It was covered and round.
On the roof, instead of a weathervane, for the Indians observed the winds, it had a very tall
and thick spike, which greatly increased its height as well as its beauty. It was more than
sixty feet high and was called Sunturhuaci, which means great house, and there was no
other building to compare with it. In my day it was demolished to make way for the plaza as
it is now (1609)
44
45
This description of the building has been attributed to Garcilasos imagination or his
advanced age at the time he wrote his masterwork.
The centre of the city between the two rivers was occupied by the residences of the
royal lineages. Established custom meant that each Inca king built a great palace to
house his mummified remains and receive worshippers. The mummy was fed and its
clothes were changed several times a day. This task was entrusted to his sister, pana
in Quechua, and the royal lines founded by the death of an Inca sovereign were
therefore known as panakas.
There were as many panakas as there were dead Incas. Their kanchas occupied the
main areas of the city. The Kusikancha, which had belonged to Pachacutec, gives us
an idea of the form of these constructions. It occupied the site of todays Maruri and
Santo Domingo, and is currently being excavated and restored by the National Institute
of Culture.
Another public space was the plaza Intipampa, close to the Coricancha, the main
temple dedicated to the Punchao, the god whose image was the sun. This site is now
occupied by the Dominican Order.
Places of Worship
Coricancha means the cancha of gold, or golden enclosure. As we have said, the
first temple was erected by Manco Inca, who named it the Intiwasi, or House of the
Sun. Pachacutec Inca transformed the temple when he built the new city. In the
words of the meticulous chronicler Pedro Cieza de Len:
This temple is as old as the city of Cuzco itself. Inca Yupanqui, son of Inca Wiracocha, increased
its richness and left the building as it was until the Christians entered Peru, when its treasure
was taken to Cajamarca as Atahualpas ransom. After defeating the Chancas, Pachacutec
decided to improve the House of the Sun, which in their language they called Indoguaxe
(Intihuasi), and rename it Curicancha, which means enclosure of gold. (1550)
The temple itself was a great open central space, around which were buildings housing
sacred objects of worship. It is said that there was a garden with life-sized plants and
animals made of gold. The description and names of the chambers is based on the
description of Inca Garcilaso de la Vega.
Saqsaywaman also impressed the Spanish. It was another House of the Sun, as
Cieza de Len describes it. The solidity of its architecture gave it the attributes of a
fortress temple. Cieza de Len writes:
On a hill in the northern part of the city, at the highest point, a little more than a harquebus
shot from the plaza, stood this fort the natives called the House of the Sun, and we call the
Fortress. (1550)
46
Calle Cabracancha
47
Calle Romeritos
It was built a short distance from the urban nucleus, on the summit of a hill which
can be seen from the Haucaypata square. During the Qosqo rebellion of 1536, the
Incas occupied the site and from there harried the Spanish, who took refuge in one of
the buildings on the plaza. It had also been the site of fierce battles between the Incas
and the Chancas, before it became a battleground against the Spaniards. In the fight
against the European invader, the story of a valiant Inca is told. He resisted to the
end, and rather than fall into enemy hands he jumped from the high tower of the
fortress.
To give an idea of the sheer size of Saqsaywaman, the adjective megalithic is employed.
The great stones that form the walls have inspired this description. One historical
source states that one of the Inca rulers completed the puma shape of the city by
creating Sacsayhuaman in the form of the pumas head. The description of
Saqsaywaman written by Inca Garcilaso shows his admiration:
48
Espacios de culto
Coricancha es La cancha de oro, o Cercado de Oro. El primer templo, como se
indic, lo edific Mango Inca, llamndolo Intiwasi, la Casa del Sol. Pachacuti Inca
Yupanqui lo transform al planificar la estructura de la nueva ciudad. En palabras
de Pedro Cieza de Len, acucioso y cuidadoso cronista:
I es pblico entre los indios, ser este templo tan antiguo como la mesma ciudad del Cuzco; ms
de que el Inca Yupanqui; hijo de Viracocha Inca, lo acrecent en riquezas y par tal como estaba
cuando los christianos entraron en el Per; y lo ms del tesoro fue llevado a Caxamarca como el
rescate de Atahualpa [... despus de derrotar a los chancas Pachacuti...] acord de ennoblecer la
Casa del Sol - que en su lengua llaman Indoguaxe [Intihuasi] y por otro nombre la llamaban
Curicancha, que quiere decir cercado de oro,- y acrecentalla con riqueza [....]. (1550)
El templo mismo fue el gran espacio central abierto, alrededor del cual estaban construcciones, para guardar objetos sagrados y de culto. Se cuenta tena un jardn con
plantas y animales de tamao natural hechos de oro. Varias fuentes de agua, completaban la estructura del gran espacio dedicado al culto. La descripcin y nombres
de los recintos techados, se basan en informaciones del Inca Garcilaso de la Vega.
Saqsaywaman es otra construccin que impresion a los hispanos. Fue Otra Casa
del Sol, como bien refiere Cieza de Len que se ocupa de ella. La solidez de la arquiEl Centro del Universo Andino
49
The greatest and most superb work they ordered to show their power and majesty was the
fortress of Cuzco, the greatness of which is incredible to all those who have seen it, for those
who study it carefully still believe it was built by sorcery and not by men. (1609)
In the outskirts of Cozco are other structures such as Kenko, Tambomachay, Puka
Pukara and others. They were erected for ceremonies and other activities related to
the life of the city, including the worship of the mummies of the Inca sovereigns and
other ceremonies linked to the nobility.
Inca Resistance
Soon after they arrived, the Spanish began to abuse the inhabitants. Guided by religious
zeal and material ambition, they began to destroy places of worship, effigies and
anything they deemed the work of the devil, as they sought the gold that had been
50
tectura indujo se le tuviera por fortaleza, para guardar la ciudad de enemigos. Refiere Cieza de Len:
Y as, en un cerro que est a la parte del Norte de la ciudad, en lo ms alto della, poco ms de
un tiro de arcabuz, se fabric esta fuerza que los naturales llamaron Casa del Sol, y los
nuestros nombran la Fortaleza.(1550)
Resistencia inca
Pronto comenzaron los abusos de los nuevos ocupantes del Cuzco. Guiados por celo
religioso y ambiciones materiales, comenzaron a destruir lugares de culto, efigies y
cuanto pareciere obra del diablo, as como por ansia del oro que hubiera sido ocultado. La respuesta inca fue buscar de revertir el trastoque del orden lgico del mundo.
Manco Inca encabez la guerra de resistencia contra la presencia espaola. El 3 de
mayo de 1536 inici el sitio del Qosqo. Los encuentros fueron violentos. Los incas se
hicieron fuertes en Saqsaywaman. De all atacaban a los espaoles, lanzaban piedras
El Centro del Universo Andino
51
hidden from them. The Inca response was to try to restore the logical order that had
reigned until then in their world.
Manco Inca led a war of resistance against the Spanish presence. On May 3rd 1536
the siege of Qosqo began. The fighting was fierce. The Incas made Saqsaywaman their
stronghold. From there they attacked the Spanish, launching hot stones to set fire to
the straw roofs of the city and diverting water channels to flood the streets.
With the help of other ethnic groups the Spanish continued to arrive in Peru, and
with the reinforcements supplied by 30,000 Caari, Chachapoyas and other allies
from northern Peru, the siege began to weaken. It was said that supernatural events
came to the aid of the Spanish; the Immaculate Virgin of Sunturhuasi came to their
aid as did the mounted figure of Saint James, transformed from slayer of Moors to
destroyer of Indians.
Francisco Pizarro sent several detachments of troops from Lima, none of which arrived
because they were exterminated en route by the rebels led by Tito Cusi Yupanqui.
Lima was besieged, but as they entered the city they were ambushed by cavalry and
retreated.
52
53
In Cusco the desperate Spaniards took over the House of the Sun and made it their
stronghold. The fighting was bloody, and despite their great heroism, the Incas were
defeated at Saqsaywaman on May 16th 1536.
The siege of Cuzco had repercussions for both sides. Some Indians learned to ride
horses. Manco Inca himself marshalled his forces mounted on a white horse with
sword in hand, protected by the cuirasse and helmet of a Spaniard. The besiegers
began to suffer from lack of food as their supplies diminished and Manco Inca ordered
the majority of his force to retire. Finally he decided to lift the siege and withdraw to
the village of Tambo, known afterwards as Ollantaytambo. From there he retreated
east to the highland forests, founding the Kingdom of Vilcabamba, which survived for
forty years.
Manco Inca was assassinated by Spanish Almagrists who had taken refuge with him
during the civil war against the forces of Pizarro. He was succeeded by his son Thupa
Amaro. In 1572, Viceroy Toledo sent an army to capture the Inca and his family and
the sacred image of the Punchao was also taken the gold image of the sun in human
form. Thupa Amaro was tried and executed in the Plaza de Armas, before a grieving
crowd. The Inca raised his hand and the cries of pain and sorrow ceased. The Inca
was decapitated and his head displayed in public. According to the Incas, it became
more beautiful instead of decomposing. It was September 1572 and the Kingdom of
Vilcabamba was no more.
Occupation of Qosqo
The splendid Inca city began to deteriorate, and other cities were founded by the
Spanish, such as Jauja on April 25th 1534. The benign climate of the coast, the need
for a port and an escape route all led to the founding of Lima in January 1535. On this
flat plain the model New World city was built. The streets were straight and laid out
on a grid pattern in blocks like a chess board. This city soon gained pre-eminence
over the others, and became the capital of the Viceroyalty and later the Republic of
Peru.
Civil War
Conflicts soon emerged between the Spanish themselves, giving rise to civil war. The
dispute was between Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro and their respective
forces. The old business partners became sworn enemies. The main reason for the
conflict was the disputed possession of the erstwhile capital of the Incas. The city
changed hands many times: at the beginning of 1534 it was held by Pizarro and in
1537 it fell to Almagro, only to be recaptured by the Pizarrists after the decisive battle
of Las Salinas on April 6th 1538. Victory went to Pizarro and Almagro eventually died
54
no de la regin, era contar con un lugar cercano al mar, para tener puerta de escape
en caso de urgencia. Este criterio condujo a fundar la ciudad de Lima el 18 de enero
de 1535. En este terreno llano se procedi de acuerdo a las disposiciones promulgadas para el Nuevo Mundo. Las calles eran rectas, con el trazo clsico en damero, con
manzanas cuadradas, forma que se ha venido en llamar damero o tablero de ajedrez.
Poco despus esta ciudad adquiri preeminencia sobre las dems, convirtindose en
capital del Virreinato, luego de la repblica peruana.
55
Captain General and Procurator General, and refusing to recognise the investiture of
Nez de Vela. He suspended the New Laws and gained the favour of the Spanish
residents in Peru, who considered themselves too far removed from Spain to obey its
laws.
Nez de Vela embarked for Spain, only to disembark on the northern coast of Peru,
where he organised an army loyal to the king. However, he was defeated at the Battle
of Iaquito on January 15th 1546 and had his throat cut on the battlefield. The news
was not good for the royalists, for it became known that Diego Centeno had led an
uprising in La Plata and was heading for Cuzco intent on occupying the city. He was
halted, however, and put to flight by the chief Pizarrists Francisco de Carbajal and
Lope de Mendoza.
With these victories Gonzalo Pizarro felt strong enough to install himself in Lima. His
followers proposed to crown him king and marry him to Francisca Pizarro, who was
descended from the royal line of Huayna Capac and had been Francisco Pizarros
wife. The aim was to achieve an alliance with the Incas and thereby form a ruling
56
ms porque fue derrotado en el encuentro de Iaquito el 18 de enero de 1546. Siendo degollado en el mismo campo de batalla. Sin embargo las noticias no eran buenas.
Se anunci que Diego Centeno se haba sublevado en La Plata, dirigindose al Cuzco, con el propsito de ocuparlo. Su desplazamiento fue detenido, siendo puesto en
fuga por los jefes pizarristas Francisco de Carbajal y Lope de Mendoza.
Con estas victorias Gonzalo Pizarro se sinti fuerte, instalndose en Lima. Sus partidarios le propusieron se coronara rey, se casara con doa Francisca Pizarro. Esta
dama era de linaje real por ser nieta Huayna Capac. Fue esposa de Francisco Pizarro,
por lo que usaba su apellido. El propsito era lograr apoyo de los incas para formar
una dinasta gobernante de nobleza indiscutible. Gonzalo Pizarro no tom esta decisin, que pudo cambiar la historia.
La corte espaola, asumi medidas urgentes y radicales. Envi al clrigo Pedro de La
Gasca en noviembre de 1546, con envestidura de Presidente de la Audiencia de
Lima, con amplias facultades gubernativas.
La Gasca fue hbil negociador. Logr que la flota pizarrista se pusiera de su lado, que
los pueblos del norte del Per se le unieran. Pizarro dej Lima, dirigindose al sur.
Mientras Diego Centeno, el anterior sublevado, se una a La Gasca, ocupando el
Cuzco. Este ejrcito realista se enfrent al pizarrista, derrotndolo el 20 de octubre de
1547 en Huarina, pueblo de la cuenca del Lago Titicaca.
La Gasca se hizo fuerte, increment sus tropas, avanz al Cuzco. La ineludible batalla
se produjo en Jaquijahuana el 19 de abril de 1548. Las tropas pizarristas fueron
derrotadas, huyendo desordenadamente. As concluyeron las guerras civiles. El resultado fue la consolidacin del gobierno colonial. Lima se termin de convertir en la
ciudad ms importante de la Amrica virreinal.
57
dynasty. Pizarro never took that decision, which would have altered the course of
history.
The Spanish court took urgent and radical measures. It sent the cleric Pedro de la
Gasca in November 1546 as its President of the Audience of Lima, with a strong
mandate.
La Gasca was an able negotiator and he convinced the Pizarrists to come over to his
side and united the northern ethnic groups. Pizarro left Lima and went south.
Meanwhile, Diego Centeno joined La Gasca and occupied Cuzco. This royalist army
confronted the Pizarrists and defeated them at Huarina on October 20th 1547, near
Lake Titicaca.
La Gasca reinforced his troops and advanced on Cuzco. The unavoidable battle was
fought at Jaquijahuana on April 19th 1548. The Pizarrist forces were defeated and
retreated in disorder. The civil wars were over. The result was the consolidation of
colonial government. Lima became the most important city in the viceroyalty of
America.
58
Aquella pieza, en tiempo de los Incas, era un hermoso galpn que en das lluviosos les serva de
plaza para sus fiestas. Fueron casas del Inca Viracocha, octavo Rey; yo no alcanc dellos ms de
el galpn; los espaoles, cuando entraron en aquella ciudad, se alojaron todos en l, por estar
juntos para lo que se les ofreciese. Yo la conoc cubierta de paja y la vi cubrir de teja. (1609)
La destruccin la culmin Polo de Ondegardo, personaje interesante por los testimonios que dej de la historia de los incas. Entre 1559 y 1560, al iniciar la construccin
de la catedral, demoli los edificios que se hallaban al noreste.
Del Cozco partieron expediciones para explorar territorios de la regin. En diciembre
de 1533 el capitn Diego de Aguero y el marino Pedro de Moguer fueron al altiplano,
comprobando la existencia del lago Titicaca, que entonces era conocido como laguna de Chucuito.
Fundacin espaola
Para confirmar la presencia y posesin de los territorios invadidos, se procedi a la
fundacin de la ciudad de acuerdo al ceremonial espaol. Fue el 23 de marzo de
1534. Pizarro rodeado de la tropa que ya eran numerosa, realiz la proclamacin
declarando al Cozco cabecera de toda tierra y seora de la gente que en ella abita.
El 24 de marzo form el cabildo, para gobernar la ciudad. Se designaron dos alcaldes,
Pedro de Candia y Beltrn Castro. Al da siguiente, 25 de marzo, se reuni el cabildo
en Qasana, que era residencia de Pizarro, puesto que el cabildo no haba fijado local.
Leyeron las cdulas reales promulgadas en Toledo el 26 de julio de 1529, nombrando
a Pizarro Gobernador, Adelantado y Capitn General.
En reunin del 29 de octubre de 1534 el Cabildo procedi a la reparticin de solares
a los vecinos espaoles. De esta manera se formaliz el inicio de la alteracin urbana
y destruccin de edificios pblicos y propiedades de la nobleza inca. Estaba comenzado el Cuzco colonial.
La fundacin espaola, rodeada de toda su fanfarria y ceremonial, no ha merecido, ni
merece atencin, ni consideracin de la poblacin cuzquea. No la recuerda ni celebra, a diferencia de las otras ciudades capitales de departamento del pas. Fue la
razn para que creara en 1944 el Da del Cuzco, sealndose el 24 de junio para esta
celebracin. Se considera que la ciudad tiene orgenes mticos, con no menos de tres
mil aos de vida ininterrumpida. Una de las ms antiguas del continente.
Cambios iniciales
La organizacin espaola, consider la organizacin de la ciudad en parroquias. Fue
traslado de sus patrones urbansticos, adems cumpla el propsito de permitir la
doctrina en la fe catlica, mantener controlada la poblacin indgena, mantenerla
El Centro del Universo Andino
59
60
fuera del centro, que fue ocupado por los espaoles. Reemplazaron los barrios que
rodeaban el Qosqo monumental que como se sabe, estaban fuera del espacio delimitado por los ros Tullumayo y Saphy.
A partir del siglo XVI se crearon ocho parroquias de indios sobrepuestos a los barrios
incas y una de espaoles en el sector monumental. La relacin con los barrios incas
es la siguiente:
Parroquia espaola
Barrio inca
Cayaocachi
No precisado
Chaquilchaca
Carmenca
Colcampata
Tococachi
Sau
Uma
La lista no incluye la parroquia del Triunfo, llamada tambin del Sagrario o La Matriz. El rea que era de mayor sacralidad del Qosqo incaico, que tambin ocupaban
los nobles incas, se destin a edificios del culto catlico y para la parroquia de espaoles. Se edificaron la catedral y los mayores templos de la ciudad. De esta manera
se dividi, para mantener separadas, de manera rgida, la poblacin andina de la
espaola. Se inici la Repblica de Indios y la Repblica de Espaoles.
Estas ocho parroquias tienen vida ininterrumpida por ms de cuatro siglos. Solamente los ltimos decenios se han creado nuevas parroquias, por el crecimiento de
la ciudad a partir de 1950. No tienen mayor importancia, ni participan en el calendario de las celebraciones patronales del catolicismo de la ciudad.
La plaza del Haucaypata, pronto comenz a utilizarse como espacio comercial. Se
instalaron vendedoras al menudeo. Los espaoles le dieron el nombre de tianguis,
utilizando la palabra aprendida en Mesoamrica, donde sistema de mercado y lugares de mercado fueron importantes, permitiendo la circulacin de bienes de consumo
diario. Posteriormente se le dio el nombre quechua de qhatu, de donde devino la
denominacin de qhateras y/o gateras a las vendedoras, puesto que eran
mayoritariamente mujeres.
Este tipo de mercado tambin funcion en la plaza del Cusipata, el lugar que ocupa
ahora el edificio llamado El Cuadro, nombre que tom por el edificio que ocupaba
toda la manzana, construida sobre esa parte de la plaza Cusipata. All funcion la
Casa de la Moneda, posteriormente el principal mercado de abastecimiento de la
ciudad. Posteriormente trasladado a la Plaza de San Francisco, donde permaneci
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Spanish Foundation
To confirm the existence and the occupation of the territories invaded, the city was
formally founded by the Spanish on March 23rd 1534. Surrounded by troops, Pizarro
made a proclamation declaring Cozco head of all the land and lord of the people who
inhabit it.
On March 24th a council was formed to govern the city. Two mayors were assigned to
the city: Pedro de Candia and Beltrn Castro. The next day, on March 25th, the council
met in the Qasana, which was now Pizarros residence, for the council still had no
town hall in which to meet. The royal seals drawn up in Toledo in 1529 were read,
naming Pizarro governor and captain general.
In a meeting on October 29th 1534, the council proceeded to divide the land among
the Spanish residents. In this way the urban transformation Cozco was undergoing
was formalised and the destruction of the public buildings and the houses of the Inca
nobility was sealed. Colonial Cuzco was emerging.
The Spanish foundation of the city, surrounded by pomp and ceremony, does not and
has never received the attention of the people of Cozco. It is not remembered or
celebrated, in contrast with the capitals of other departments of Peru. That is why
Cuzco Day was established in 1944, with the date of June 24th chosen for celebration.
The city is credited with mythical origins and at least 3000 years of uninterrupted
life, making it one of the most ancient cities on the continent.
Initial Changes
The Spanish organisation of the city divided it into parishes, which meant a change
of its urban plan and a transition to Catholicism, whilst controlling the indigenous
population by effectively keeping it out of the centre of the city. The neighbourhoods
beyond the space delimited by the Tullumayu and Saphy rivers were established.
From the 16th century onwards eight Indian parishes were created and superimposed
on Inca neighbourhoods, and one Spanish parish was created in the monumental
sector. The relationship with the Inca neighbourhoods is as follows:
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Spanish Parish
Inca neighbourhoods
Cayaocachi
Not known
Chaquilchaca
Carmenca
Colcampata
Tococachi
Sau
Uma
The Center of Andean Universe
hasta la dcada de los aos veinte del siglo XX, cuando se construy el que funciona
hasta ahora en la parroquia de San Pedro.
La ciudad fue cambiando a medida que surgan nuevas concepciones y necesidades
de uso de los espaoles, que teniendo todo el poder en sus manos, realizaron cambios
que se adecuaban a sus propsitos. La plaza del Haucaypata, comenz a ser el centro
comercial de la ciudad. Se construyeron tiendas, que se especializaron por sectores,
dando inicio a los portales de nobles como Carrizos; Carnes; Panes; Harinas;
Confitura; Comercio, que subsisten hasta la actualidad.
El abastecimiento de agua fue problema surgido desde la nueva ocupacin. Se construyeron piletas en diversos lugares, trayendo agua de lugares distantes hasta quince kilmetros. Siguieron funcionando, a mediados el siglo pasado, las de Qantuq en
Santa Clara; la de Arones y Nueva Baja. El Cuzco cuenta con corrientes de agua
subterrnea, que permitieron la instalacin, en numerosas residencias, de pozos
artesianos que proporcionaban agua para servicio domstico.
En 1622 se inaugur el primer teatro. El coliseo o Corral de Comedias funcion en el
local de la antigua crcel en el callejn de Loreto. El otro frente de la crcel daba a la
calle que tom el nombre de Afligidos, inspirado en la triste suerte de los presos. El
nombre y parte del edificio se conservan en la actualidad.
Religin y culto
La religin impuesta us el espacio con ceremonias propias, especialmente las pblicas como las procesiones. Tener presente que los incas tambin las realizaban en las
celebraciones del Oncoymita o el Aya markay, cuando desfilaban cargando las momias de los antepasados. El Inti Raymi se realizaba en el Haucaypata. Dentro de
este ambiente, los cultos catlicos no tuvieron dificultad de ser aceptados, siendo
andinizados.
La imposicin de celebraciones catlicas se cieron a planes trazados cuidadosamente. El Primer Concilio Limense de 1552 dispuso fiestas de observacin de indios y
espaoles. Las doce fiestas para los primeros fueron, a ms de los domingos, de
obligacin, los Reyes; la Ascensin de Cristo, el Corpus Christi; cuatro fiestas de
Nuestra Seora (Natividad, Anunciacin, Purificacin y Asuncin); San Pedro y San
Pablo.
Para los espaoles se dispusieron treinta y siete fiestas. Las principales que se conservan hasta hoy, son Nuestro Seor Jesucristo; la Epifana; Purificacin de Nuestra
Seora; la Anunciacin; Santiago; la Invencin de la Cruz; San Pedro y San Pablo;
Santiago Apstol; Santa Ana; Todos los Santos; Concepcin de Nuestra Seora; la
Natividad de Nuestro Seor Jesucristo; la Pascua de Resurreccin; el Corpus Christi.
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64
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The city continued to change as it adapted to the new concepts and needs of the
Spanish who, with all the power concentrated in their hands, made whatever changes
they saw fit to make. The Haucaypata plaza became the commercial centre of the city.
Shops were built in sectors according to their speciality, giving rise to the portals we
see around the plaza today: Carrizos; Carnes; Panes; Harinas; Confitura; Comercio.
The supply of water became a problem for the new inhabitants of the city. Fountains
were built in several places, bringing water from as far as fifteen kilometres from the
city. These fountains still functioned around the middle of the last century at Qantuq
in Santa Clara and Arones in Nueva Baja. Cuzco is blessed with underground streams,
which facilitated the installation of wells in several residences, providing water for
domestic use.
In 1622 the first theatre opened its doors. The Coliseum, or Corral de Comedias,
operated in the old jail on Loreto street. The other faade of the building was on the
street which came to be known as Afligidos, a name inspired by the sad fate of those
imprisoned there. The name and part of the building survive to this day.
la festividad religiosa, muestra en toda su magnificencia la forma de celebrar la procesin del Corpus Christi, en el escenario construido con este propsito, donde los
asistentes deban sentirse como primeros actores del gran teatro de la vida. Esta
magnificencia, plena de participacin particular, hace que el entusiasmo de algunos
escritores, aseguren, sin pruebas o por simple deduccin, que el Corpus Christi reemplaz la celebracin incaica del Inti Raymi.
Resalta, entre otros aspectos, la arquitectura efmera, con altares y arcos elaborados
cuidadosamente. A ms de su valor esttico, sealan el espacio sacro, en que se
transforma el entorno que rodea la vida ordinaria, por medio de smbolos que resaltan esta intencin. Adems es la expresin del espritu barroco, que encontr terreno frtil en los andes.
La fiesta contina. El Corpus Christi se ha convertido en la fiesta de los cuzqueos.
Exhibicin de fe popular, desfile de imgenes sacras, organizaciones informales de
los devotos, movimiento de masas, arquitectura efmera, comidas y bebidas especiales, despliegue de costumbres antiguas, combinadas con inevitables innovaciones de
67
Inca Garcilaso de la Vega describes the first procession in 1550, and adds that on
June 1st 1554, the day of Corpus Christi, before dawn a comet was seen in this city.
(1617).
It should be remembered, in order to establish chronology, that the Metropolitan
Council of Arequipa, in its session of May 27th 1552 ruled on the form of the Corpus
procession of that year. Therefore, it is only to be assumed that in Cuzco, an older
Spanish city that Arequipa, Corpus must also have been celebrated that year. The
Ordnances of Viceroy Toledo of 1572 were ordering the celebration of a fiesta that
had already been celebrated annually for at least twenty-two years.
Garcilaso de la Vega, in his Historia General del Per, notes that on June 9th 1555
in the celebration of Hbeas there was great merriment among the Incas and Caaris
under Francisco Chilche, a Spanish ally and protegee who served them with particular loyalty:
Chilche carried in his right hand the head of an Indian, which he held by the hair. As soon as
the Incas saw him, four or five of them clashed with the Caari and threw him to the ground.
(1617)
For its four and a half centuries of life, Corpus has reflected the heyday and the decline of the city. In the 17th century it was especially important a true expression of
baroque Cuzco. This period can be appreciated in all its splendour through the
extraordinary series of oils known as the Santa Ana Corpus Paintings, after the
church where they were found, which can be viewed in the Museo de Arte Religioso.
The series comprises sixteen large oil paintings. Twelve of them are in Cuzco and
four are in Santiago de Chile. The artists were indigenous painters, of which there
were many at the time the series was executed.
The paintings show the festival as it appeared to the artists eyes. They are among the
few works that show the urban landscape and the different social classes of which it
was comprised. The main square figures large, as does the procession with its religious
orders, hordes of faithful and images of saints and virgins. The canvasses are a living
expression of the rich choreography of this religious festival, showing exactly how its
many participants interacted in what was a great theatre of life. Such magnificence
coupled with popular participation has led some authors to attest, without evidence,
that Corpus Christi replaced the celebration of Inti Raymi.
One of the key aspects of the celebration of Corpus is the ephemeral architecture,
with carefully made altars and arches. Beyond their aesthetic value, they create a
sacred space, thereby transforming the everyday into the sacred through symbolism.
They are also the expression of a baroque spirit which found fertile ground in the
Andes.
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una cultura que vive, se renueva y contina tradiciones con cuatro siglos y medio
de duracin.
Pese al tiempo transcurrido, en la celebracin participan solamente, las ocho parroquias de indios y la que se cre para los espaoles.
Siguiendo con el testimonio de fray Diego y Crdova, es valioso reproducir los comentarios de Esquivel y Navia, de los efectos que caus el sismo:
El Centro del Universo Andino
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The fiesta continues. Corpus Christi has become the fiesta of the Cusqueos: an
exhibition of popular faith, a procession of sacred images, the informal organisation
of the faithful, mass movement, ephemeral architecture, special foods and drinks,
ancient costumes, and the inevitable influence of living culture combine to renew a
four and half century tradition each year.
Despite the passage of time, only the nine parishes created by the Spanish participate
to this day in Corpus.
1650 Earthquake
Cozco is situated in a region prone to frequent earthquakes and there is evidence that
there were tremors during the Inca period. It should come as no surprise to learn that
in the 17th century was hit by a massive earthquake. Esquivel y Navia, the author of
a history of the city, describes the event in the following terms:
On the 31st of March, Thursday, there was in this great city of Cuzco and its provinces an
earthquake, one of the most formidable experienced in these parts. It lasted for the time it
takes to recite the credo twice, although Friar Diego de Cordova says it continued for almost a
quarter of an hour. (1980)
In response to the testimony of the friar, Esquivel y Navia had this to say:
It was so horrible that in that brief space of time the finest buildings of that noblest of cities
- its houses, convents and sumptuously built churches were brought down. There can be no
human explanation for this turbulent event many lost their homes or were killed, without
time for a mother to call out to her son, or a woman to her husband, a friend to his companions.
(1980)
Fue tan horrible que en este breve espacio hech por tierra los mejores edificios de aquella
nobilsima ciudad, sus casas, los conventos, las iglesias suntuosamente fabricadas. No se
reduce a razn, ni explicacin humana la turbacin de este conflicto: porque fueron muchas
las desdichas que concurrieron para hacerle de todas maneras espantable, pues se vieron
los hombres tan apriesa desposedos de sus haciendas y asaltados de la muerte, que apenas
les daba lugar a llamar la madre al hijo, a la mujer el marido, y el amigo a sus compaeros. (1980)
Otra fuente valiosa es un documento grfico. Es el cuadro que mand pintar don
Alonso Corts de Monroy, devoto de la Virgen de Los Remedios. Trat de expresar su
fe, gracias a que pudo superar crisis de salud. El leo es de grandes dimensiones, con
escenas realistas, incluso dramticas. Casas derruidas, en proceso de destruccin,
incendios. Grupos de personas implorando al cielo cesen los temblores.
Muestra la imagen de la ciudad a mediados del siglo XVII. Las plazas de Haucaypata
y Cusipata, aparecen ntidas, adems de la nueva de San Francisco, emplazada en
antiguo andn inca. Las calles centrales son las mismas que podemos recorrer en la
actualidad. Incluye aspectos de la vida cotidiana, como los toldos del mercado que
funcionaba en la plaza, que cuenta con pila central, los portales, las casas construidas en el Cusipata. Se nota la ausencia del templo de los jesuitas, que comenz a ser
construida despus de 1650.
El terremoto repercuti en decisiones vinculadas con cultos importantes para el catolicismo cuzqueo histrico y actual. El Cuzco estuvo consagrado a la Virgen
Inmaculada, conocida hoy por La Linda de la Catedral, como Patrona de la Ciudad y
Santiago como patrn. 1650 seala el inicio del culto al Seor de los Temblores,
declarado por voluntad popular Patrn Jurado del Cuzco. Este Cristo detuvo los
temblores, por esa razn su denominacin.
La procesin tiene tres siglos y medio. El Lunes Santo, recorre su propia va procesional,
concluye con la bendicin en la Plaza de Armas, a la multitud de fieles que repletan
la plaza, esperando con ansiedad este momento. Su imagen se ha reproducido en
leos, que se hallan a lo largo del Per y de Amrica.
La ciudad no experiment crisis similar hasta despus de tres siglos, cuando en mayo
de 1950, la ciudad fue nuevamente remecida con gran violencia por otro terremoto.
Gran parte de la ciudad fue afectada, dejando los edificios con graves daos. Este
momento tambin seala el inicio de cambios, que afectaron los diversos aspectos de
la vida en la ciudad. Ms adelante se volver sobre este capitulo de la historia de la
ciudad.
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by popular demand became Cuzcos patron, for he was deemed capable of stopping
tremors.
This celebration is now three and a half centuries old. On Easter Monday, the image
is carried in a procession that concludes with a blessing in the Plaza de Armas, when
thousands of faithful fill the plaza to await this emotional moment. The image has
been reproduced in oils and is found throughout Peru and the Americas.
The city did not experience a similar crisis for three centuries, when in May 1950 it
was shaken again by another violent tremor. Most of the city was affected, and its
buildings seriously damaged. We will return to this event in a later chapter.
Se concedi autorizacin para fundar seminarios en el Virreinato del Per, por Real
Cdula que dio Felipe II, el 29 de setiembre de 1590 en San Lorenzo. El Obispo Antonio de La Raya, que se hallaba en el Cuzco desde 1598, fund el Seminario de San
Antonio Abad el 1 de agosto del mismo ao. El seminario tambin tuvo condicin de
colegio. Sus constituciones se firmaron el 19 de agosto de 1603. Fue el primer centro
educativo dedicado a esta finalidad, porque hasta entonces la educacin se realizaba
en escuelas de conventos. En sus siglos de vida, dio atencin especial a jvenes de
pocos medios econmicos, que mostraran inteligencia. Los personajes ms ilustres
del Cuzco, se educaron en San Antonio Abad. Al convertirse en universidad en 1669,
tom otro rumbo, que se sealar en su oportunidad.
El Colegio de San Bernardo Abad, tambin fue obra de la Compaa de Jess. Fue
erigido por provisin de 1 de junio de 1619. Mereci el ttulo de Real el 16 de agosto de
1620, designacin propia de los colegios mayores. Su trayectoria tuvo altibajos despus de 1789, comenzando su deterioro y extinsin. Casi inexistente a comienzos de
la repblica, termin cerrando sus puertas. En su local y utilizando sus recursos, el
general Simn Bolvar, fund en 1825 el Colegio Nacional de Ciencias y Artes del
Cuzco.
Los colegios fueron importantes para la formacin de la conciencia nacionalista, que
lleg a su mayor expresin en el siglo XVIII. En sus claustros estudiaron hijos de
nobles incas. Aprendieron a leer y escribir el latn; la filosofa. Al mismo tiempo se
conservaba la tradicin inca, guardando idioma y otras formas culturales. Varios de
los lderes que encabezaron movimientos de protesta contra el gobierno colonial, pasaron por sus aulas. Este espritu encontr su cauce en los movimientos de protesta
del siglo XVIII, que culmin con la gran rebelin que encabez el noble inca Jos
Gabriel Thupa Amaro en 1780.
En 1669 se gestion que los estudios de los seminaristas y colegiales, pudieran servir para optar los grados que confera la Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola de la
orden de los jesuitas.
En el Cuzco funcionaron las universidades de San Ignacio de Loyola y San Antonio
Abad. Uno de los argumentos para su creacin fue el alto nmero de estudiantes en
la ciudad, que se incrementaba con los venidos de Charcas, Paraguay, Tucumn y
otros lugares de Amrica
La autorizacin para el funcionamiento de San Ignacio de Loyola se otorg por Bula
de Gregorio XV el 7 de setiembre de 1624. Confirmada por el papa Urbano VIII el 29
de marzo de 1634. El 22 de febrero de 1648 se concedi el grado de Bachiller en Artes
a Domingo de Ziga, alumno del Real Colegio de San Bernardo. La universidad
funcion hasta la expulsin de la Compaa de Jess de Amrica, por orden de Carlos III por pragmtica de sancin del 27 de febrero de 1767.
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In 1669 it was decided that students at seminaries and colleges would be able to opt
for a degree conferred by the Company of Jesus University of San Ignacio Loyola.
Cuzco boasted the universities of San Ignacio de Loyola and San Antonio Abad. One
of the arguments for its creation was the high number of students coming to the city
from Charcas, Paraguay, Tucumn and other parts of South America.
The authorisation for the founding of San Ignacio de Loyola was given by the papal
bull of Gregory XV on the 7th of September 1624 and confirmed by Pope Urbano VIII
on the 29th of March 1634. On the 22nd of February 1648 the degree of Bachelor of Arts
was conferred on Domingo de Ziga, a student of the Royal College of San Bernardo.
The university functioned until the Jesuits were expelled from America by order of
Carlos III on 27th February 1767.
Between the students of San Antonio and San Bernardo a bitter rivalry grew, with
clashes that were a cause for concern to all. There was also conflict between the
Jesuits and the Dominicans. These problems led to the creation of another university,
an event without precedent in the rest of the Americas.
The request submitted by the king to Pope Innocent XII led to the Aeternae Sapinetiae
of March 1st 1692. This papal decision was the origin of a long campaign of opposition
by the Jesuits. There were street fights and other aggressive acts. The population of
Cuzco took sides. The new university seemed to emerge from the popular sector as a
protest against the elitism of San Bernardo.
It was not until June of 1692 that the papal bull of Innocent XII was reiterated,
authorising San Antonio Abad to grant degrees. The first was that of Doctor of Theology,
awarded to Pedro de Oyardo on the 30th October 1696. This university exists to this
day, and is one of the most prestigious in the country.
Religious Architecture
The construction of churches meant the demolition of Inca temples and palaces, which
were converted into quarries. Stones were taken from Saqsaywaman to build the
cathedral, the Jesuit church and other edifices around the plaza. From the buildings
on Piccho Hill, stones were taken to build the churches of Santa Clara and San Pedro.
For Santo Domingo, masons used fine blocks from Coricancha itself. In several
constructions European materials and techniques were employed, such as plaster,
lime and brick, which is lighter than stone and better suited the construction of arches
and vaults.
In Haucaypata the cathedral dominates, the building which most concerned the
Spaniards. In 1533 the space occupied by the palace of Wiracocha was reserved,
although it is not clear if this name refers to the Inca sovereign or the divinity of the
same name. It is possible that the site was originally occupied by a temple to the god
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Entre los estudiantes de San Antonio y San Bernardo, se cre fuerte rivalidad, con
pleitos que preocuparon a la colectividad. Adems exista confrontacin entre las
mismas rdenes de jesuitas y dominicos. Estas discrepancias motivaron se propusiera la creacin de otra universidad. Hecho considerado singular, que no se vio en
ningn otro lugar de los virreinatos de Amrica.
La solicitud presentada al rey, derivada al Papa Inocencio XII, motiv el Breve de
Ereccin Aeternae Sapientiae de 1 de marzo de 1692. La decisin papal dio origen a
un largo pleito promovido por oposicin de la Compaa de Jess. Hubo peleas callejeras, conatos de agresiones. La poblacin del Cuzco tom partido por uno u otro de
los contendientes. La nueva universidad, pareca ser reclamo de sectores populares,
de rechazo al elitismo de San Bernardo.
Recin en junio de 1692 se reiter la Bula fundacional de Inocencio XII, autorizando
a San Antonio Abad a conceder grados. El primero fue el de Doctor en Teologa, otorgado a don Pedro de Oyardo el 30 de octubre de 1696. Esta universidad funciona
hasta hoy da, convertida en una de las ms prestigiadas del pas.
Arquitectura de culto
La construccin de templos, produjo la destruccin de edificios incas. Se convirtieron
en verdaderas canteras. De Saqsaywaman se tomaron piedras para edificar la Catedral, la Compaa y otros edificios del permetro de la plaza principal. De las construcciones del cerro Piccho, se trasladaron piedras para construir los templos de
Santa Clara y San Pedro. Para Santo Domingo utilizaron las piezas talladas y pulidas
procedentes del mismo Coricancha. En varias construcciones se utiliz material y
tcnicas europeas. Es el caso del yeso, cal y ladrillos, que por ser ms livianos, permitan levantar arcos y bvedas con mayor facilidad.
En el Haucaypata sobresale el conjunto de la catedral, que fue preocupacin permanente de los espaoles. En 1533 se le reserv el espacio de Viracocha. No est claro si
se refera al rey inca o al dios del mismo nombre. Es posible sea lo ltimo. Siendo
Viracocha deidad suprema, con la lgica de sustituir dioses y espacios sagrados incas
por catlicos, se comprende que la catedral se imponga sobre el espacio de Viracocha
como divinidad.
El 11 de noviembre de 1560 se coloc la primera piedra de la catedral. La construccin se hizo con variado ritmo. En 1644, luego de ochenta aos, estaba casi paralizada. El terremoto de marzo de 1650 incentiv los trabajos. En 1654 se procede a la
instalacin del culto. Recin el 28 de febrero de 1659 se declara concluida la construccin del edificio. Los siguientes aos se dedicaron a ornamentarla, gran parte de
esta tarea la cumpli con gran celo el obispo Manuel Mollinedo y Angulo. La inauguracin, el 15 de agosto, incluy variedad de celebraciones, procesiones, arcos triunEl Centro del Universo Andino
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Wiracocha, for it was common practice for the Spanish to replace Inca sacred sites
with Catholic churches, and it would be logical for the cathedral to take the place of
the shrine to the supreme deity of the Inca pantheon.
On the 11th of November 1560, the first stone of the cathedral was laid. The construction
advanced at a varied pace. In 1644, after eighty years, work had practically ground to
a halt. The earthquake of March 1650 proved to be the incentive for renewed effort. In
1654 the church was consecrated, and construction was completed on 28th February
1659. The following years were dedicated to decorating the cathedral. Much of this
work was completed with great zeal by Bishop Manuel Mollinedo y Angulo. The
inauguration on the 15th of August included many processions, celebrations, triumphal
arches, dances, firework displays, theatrical presentations and bullfights.
To the cathedral were added the churches of Jess Mara or La Sagrada Familia and
El Triunfo. Work on Jess Mara began in 1723 and was concluded in 1735. The
church of Triunfo de Nuestra Seora, also known as El Sagrario, served as the
cathedral while that building was under construction. It was partly demolished, leaving
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just the half with its four arches and columns which formed the central part of the
new church.
The church of La Compaa was built on the site of the Amarucancha. In 1571
construction was begun, but it was abandoned after the 1650 earthquake. The project
for the new church was ambitious. It was proposed to built the temple out into the
plaza, with three doors and two side chapels. The plan was never realised because
only a cathedral may have three doors, and the Jesuits were not be permitted by the
papacy to build a church rivalling the cathedral.
Work began in September 1651 and was completed in 1668. The faade and the side
chapel were ornately decorated and the interior was equally magnificent, rich in altars
covered in gold leaf and fine sculptures and oil paintings.
The side chapels give the church its harmonious design. The one on Loreto Street was
named Jess, but its name was changed to Loreto Chapel. It was also known for a
time as Seor de Burgos, and also Lourdes. Today it no longer offers religious services
and is used instead as a reception hall. The other chapel, San Ignacio, does not offer
services either, since it was given to the Benemrita Sociedad de Artesanos del Cuzco
in recognition of its valiant defence against the Chilean invasion of 1879, when it
formed the Artisans Battalion.
The list of Baroque buildings of Cuzco ends with the Jesuit College, with its fine
faade. One of its rooms served as the prison of Jos Gabriel Thupa Amaro, who
fought for national independence when he led the greatest of all the rebellions against
Spanish rule in the Americas in 1780. He was imprisoned in this building as he awaited
execution. He, his family and his followers suffered an unprecedented martyrdom.
The building is currently owned by the National University of San Antonio Abad of
Cuzco.
La estructura interior de estos monasterios fue de reales ciudadelas dentro de la ciudad grande, con calles, plazas, casas inde-
La peste grande
Las enfermedades jugaron papel importante, facilitaron la invasin espaola del siglo XVI. Recordemos que la muerte de Huayna Capac la ocasion la epidemia que
recorri los andes en ese momento. Sea sarampin o viruela, el hecho es que ocasion gran mortandad. La epidemia se anticip a las tropas espaolas. Guaman Poma de
Ayala en uno de sus dibujos muestra al inca difunto, transportado al Cuzco en litera
real. En 1585 se present otra epidemia. Su duracin y efectos no fueron tan
devastadores como la que tendra la que aparicin en 1720.
Las condiciones sanitarias de ciudades preindustriales eran propicias para epidemias. El Cuzco y su regin sufri devastadora epidemia en 1720. La llamaron La
peste grande. El nmero de muertos no se estableci con certeza, los clculos son
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79
with the daughters of powerful families receiving privileges and even exploiting the
other women. As well as the nuns, servants and their children also lived in the
convents as virtual slaves dedicated to serving and protecting the nuns.
Santa Clara is one of the oldest monasteries and housed the daughters of Inca nobles
as virtual hostages in case of rebellion. The construction of Santa Catalina followed
this same line and was built on the site of the acllawasi, the house of the chosen
women who had fulfilled a number of functions in Inca society, including that of
serving the nobility.
The interior structure of the monastery was like that of a royal citadel within a larger
city, with streets, plazas, separate houses instead of cells, laundries, a library,
workshops and kitchens.
The impact of the plague is reflected in the art of the time, such as the mural in the
village of Qatqa, some 20 leagues from Cuzco. It shows unburied dead, while others
are carried on llamas to the cemetery, although according to Esquivel y Navia, even
animals were not safe from the illness:
It was noted that even the llamas, which are the beasts of burden of this land, which were used
for transporting the bodies to be buried in their villages and churches, died bleeding from the
mouth: such was the force of the malignancy.
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La impresin que caus este mal, se refleja en el arte, como el mural de la poblacin
de Qatqa, que dista 20 leguas del Cuzco. Muestra muertos insepultos, otros que son
cargados en llamas para conducirlos al cementerio, aunque de acuerdo a Esquivel y
Navia, ni los animales se salvaron de la enfermedad:
Lo notable fue aun los jumentos y llamas que son los carneros de esta tierra, en que transportaban los cuerpos para enterrarlos en sus pueblos e iglesias, perecan los ms echando
sangre por la boca: tal era la fuerza de la impresin maligna repercusa.
En noviembre del mismo ao, la peste comenz a decaer. El proceso se aceler con el
inicio de las lluvias. Las consecuencias fueron el despoblamiento de muchos pueblos
y caseros, la falta de alimento, porque no se sembraron los campos ni se recogieron
las cosechas. La peste tambin afect el medio rural. No se pagaron los tributos, la
economa qued estancada. Se necesitaron por lo menos dos aos para que se recuperara la economa regional.
Economa colonial
La fundacin de la ciudad de Lima, merm la importancia del Cuzco como centro
poltico. A pesar del cambio la importancia econmica continu, puesto que la ciudad
era centro del espacio econmico que giraba a su rededor.
La economa agrcola y ganadera fue impactada por la introduccin de plantas y animales trados por los hispanos. Se comenzaron a cultivar habas, que han logrado
gran aceptacin, al punto que forman parte importante en la dieta andina urbana y
rural. Igual sucedi con el trigo, cebada granos que rpidamente se difundieron, tanto por ser alimento conocido por los europeos, como aceptacin de la poblacin andina,
igual sucedi con vacunos, ovinos, aves de corral. En algunos casos, incluso, comenzaron a desplazar los animales y cultivos propios de la regin. As sucedi con llamas
y alpacas, que fueron desplazadas a regiones marginales, comenzndose a criar ovinos
porque se prefera su carne y lana, que se adecuaba ms a sus intereses y tcnicas.
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In November that same year the plague began to abate, helped by the onset of the
rainy season. Many towns and villages had been depopulated and there was a food
shortage because crops had neither been sown nor harvested. Taxes had not been
paid and the economy ground to halt. It took at least two years for the regional economy
to recover.
Colonial Economy
The founding of the city of Lima reduced the importance of Cuzco as a political centre, but its economic importance continued, for the city was at the centre of its regional rural economy.
The arable and livestock economy was impacted by the introduction of plants and
animals brought by the Spanish. Beans were introduced and well-received, becoming
an important part of the rural and urban Andean diet. Such was the case also with
wheat and barley, cattle and sheep and poultry, all well known to Europeans and
readily accepted by the people of the Andes. In some cases, foreign animals and crops
even began to replace natives ones. Llamas and alpacas were displaced to marginal
rural districts in favour of sheep, which were preferred for their meat and wool.
New farming technologies were introduced, such as ploughing with oxen, a
Mediterranean tradition brought to the Spanish by the Arabs. Garcilaso tells how
some Spaniards ploughed the land in front of his house. It was said that the Spanish
were so lazy they made animals do the work for them. Within a decade this technology
had been fully incorporated into the regions agricultural practices. They are still
used today, because they are ideally suited to the rough Andean topography, coexisting
with the pre-Columbian foot plough and modern farm machinery.
Mining was a minor activity in the region, given that within the bounds of the knowledge
of the time Cuzco did not possess large deposits of the two most sought-after precious
metals: gold and silver. Some old Inca mines continued to be exploited, even as far
away as the sandy beaches of the Imambari River. Mining production was dedicated
to the export trade.
Sheep farming produced the primary resource that permitted growth in the textile
industry. European fabrics were expensive to import and were destined to the Spanish
and mixed race markets. It was the internal market of small rural population centres
which drove the textile industry. Pre-Hispanic textile production had been of the highest
quality, producing the finest weavings and provoking admiration in the Spanish, who
praised unreservedly the quality and quantity of the textiles they found, not just in
Cuzco, but throughout the Inca empire in strategic state storehouses along the Inca
highways, and at Lake Titicaca, an area heavily influenced by the Cuzco economy.
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Portal de Carrizos
the divisions between them were unclear, although they were defined to an extent by
the number of workers and their production capacity. In 1577, Viceroy Toledo
produced the first regulations governing these institutions. Between 1570 and 1825
in the environs of Cuzco four obrajes were registered and in the region as a whole
there were dozens.
Later the chorrillos, or textile mills, were established, with varying forms of internal
organisation. Again, the divisions were imprecise, but there were chorrillos in haciendas, or houses, and they could be urban or rural. There were those that were
water-powered also. They reached their peak in the last third of the 18th century, and
by the end of that century there were 42 in the city of Cuzco. Between 1690 and 1824
there were 110 in the city and its outskirts.
The textile industry worsened conditions for the descendants of the Incas and
exploitation reached unacceptable levels. One of the causes of the rebellions of the
18th century were the harsh conditions in the obrajes and chorrillos. Protesters attacked
these institutions, destroying or setting fire to them., as in the great rebellion of Jos
Thupa Amaro in 1780.
With independence the system of colonial rule and production ended, contributing
to the decline of Cuzco due to the fall in the textile industry. The liberalism of the
Republican era permitted the importing of fabrics, particularly from England, and the
Cuzco textile industry was eventually ruined, leading to a long period of isolation from
the outside world for the Cuzco region.
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XVIII, fueron las duras condiciones de trabajo en los obrajes y chorrillos. Es as que
las protestas impulsaron asaltarlos, destruirlos e incendiarlos, como ocurri durante
la gran rebelin de Jos Gabriel Thupa Amaro en 1780.
La independencia que dio por concluido el sistema colonial de gobierno y produccin, contribuy al decaimiento de la ciudad del Cuzco, por la prdida de la actividad textil. El liberalismo de la poca republicana, permiti la importacin de paos,
especialmente de Inglaterra. As se quebr la produccin textil del Cuzco y la regin
sur, comenzando el largo sueo de la ciudad y su regin.
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parecido entre dibujos del manuscrito del cronista Felipe Guaman Poma y de los
qero. Tal vez el mismo Guaman Poma, durante su estada en el Cuzco, compartiera
tareas pictricas en los talleres de maestros pintores.
Rebeliones
La resistencia inca y el gobierno del reino de Vilcabamba, concluy con la captura y
ejecucin del Inca Thupa Amaro I. Los descendientes de los incas, siempre estuvieron
dispuestos a protestar contra las abusivas leyes coloniales, que permitan explotar
los pueblos sujetos. Las minas, como las del Cerro Rico de Potos, las plantaciones de
coca en las tierras bajas del oriente, los chorrillos y obrajes, haciendas, plantaciones
y otras formas de servidumbre, fueron en realidad trabajos forzados, que motivaron
continuamente conatos de rebelin.
La frecuencia de rebeliones se increment con el avance del tiempo. El siglo XVIII es
de continuos e intensos movimientos anticoloniales. La historiadora OPhelan Godoy,
da cuenta de casi cien movimientos ocurridos entre 1700 y 1783. La que encabez
Jos Gabriel Thupa Amaro o Thupa Amaro II, en 1780, repercuti en todo el virreinato,
alcanzando su influencia al Ro de la Plata, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay incluso Brasil.
La rebelin de Thupa Amaro II tiene significado especial. Los descendientes de incas
tuvieron fuerte sentido nacionalista. La ideologa la encontraron en el libro del Inca
Garcilaso de la Vega, puesto que la segunda edicin de 1723 circul profusamente
entre los nobles incas, siendo habidamente leda. Thupa Amaro II declar poseer un
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87
the colour was added by the Andean painters. Very few non-Catholic paintings were
produced. The most remarkable examples of the school were canvasses of the alreadymentioned series Corpus of Santa Ana, which illustrates the magnificence of the
Corpus Christi procession.
Pictorial creation with an indigenous basis was the reserve of wooden vessels known
as qero, on which scenes from both mythology and every day life were depicted, as
well as moments from Inca and colonial history. The style and technique used are
unique to the genre. Unlike the easel painting of the Cusco School, the qero do not
include Catholic subjects, although two vases have been preserved depicting the image
of Saint James the Indian Slayer.
The qeros were produced in the easel painters studios, and the similarity between
the drawings in the manuscript of Guaman Poma de Ayala and those on the qeros is
clearly apparent. Perhaps Guaman Poma himself, during his time in Cuzco, worked
in one of these masters studios.
Rebellions
The Inca resistance and the Kingdom of Vilcabamba ended with the capture and
execution of Inca Thupa Amaro. The descendants of the Incas were always quick to
protest against the abuses of colonial law, which sanctioned the exploitation of the
subject peoples. The mines, like that of Cerro Rico de Potos, the coca plantations in
the eastern lowlands, the chorrillos and obrajes, haciendas, plantations and other
forms of service, were in reality forced labour and the motivation behind constant
acts of rebellion.
The frequency of rebellion increased with time. In the 18th century there was intense
anticolonial activity. The historian OPhelan Godoy records almost a hundred rebel
movements between 1700 and 1783. The one led by Jos Gabriel Thupa Amaro, also
known as Tupac Amaru II, in 1780, shook the entire viceroyalty, and had repercussions
as far away as Ro de la Plata, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay and even Brazil.
The rebellion of Thupa Amaro II has special significance. The descendants of the
Incas had a strong sense of nationalism. They found their ideology in the work of Inca
Garcilaso de la Vega, when the second edition of his history was widely circulated in
1723 among Inca nobles. Thupa Amaro II declared a copy when he passed through
Lima customs on his way to Cuzco. The writings of Garcilaso engendered a desire for
self-government and a return to the glories of the Inca period. With the defeat of
Thupa Amaro II, the colonial government bought up all the copies of this book it could
find, using public funds, and as quietly as possible in order not to alert the public. A
history book had become subversive. It is the clearest evidence of the ideological
importance of Inca Garcilaso.
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89
Thupa Amaro II belonged to the royal line of Huayna Capac, which meant he was
related to the first Thupa Amaro, and he was educated at the college of San Francisco
de Borja.
Under the government of Carlos III conditions worsened for the Indians and Peruvians
of mixed blood. Even the offspring of Spaniards were discriminated against and banned
from political, military, administrative or religious posts. They were only allowed to
work in the mines under the exploitative mita system, or in servile jobs removed
from any participation in the public life of the viceroyalty. Victorino Montero del Aguila was right when he said: Peru is a country where slavery is breathed and the laws
produce tyranny.
This rejection of social conditions acquired its ideological force from the pages of The
Royal Commentaries of the Incas, and to large sectors of the lower and urban classes
it seemed that the only way to end injustice was to end colonial rule.
All sectors of colonial society came together on this one issue: Creoles, mestizos,
Indians and blacks. The rebellion began in 1780 with the capture of the colonial
administrator Antonio Arriaga and his execution on October 10th in the village of
Tungasuca. The proclamations of Thupa Amaro II make clear his aims: to end Spanish
power and install an Inca government with the participation of all races. He freed the
workers from the obrajes and chorrillos and burned them to the ground.
The reaction was immediate. Troops were sent from Lima to quell the movement. The
royalist forces were defeated at Sangarana on November 18th. Thupa Amaro advanced
towards Cuzco, which was organising the resistance against him. He besieged Cuzco
on April 6th 1781, but was unable to take the city and marched across the altiplano,
while his ally Tupac Catari laid siege to La Paz.
The royalist forces began their counterattack on March 4th. The patriots had been
seriously weakened and Thupa Amaro had withdrawn to the village of Langui, where
he was betrayed by his followers in collusion with a priest and captured. His trial in
Cuzco was summary. When he was asked who shared his guilt he answered:
We are the only conspirators; Your Highness for having exhausted the country with unbearable
acts, and me, for having wanted to free the people from such tyranny.
Thupa Amaro, his wife, children and other relatives, companions and collaborators
were all condemned to death, and the executions took place on May 18th 1781, in
accordance with the sentence which read:
Taken to the main public square; dragged to the place of execution, where he will witness
the execution of his wife, Micaela Bastides, and his two children Hiplito and Fernando, his
uncle Francisco, his brother-in-law Antonio and his principal captains and allies in his perverse
project, all of whom must die on the same day.
An anonymous account of the proceedings shows the extreme cruelty of the Spanish:
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Thupa Amaro, su esposa, hijos y otros parientes, compaeros y colaboradores fueron condenados a muerte. La ejecucin se consum el 18 de mayo de 1781, cumpliendo lo dispuesto en la sentencia, para que fuese:
[...] sacado a la plaza principal y pblica; arrastrado hasta el lugar del suplicio, donde presencie la ejecucin de la sentencia de su mujer, Micaela Bastidas, a sus dos hijos Hiplito y
Fernando [...], a su to Francisco [...], a su cuado Antonio [...] y a algunos de sus principales
capitanes y auxiliares de su inicua y perversa intencin o proyecto, los cuales han de morir
en su propio da.
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Casona Cuzquea
Verdejo, the Zambo and Bastidas were all hanged slowly; Francisco Tpac Amaru, the insurgents
uncle, and his son Hiplito had their tongues cut out before they were thrown from the steps of
the gallows; and the Indian Condemaita was garrotted using an iron screw we had never seen
in these parts before; the Indian and his woman saw with their own eyes the execution of their
son Hiplito who was the last to be hanged. Then the Indian Micaela had her tongue cut out in the
presence of her husband and was garrotted, which seemed to take an infinite amount of time,
because her neck was too thin for the device and the executioners threw her from side to side,
kicking her in the stomach and breasts until she was dead
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dio garrote, en que padeci infinito, porque teniendo el pescuezo muy delgado no poda el torno
ahorcarla, y fue menester que los verdugos, echndole lazos al pescuezo, tirando de una y otra
parte, y dndole patadas en el estmago y pechos, la acabasen de matar [....].
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la ruta del Alto Per. La crisis se acentu, puesto que la monarqua de Espaa estaba
regida por el dbil Fernando VII.
Estos hechos repercutieron en el Cuzco. El 2 de agosto de 1814, se producen conatos
de rebelda bajo el liderazgo de Jos Angulo, con la participacin de vecinos y residentes del Cuzco. Se detuvo y desconoci las autoridades del gobierno colonial. La ciudad lleg al fervor revolucionario. Se organizaron expediciones libertadores. Una se
dirigi hacia Arequipa, otra a Huamanga y la tercera a La Paz, luego de ocupar Puno.
Uno de los principales dirigentes de este movimiento fue Jos Angulo, vecino y residente del Cuzco.
El ejrcito realista, compuesto en gran parte por peruanos, se organiz con prontitud.
Derrota al patriota en Umachiri, que estuvo comandado por el brigadier Mateo
Pumacahua, que se haba alistado en el ejrcito patriota, en muestra de arrepentimiento por haber combatido contra Jos Gabriel Thupa Amaro. Fue ahorcado, en el
mismo campo de batalla es fusilado Mariano Melgar, joven poeta arequipeo.
Los realistas se reagruparon en el Cuzco, tomando el poder que ejerca Jos Angulo.
Una vez que el ejrcito realista controla la ciudad, a partir del 25 de marzo de 1815,
dedican los siguientes das a ejecutar a 29 patriotas cuzqueos.
Jura de la Independencia
Slo pasaron seis aos para que el ejrcito formado por San Martn en Argentina,
luego de victorias en Chile, desembarcara en playas peruanas, cercando Lima. El
ejrcito realista abandon Lima, encabezado por el Virrey La Serna. El 28 de julio de
1821 declar la independencia en ceremonia realizada en la Plaza de Armas. Haba
comenzado el gobierno del Protector don Jos de San Martn.
Las tropas realistas se dirigieron al Cuzco, que se convirti en centro de acciones de
los realistas, de hecho se convirti en la ltima capital del virreinato, desde fines de
1821 a octubre de 1824. Los actos de gobierno se reflejaron en la fundacin de la
Casa de Moneda, que funcion en lo que fuera Hospital de San Juan de Dios, hoy en
da Colegio de Educandas; se instal imprenta, para difundir las noticias favorables
al lejano rey de Espaa, al mismo tiempo fue muestra del poder que se ejerca desde
la antigua capital del Tawantinsuyu. La ciudad se convirti en una factora, se fundieron armas, se produjo plvora, dedicndose por completo a la preparacin de acciones blicas del ejrcito realista.
El poder cambi pronto de manos. El arribo de Simn Bolvar y su ejrcito multinacional, desplaz a San Martn, que se retir del pas. Las tropas patriotas libraron las
batallas decisivas en los campos de Junn y Ayacucho. Derrotados los ejrcitos realistas firmaron la capitulacin de rendicin el 9 de diciembre de 1824 en Ayacucho.
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95
Gabriel Thupa Amaro. He was hanged and the young Arequipa poet Mariano Melgar
was shot dead on the battlefield.
The royalists regrouped in Cuzco and rested power form Jos Angulo. Upon taking
control of the city on the 25th of March 1815 they proceeded to execute twenty-nine
Cuzco patriots.
Oath of Independence
Just six years would pass until the liberation army of San Martn was formed in Argentina, and after the victory in Chile this force disembarked on Perus beaches
and laid siege to Lima. The royalist army fled the city with Viceroy La Serna at their
head. On the 28th July 1821 independence was declared in a ceremony on the citys
Plaza de Armas. The government of the Protector Jos San Martn had begun.
The royalist troops retreated as far as Cuzco, which became the centre of royalist
resistance and the last capital of the viceroyalty from 1821 to October 1824. The work
of this government was reflected in the Casa de la Moneda, which operated from the
old Hospital San Juan de Dios, now the Colegio de Educandas. A press was installed
to print news favourable to the faraway king. The city became a factory, producing
arms and gunpowder and preparing for battle.
Power changed hands quickly. Simn Bolvar and his multinational army deposed
San Martn, who left the country. Patriotic troops fought decisive battles in Junn and
Ayacucho and the defeated royalist army signed its surrender in Ayacucho on
December 9th 1824.
The patriot army headed for Cuzco, making its victorious entrance on December 25th.
It was received with honours and the great joy of the populace. The declaration of
independence was made on January 9 th 1825 and is the true declaration of
independence of Peru, for the royalist army had been defeated finally and its leaders
forced to sign its surrender and flee the country. San Martns ceremony had been
merely symbolic, for the benefit of the people of Lima.
The Republic
Special mention should be made of the naming of the Prefect of Cuzco, the first political
authority of the new republican regime. The post was given to the Cuzco general
Agustn Gamarra in December 1824, after the victory of Ayacucho, and he held it
until 1827. He made many changes in the city, most notably to its political structure,
and his actions have been favourably mentioned by biographers and historians
(Villanueva, 1981).
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El ejrcito patriota se dirigi al Cuzco, ingresando victoriosamente el 25 de diciembre. Fue recibido con honores y gran regocijo por la poblacin. La Jura de la Independencia, se realiz el 9 de enero del mismo 1825. Es la verdadera Declaracin de
la Independencia del Per, puesto que recin haba sido derrotado el ejrcito realista, firmado la rendicin y capitulacin, que obligaba abandonar el pas a los jefes
realistas. La ceremonia de San Martn fue simblica, destinada al pblico limeo,
para solaz de los criollos.
La repblica
Especial mencin al nombramiento de Prefecto del Cuzco. Fue la autoridad poltica
propia del nuevo rgimen republicano. El cargo lo asumi el general cuzqueo Agustn
Gamarra de diciembre de 1824, luego de la victoria de Ayacucho, hasta 1827. Realiz
notable labor material en la ciudad, como de organizacin poltica. Su accionar ha
merecido comentarios positivos en estudios biogrficos e histricos (Villanueva, 1981).
Simn Bolvar lleg para celebrar la victoria. Su ingreso fue triunfal. Se dio tiempo
para fundar dos colegios laicos, Educandas para mujeres y Ciencias y Artes para
varones, ambos siguen en funciones. Otras disposiciones fueron destinadas a la realizacin de obras pblicas; la designacin de nuevas autoridades y la organizacin de
la administracin urbana apropiada al nuevo espritu republicano. Con este criterio
orden las Cuentas del Tesoro, construccin de Baos Pblicos en Huancaro, provisin de agua potable, cementerio, Hospital General, mejora de caminos y construccin de nuevos; se cuid la ornamentacin de la ciudad. Fund lo que es el antecedente de la Sociedad de Beneficencia, organismo encargado de prestar servicios a
gente sin recursos. Por ltimo, la universidad comenz su vida republicana, con personal civil, dejando de ser institucin confesional.
El 8 de setiembre de 1825 se instal el gobierno municipal, elegido por los vecinos
de la ciudad. Aprob las normas de su funcionamiento, que es realmente un programa de trabajo, que tena en mente la modernizacin de la ciudad, respondiendo a
las nuevas expectativas de la poblacin. Para el efecto se nombraron Inspectores de
Aguas, de Obras Pblicas, de Artesanos, de Boticas, Mdicos y Cirujanos, de la Crcel Pblica (Villanueva, 1981). Es el origen de los gobiernos locales municipales, la
institucin civil urbana por excelencia.
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Simn Bolvar arrived for the victory celebrations and made a triumphal entrance. He
took the time to found two lay colleges: Educandas for women and Ciencias y Artes
for men, both of which exist still. Other measures established public works projects,
new authorities and the organisation of an urban administration in keeping with the
new spirit of republicanism. He also ordered the construction of public baths in
Huancaro, the provision of drinking water, a cemetery, a general hospital and the
improvement of existing roads and the building of new ones, as well as the maintenance
of the citys ornamentation. He founded the predecessor to todays benevolent society,
an institution designed to help those without economic resources. And of course the
university began its republican life, with civilian personnel.
On the 8th of September 1825 the municipal government was installed, elected by the
citizens. It approved a work plan with an aim to modernising the city in response to
the expectations of the populace. It named inspectors of water, public works, artisans,
pharmacies, doctors and surgeons, and the public jail (Villanueva, 1981). It was the
origin of local municipal government a civil urban institution par excellence.
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presidente. Escribi un Diario de viaje [...], que es extraordinaria fuente de informacin de la vida del Cuzco en los aos iniciales de la repblica.
Orbegoso permaneci en el Cuzco del 26 de diciembre de 1835 al 29 de enero de
1835. Tiempo que Blanco emple para insertar en su diario no solamente lo que vio,
tambin la investigacin que realiz, consultando documentos escritos, recogiendo
testimonios de vecinos, tal lo hara moderno investigador social.
La vida del Cuzco se refleja en sus descripciones. Muestra las costumbres, haciendo
referencia a las principales fiestas de la ciudad, como el Corpus Christi, las danzas
populares, los paseos, las comidas tpicas; los vestidos; las tradiciones populares;
paseos campestres de familias cuzqueas. Instituciones pblicas como los hospitales, beneficencia, organizaciones profesionales de mdicos, abogados, farmacuticos.
Pasan por sus pginas otros aspectos como los idiomas que se hablan, los establecimientos populares de artistas, artesanos, chicheras, pulperas. De la celebracin del
Corpus Christi escribe:
Bajo los hermosos altares que hacen los gremios de los artesanos, velndolos con msica por la
noche estn los indios tomando chicha [....] Al costado de estos altares hacen las vendedoras
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99
A Presidential Visit
Nine years after the arrival of Bolvar the President of the Republic, General Orbegoso,
visited the city. This trip was especially significant because of the document that
recorded his visit. It was written by Jos Mara Blanco, a priest who accompanied the
president and wrote a diary of the visit which is an extraordinary source of information
regarding life in Cuzco during the first years of the Republic.
Orbegoso stayed in the city from December 26th 1835 to January 29th 1836, during
which time Blanco recorded in his diary not just what he saw but also the research he
was able to carry out, consulting written documents and collecting citizens testimonies in the style of a modern sociologist.
Life in Cuzco is reflected in the descriptions. They show the citys customs, making
reference to the main fiestas, such as Corpus Christi, the popular dances, typical
food, dress, popular traditions and even family excursions to the countryside. Also
covered are public institutions such as hospitals, benevolent societies and professional
organisations for doctors, lawyers and pharmacists. Other aspects of city life are covered
such as the languages spoken, the addresses of the establishments of local artists,
artisans and chicha drinking establishments. Concerning Corpus Christi he wrote:
Under the beautiful altars made by the artisans union, with music at night, the Indians
drink their chicha. Next to the altars the vendors erect their stalls, where they dance, eat the
famed Corpus-uchu, which is a composite of potatoes with chilli, many spices, sausage and
guinea pig, served with bread and toasted corn. (Blanco, 1974)
Anyone who has participated in or observed Corpus Christi in Cuzco will recognise
the dish described as chiri-uchu.
Very little is omitted by Blanco. Jorge Basadre, the distinguished Historian of the
Republic, called it: A living encyclopaedia of Peru. It would be difficult to find another
Peruvian city with as valuable a historical source as Jos Mara Blancos diary.
The Decline
From the 1840s Cuzco went into decline. The textile industry, which had relied on the
southern market of Upper Peru, Chile and Argentina suffered due to imports,
particularly from England.
Symptoms of the decline were the closure of the Casa de la Moneda and the falling
population. Cuzco lost half of the 35 to 40,000 inhabitants it is estimated it had in
1824. The 1876 census put the population at 17,000. Neighbourhoods such as Beln,
Santiago and Coripata quickly deteriorated, entire blocks were left uninhabited with
their houses in ruins. The effects of this decline could still be seen in the 1940s. Only
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sus toldos, donde bailan, comen el afamado Corpus-uchu, que es un compuesto de papas con aj,
mucha especera, chorizo y conejo, el que con un pan y una servilleta de maz tostado vale medio.
(Blanco, 1974)
Quien haya participado u observado la celebracin del Corpus Christi, podr reconocer el potaje que se consuma, es infaltable, aunque con el nombre de chiri-uchu.
Poco queda sin ser mencionado por Jos Mara Blanco. Jorge Basadre, el destacado Historiador de la Repblica, lo denomina: viva enciclopedia del Per meridional. Ser difcil
encontrar otra ciudad peruana que posea fuente histrica del valor del Diario [...].
El decaimiento
A partir de los aos cuarenta del siglo XIX, comienza el decaimiento de la ciudad. La
industria textil, que contaba con el mercado del sur, incluso el Alto Per, Chile y la
Argentina, se pierde, por la importacin de textiles europeos, especialmente ingleses.
Sntomas del decaimiento son la clausura de la Casa de la Moneda; el descenso de la
poblacin. Cuzco pierde casi la mitad de los 35 a 40,000 habitantes que se calcula
tena en 1824. El censo de 1876 estima la poblacin de 17,000 habitantes. Barrios
como los de Beln, especialmente Santiago, Coripata, se deterioraron rpidamente,
manzanas completas se quedan sin habitantes, con las casas derruidas. Este estado
se poda comprobar todava en los aos cuarenta del siglo XX. Recin alrededor de
1910 la ciudad conoce crecimiento demogrfico, que es continuo y sostenido desde
entonces hasta la fecha.
La ciudad entra en sueos, ajena a los cambios que se producan, especialmente en
Lima, que se enseoreaba como la principal del pas. Las descripciones de los viajeros, muestran es ciudad que decrece, con calles y plazas abandonas. Sin embargo
resaltan la importancia y majestuosidad de los monumentos incaicos y coloniales,
que merecen los mejores elogios de quienes los ven. Basta examinar los dibujos que
dejan estos viajeros de gusto exquisito, para apreciar que a pesar de la decadencia, la
ciudad se mantena atractiva. La traza de la ciudad se conserva sin mayores cambios,
puesto que la poblacin no creca.
El cambio de siglo
A pesar del decaimiento, se observan sntomas de propuestas importantes. Lo muestra la creacin de la Fbrica de Tejidos Lucre, todava en 1861. Contaba con maquinaria fabricada en Europa, transportada desde puerto en recuas de mulas. Otra fbrica, la de Tejidos Marangan, se instal en 1899, mostrando el empuje que animaba
a los industriales cuzqueos.
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in 1910 did the population begin to increase once more, as it has steadily to the
present day.
The city slept, far from the great changes wrought in Lima. Travellers descriptions
show a city of deserted streets and abandoned plazas. At the same time, however, they
highlight the importance and majesty of the citys Inca and colonial monuments.
One need only study the exquisite drawings made by these travellers to appreciate
that despite the general air of decay, the city remained attractive. The city plan remained
unchanged due to its negative population growth.
A New Century
In the midst of general decline there were other important and more positive symptoms.
One such was the creation of the Lucre Textile Factory in 1861. It had machinery
imported from Europe, transported from the coast on mule back. Another factory,
Marangani, opened in 1899, again demonstrating the entrepreneurial drive of the
people of Cuzco.
The 20th century saw continued entrepreneurial activity. The Urcos Textile Factory
opened in 1910. In 1928 La Estrella and Huascar opened. These were the seeds of
new economic growth, together with the emergence of the first urban workers. The
unions began to organise from 1925 and soon adopted the revolutionary stance of the
international proletariat of the time.
The factories and the population demanded new energy, and it was the private sector
that responded to the demand for electricity. The first hydroelectric project was built
at Corimarca to provide the city with light. It was inaugurated on December 24th
1914.
The city entered yet another period of change and transformation. Sanitation became
an issue, and the Huatanay river was canalised. The Beln hospital was enlarged and
the first horse drawn tram public transport system was introduced.
This innovative spirit, shared by diverse sectors of the population, led to the exploration
of the Amazon region. Some went in search of new resources, others looked for a
route east, some sought gold. There were rubber tappers, tea planters and coffee and
cocoa plantation owners in the hot highland forests.
The Railway
At the centre of the national policy of central government was the construction of the
rail system, and the iron horses began to link the nations production centres. In
1870 the first line was opened from Mollendo and it would soon link the cities of
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El cambio al siglo XX, sigui mostrando la pujanza empresarial. Comienza a funcionar la Fbrica de Tejidos Urcos en 1910. En 1928 se hallan en funcionamiento La
Estrella y Huscar. Fueron simiente del crecimiento econmico, como del surgimiento de los primeros obreros urbanos. Los sindicatos se organizaron a partir de 1925.
Muy pronto siguieron las orientaciones revolucionarias del sindicalismo propias del
proletariado internacional.
Las fbricas y la poblacin demandaban nueva energa. Fue esta necesidad que impuls a que la empresa privada asumiera la tarea de proporcionar servicio elctrico a
la ciudad. Se construy la primera central hidroelctrica de Corimarca, que sirvi
para iluminar la ciudad. La inauguracin fue el 24 de diciembre de 1914.
La ciudad inici otra etapa de cambio y transformacin. El saneamiento ya fue preocupacin, comenzando los trabajos para canalizar el ro Huatanay; se ampli el Hospital de Beln. Se inaugur transporte urbano con tranvas halados por caballos.
El espritu innovador, compartido por los diversos sectores de la poblacin, incentiv
la exploracin de la regin amaznica. Unos buscando nuevos recursos, otros en pos
de rutas para llegar al oriente; otros buscando yacimientos de oro; como caucheros;
cultivadores de t, caf y cacao en las tierras calientes de la ceja de selva.
El ferrocarril
La poltica nacional del gobierno nacional fue la construccin de ferrocarriles. Es as
que los caballos de hierro comenzaron a unir diferentes espacios productivos. En
1870 comenz el que partiendo del puerto de Mollendo, unira la ciudad de Arequipa,
con Juliaca y Puno. La construccin del ramal al Cuzco fue de avance lento. Estuvo
detenido en Sicuani a 140 kilmetros del Cuzco, durante varios aos, hasta el 13 de
setiembre de 1908 que por fin arrib al Cuzco. Se conserva documentacin visual,
fotografas, con vvidas imgenes de este acontecimiento. La modernidad tecnolgica
mostraba presencia en el escenario urbano.
El ferrocarril tuvo efectos que duraron dcadas. El Cuzco se vincul con la cuenca del
Ro de La Plata, mejor decir con la ciudad de Buenos Aires. Propicio intercambio de
ideas, noticias, libros. Intelectuales y artistas publicaron en diarios bonaerenses, incluso circularon diarios y revistas argentinos. Fotografas de Martn Chambi, ilustraron con frecuencia pginas de publicaciones porteas. Esta relacin se cort al intensificarse la relacin area con Lima.
La Universidad
La nica universidad sufra los mismos sntomas de pasividad que caracteriz su
existencia los ltimos decenios del siglo XIX. Sin embargo se hallaba en fermento
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Arequipa, Juliaca and Puno. The construction of the line to Cuzco advanced slowly.
It ground to a halt at Sicuani, 140 kilometres from Cuzco, for several years and finally
reached Cuzco on September 13th 1908. Photographs exist which record the event.
Modern technology had made its entrance on the citys urban stage.
The effect of the railway was felt for decades. Cuzco developed ties with Buenos Aires,
opening a propitious exchange of ideas, news and books. Intellectuals and artists
published in the Buenos Aires press, and Argentine papers and magazines circulated
in Cuzco. The photographs of Martn Chambi appeared frequently in Buenos Aires
publications. This close relationship remained strong until air travel from Lima brought
Cuzco closer to the rest of Peru.
The University
The university suffered the same symptoms of lethargy that had characterised its
existence in the last decades of the 19th century. Nevertheless, there were anxious
currents of change and renovation emerging. It was the student body that produced
the movement for change. Events began with the protests of May 1909, which led to
one of the first university strikes and a new spirit of change.
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ansias de cambio y renovacin. Fueron los estudiantes los que produjeron el estallido renovador, dando inicio al cambio. Los hechos comenzaron con la protesta de
mayo de 1909, que condujo a una de las primeras huelgas universitarias y renovacin del espritu antoniano.
Los estudiantes propusieron cambios en la enseanza, que para ese momento fueron
radicales. Difundieron sus propuestas publicando La Sierra, revista que se convirti
despus en ncleo del movimiento llamado la generacin de la sierra. Agrup a
jvenes que despus destacaron como polticos, cientficos, juristas, naturalistas,
ensayistas, lo que hoy en da se llamaran socilogos, arquelogos, antroplogos. Es
el caso, por ejemplo, de Luis E. Valcrcel y J. Uriel Garca Ochoa.
Al no cesar el conflicto, la universidad fue recesada por el gobierno. Al reabrirse se
nombr Rector al Dr. Albert Giesecke, era febrero de 1910, este gobierno concluy en
1923. Con este rector comenz nueva etapa en la vida universitaria. Alent a los
estudiantes a investigar, que se interesaran en temas culturales, sociales y naturales propios de la regin. Alent la realizacin del primer censo cientfico de la ciudad. Los estudiantes realizaron el trabajo de campo, que arroj una poblacin de
26,939 habitantes, con datos de la distribucin por cuarteles, sexo, edad, ocupacin, incluso razas, claro que con los criterios de la poca. La ciudad haba comenzado a recuperar su poblacin.
Cuzco y Machupiqchu.
En julio de 1911 se difundi la noticia que el Dr. Hiram Bingham, profesor norteamericano, haba descubierto la Ciudad Perdida de los Incas. As comenzaron los acontecimientos que tuvieron especial impacto en la ciudad y su regin. Desde entonces
su destino se halla ligado a tan singular obra del pasado inca, debido principalmente
al valor que ha tomado los ltimos decenios como centro de atraccin del turismo
internacional.
Bingham realmente no descubri Machupiqchu. Se le puede considerar difusor de
su existencia, que lo hizo conocer por el mundo acadmico primero y posteriormente
del general. Machupiqchu fue conocido por los hacendados de la regin y los trabajadores agrcolas de las mismas. Adems haba dos caminos de trnsito intenso al
valle de Santa Ana, mejor conocido como Quillabamba. Uno va por la margen derecha
del ro Vilcanota, conocido y utilizado por miles de viajeros, durante siglos, para
dirigirse a los valles amaznicos de la regin. El otro es el de la margen izquierda,
menos transitado, hoy da interrumpido en muchos sectores. Adems la distancia
entre Machupiqchu y Ollantaytambo, no excede 40 kilmetros, todo camino llano, al
punto que fue utilizado, en gran parte de su recorrido, para colocar los rieles del
actual ferrocarril Cuzco-Quillabamba, tambin interrumpido por un aluvin que cort
su recorrido.
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The students proposed changes to teaching methods that were radical for the time.
They spread their ideas via a publication entitled La Sierra, a magazine that became
the nucleus of the movement known as the highland generation. It included young
people who would go on to become politicians, scientists, lawyers and judges,
naturalists and essayists: what we term today sociologists, archaeologists and
anthropologists. Among them were Luis E. Valcrcel and J. Uriel Garca Ochoa.
With the conflict unresolved, the government closed the university. When it was
reopened Doctor Albert Giesecke was named as the new rector. It was February 1910,
and he would remain until 1923. With this new rector a new era of university life
began. He encouraged students to carry out research, and to interest themselves in
the cultural, social and natural aspects of the region. He encouraged the first scientific
census of the city. The students did the field work and established that there were
26,939 inhabitants, dividing their results by sex, age, occupation and even race. The
city had begun to recover its population level.
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Rafael Aguilar, a professor at the Universidad Nacional del Cusco, also wrote that the
archaeological site was already known, and used by local inhabitants who visited the
ruins constantly, perhaps even making clandestine excavations, as was the custom
of the time. Aguilar writes:
() they were able to confirm (the visitors) that Enrique Palma had visited the ruins ten years
earlier, for they were able to read Palmas name and those of three others written on one of
the walls and dated 1902, as well as discovering broken glass and empty tin cans ().
(Aguilar, 1961: 62).
Among those who gave Bingham the exact location of Machupiqchu was Albert
Giesecke. As the rector of the university he maintained a dialogue with his students,
some of whom were the children of the hacienda owners with land around
Machupiqchu. Several of them had spent their holidays at the site, climbing up to the
mythical Lost City of the Incas, and their exploits were published at the time.
Machupiqchu, with its balance and harmony with nature, is a unique attraction, and
is without a doubt the regions most important Inca site.
New Architecture
The birth of a new century brought the anxiety of modernization. Public and domestic
architecture of the time reflects those desires. To modernize meant seeking new
tendencies, assimilating them and applying them to the constructions of the time.
The faraway models were European, the nearer ones came from Lima. Local architecture
was reflected in mansions that tried to imitate colonial architecture, thereby creating
the neo-colonial style.
Elements of Art Nouveau and chalet style were introduced, the latter characteristic
of European rural architecture. The new styles were favoured by the urban expansion
produced by the citys economic renaissance, the arrival of the railway and the building of factories.
Public buildings of the time show the introduction of new ideas, although the old Inca
designs were not abandoned completely. The Antonio F. Lorena hospital is a good
example, with its pre-Columbian motifs decorating the faade combined with elements
of Art Nouveau.
The areas into which the city expanded, together with the areas abandoned years,
before lent themselves to the new architecture, leaving behind the style that had not
changed since the 18th century. The citys uniformity of design disappeared as several
styles emerged. Sectors like Beln, Almudena and Santiago exhibit simple structures,
of little architectural value.
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Nueva arquitectura
Los inicios del siglo traen ansias de modernizacin. La arquitectura pblica y domstica refleja estos deseos. Modernizar significa buscar tendencias nuevas, asimilarlas y aplicarlas en las contadas construcciones que se hicieron. Los modelos lejanos
estn en Europa, los cercanos en Lima. Queda atrs la arquitectura local, de casonas
que trataron de seguir el modelo colonial, surgiendo el neo-colonial.
Se introducen corrientes que van del art noveau a viviendas del tipo chalet, arquitectura de orientacin rural europea. Los nuevos estilos se vieron favorecidos por la
expansin urbana, que se produce por el renacimiento econmico de la ciudad, el
arribo del ferrocarril, la instalacin de fbricas.
Los edificios pblicos muestran introduccin de las ideas nuevas, aunque no abandonan del todo las incanistas. El hospital Antonio F. Lorena, es buen ejemplo. Los
motivos precolombinos, que se tomaban por incas, son usados decorativamente en la
fachada, combinados con elementos art noveau.
Los espacios de expansin de la ciudad y las reas abandonadas aos atrs, se prestan para materializar las nuevas modas arquitectnicas. Se dejan de lado las vigentes, que casi no haban cambiado desde el siglo XVIII. Deja de existir cierta uniformidad, que cambia a variados estilos. Los sectores que van recuperndose
urbansticamente como Beln, Almudena y Santiago, exhiben construcciones sencillas, de poco valor arquitectnico.
La arquitectura domstica de estilo republicano tradicional, se conserva en las parroquias de San Pedro y Santa Ana. Teniendo como referencias los templos de San Pedro, Santa Clara, San Francisco y Santa Teresa, se puede todava apreciar el sector
de la ciudad que mejor conserva el carcter urbano que predomin hasta 1950, ao
de otro terremoto de proporciones que sufri la ciudad. Sus efectos an siguen teniendo consecuencias, pudindose, adems, comprobar los daos que produjo, que
no han sido remediados del todo.
Organizacin poltica
El siglo veinte es de debate ideolgico intenso. Se siguen influencias de corrientes
de pensamiento mundial. El aislamiento geogrfico de la ciudad, no determin aisEl Centro del Universo Andino
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Political Organisation
The 20 th century was one of intense
ideological debate, influenced by currents
of world thought. The geographical isolation
of the city did not mean it was ideologically
isolated. The events of the Russian
revolution were closely studied, as were the
new socialist movements, principally in
France. In May 1929 the Peruvian
Communist Party was founded in Lima.
One of its first resolutions was: To
constitute a communist cell in Cuzco and
prepare and organise the Communist Party
of Peru, affiliated to the International
Communist Party, which had its nearest
cell in Buenos Aires. This foundation was
predated by organisations formed as early
as 1927. (Gutirrez, 1986)
Years before the first Aprista organisation in Peru was the Cuzco Aprista cell (October
1926) (Gutirrez). Its foundation was the result of the influence of young people in
Cuzco who had travelled to Paris to study. These Cuzco university students were
prominent at the founding of the first Aprista cell in Paris, and it was a Cuzco man
who was elected as the first Secretary General of the Aprista Party in Paris.
The Cuzco cell of 1926 also included members who, due to ideological and
revolutionary tactical differences, decided to leave and form the 1929 Communist
Party cell. The two organisations became rivals, clashing as well as suffering together
under the repression of successive conservative civilian and military governments.
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Indigenismo, Incanismo
El indigenismo es la corriente ideolgica de accin poltica, propia del Cuzco. Present caractersticas similares en Puno, en el altiplano del Lago Titicaca. Coinciden en el
tiempo, en principios generales y en acciones que siguieron. Tambin se encuentran
indigenistas en Lima, que se concentraron en crculos acadmicos.
El indigenismo surge de la percepcin de la condicin subordinada de las poblaciones
monolinges o de bilingismo incipiente, dedicadas principalmente a labores
agropecuarias. El idioma andino, quechua o aymara, es el materno, utilizado en relaciones familiares y comunitarias. Se le suman condiciones econmicas, sociales, culturales y polticas subordinadas. Resalta la marginalidad social, que no permite participen en relaciones de clase, o lo hace siempre en condiciones de explotacin.
Prioritariamente tienen ocupaciones rurales, a veces artesanales. Su cultura es de
orientacin andina, diferente a la urbana, que es de manifiesta influencia occidental.
La cultura conserva elementos de origen preinvasin espaola del siglo XVI, incluyendo religin, que es diferente a la catlica. Resumiendo, la condicin de servidumbre compromete toda su vida.
El incanismo y el indigenismo son dos caras de la misma medalla. No se oponen, se
complementan, se los encuentra simultneamente. Esta combinacin es evidente
en artistas plsticos, ensayista y polticos.
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Indigenism, Incanism
Indigenism is the ideology of political action that emerged in Cuzco. It also influenced
Puno, near Lake Titicaca and the two movements coincided in timing, general
principles and the action they took. Indigenists also emerged in Lima, mostly
concentrated in academic circles.
Indigenism came from the perception of the subordination of the indigenous
population engaged principally in agricultural activities. Among these people the
mother tongues are Aymara and Quechua, and it is these languages that are spoken
in the home and in the community. Economically, socially, culturally and politically,
these indigenous people are condemned to a subordinate role. They are socially
marginalized, not permitted to participate in class relations and are exploited. Their
principal activities are rural-based. Their culture is Andean, distinct from the
European-influenced urban society, and conserves elements of the original preinvasion culture of the 16th century, including non-Catholic religious practices. In
effect, they have been a servant class for four and a half centuries.
Incanism and Indigenism are two sides of the same coin. They are not opposed, but
rather complement each other a combination evident in the art, politics and writing
of Cuzco.
Incanism is uniquely local and regional. Like any other society, Cuzco has its own
patterns, values, rules and myths. These are important as affirmations of reality, and
indicate goals, ways of being, value systems and the structure of the society.
One of the Cuzco myths is that of the Inca, which emerges from the city traditions
and is not based on any single ruler of that culture, but is in fact an idea, a principle
of existence and a reference point. The Incas and their empire or state are seen as
part of the present, rather than the past, reality. It is an ideology that influences
many fields of activity, from art (particularly painting and sculpture) to literature and
politics.
In the social mentality of scholars and artists, whatever their social or cultural background, level of education, or any other criteria related to class society and cultural
and ethnic differences, there is a sense of identity with the Inca, with the real or
supposed glory of the empire of Tawantinsuyu.
This sense of identity refers to a past both distant and near, dependent on the
circumstances and social or cultural means within the context of which it is evoked.
It has presence and continuity. In this way the notion of the Inca is felt, shared and
understood. For outside observers it would be difficult, if not impossible, to comprehend
or assimilate this sentiment. It is, perhaps, a manifestation of a local historical
schizophrenia.
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113
This Inca ideology is based on that cultures historical existence and physical
presence, for the vestiges of the Incas and their works are still felt. This is expressed
in resistance and continuity. Resistance to cultural pressure and imposition, which
may be passive, active or even violent. As a process continuity is its other face.
Continuity lends persistence and facilitates resistance allowing the creation of
ceremonies, technology, social and economic organisation.
Incanism is the exceptional value attributed to the Incas of Tawantinsuyu. As an
ideology it emerged in the 18th century. The first Incanist was Garcilaso de la Vega. He
is not a chronicler, but rather a historian, with the virtues and defects of all historians.
His historical-literary creation is guided by ideology.
It is evident that the influence of Garcilaso de la Vega was felt by the conspirators
against colonialism of the 18th century, the century of revolts. The second edition of
the Royal Commentaries of the Incas became a subversive book in the hands and
minds of its readers. Several rebellions and the great revolution of Jos Gabriel Thupa
Amaro of 1780 took the book as an ideological reference point through which demands
and plans for future government were formulated.
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como referencia ideolgica, para formular reclamos y proponer los planes del futuro
gobierno.
Al margen de su veracidad, porque es mito moderno, el Cuzco tiene sus propios patrones, metas y regulaciones. En tiempos modernos el incanismo resalta las virtudes
de la organizacin social inca, de la tecnologa que utilizaron en la arquitectura, religin, arte, ideologa.
Influye en polticos que preparan programas de gobierno. Esta actitud puede conducir, sensiblemente, a lucubraciones sin base cientfica. Es la condicin servil que
motiva a intelectuales, artistas y personas con sensibilidad social, a protestar por la
explotacin que sufran los descendientes de los incas. En esencia el indigenismo se
expresa en la accin poltica y social, con manifestaciones ntidas en las artes, especialmente plsticas y literarias. Los antecedentes son novelas publicadas en aos
tempranos del siglo XIX.
El indigenismo literario se presenta en la novela El padre Horn, autora de Narciso
Arestegui. Fue publicada en 1848. Su importancia va en dos direcciones. La descripcin de la vida del Cuzco, la ubica en el realismo de ciudad en crisis. La pobreza se
halla en todos lados, con incidencia en la vida de los indgenas, sumergidos en abyecta miseria y explotacin, con slo obligaciones. Este aspecto de la novela la ubica
como precursora del indigenismo
La cuzquea Clorinda Matto Usandivaras, escribi otra novela del indigenismo auroral. Vivi en el campo, conoci de cerca las condiciones en que se hallaban los campesinos quechuas, a quienes llama hermanos. Dedic parte de su vida a denunciar
lo que haba visto, escribiendo en peridicos de la poca. Su novela Aves sin Nido,
muestra como las autoridades del gobierno nacional, local y religioso, explotan a los
indgenas quechuas. Sus crticas atrajeron la clera de quienes se sintieron aludidos, especialmente por su acento anticlerical. Se lleg al extremo de quemar sus
libros. Fue excomulgada por la iglesia catlica, debiendo alejarse del Cuzco para
dirigirse al exilio en Argentina.
La literatura de temtica indigenista, podra denominarse realismo literario, porque
se inspira en la vida diaria. Esta literatura pasa por etapas. A ms de la novela se
expresa en la poesa. Entre los creadores que sobresalen con obra potica est Andrs Alencastre, escribe con el seudnimo de Kilko Waraka, para crear tronante poesa quechua; Luis Nieto Miranda es otro poeta de fuste. En novela se debe mencionar
a Lizandro Caller con su nica novela Kcori Champ, a Jos ngel Escalante y ngel Carreo. Quedan nombres sin citar por la brevedad que exige esta historia.
A partir de las corrientes polticas de los aos veinte del siglo pasado, el indigenismo
se vuelve contestatario, al tiempo que se dedica al estudio cientfico, con fuerte respaldo acadmico, por ser precursora de las ciencias sociales contemporneas. Resal-
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On the margin of truth, because it is modern myth, Cuzco has its own patterns, goals
and rules. In modern times Incanism highlights the virtues of Inca social organisation,
architecture, technology, religion, art and ideology.
Incanism influences the politicians who prepare government programs. This attitude
can lead to lucubration with no scientific basis. It is the servile condition that motivates
intellectuals, artists and socially aware individuals to protest the exploitation endured
by the descendants of the Incas. In essence Indigenism is expressed in political and
social action as well as in art and literature, such as the novels published in the first
years of the 19th century.
Literary Indigenism is present in the novel El padre Horn, written by Narciso
Arestegui. It was published in 1848 and its importance is two-fold: the description of
life in Cuzco is a realist portrait of a city in crisis. Poverty is everywhere in the lives of
the indigenous majority, who are submerged in abject misery and exploitation. In this
sense the novel is a precursor of Indigenism.
The Cuzco writer Clorinda Matto Usandivaras wrote another Indigenist novel. She
lived in the countryside, and knew at first hand the condition of the Quechua peasantry,
whom she called her brothers. She dedicated part of her life to campaigning against
what she witnessed, writing in the newspapers of the time. Her novel Aves sin nido
shows how the authorities of local and national government and the Church exploit
the indigenous Quechuas. The book drew the criticism of those who felt they were
being attacked, particularly due to its anticlerical stance. Copies of the book were
even burned and the author was excommunicated from the Catholic Church and fled
into exile in Argentina.
Indigenist orientated literature can be described as literary realism, for it is inspired
by daily life. This literature passes through phases and is expressed more in poetry
than the novel form. Its most accomplished exponents include Andrs Alencastre,
who writes under the pseudonym Kilko Waraka and Luis Nieto Miranda. In the novel
form Lizandro Caller deserves mention for his only novel Kcori Champi, as do Jos
Angel Escalante and Angel Carreo, among many others I do not have the space to
mention in this brief work.
With the political currents of the 1920s, Indigenism re-emerged during a period of
nascent scientific study and received new academic support as a precursor of
contemporary social sciences. Its most accomplished exponents were J. Uriel Garca
and Luis E. Valcrcel, both products of Cuzcos university who went on to become
distinguished academics.
Uriel Garca wrote sociological essays; texts on the history of Cuzco art, and in 1925
one of the first tourist guides. In the Nuevo Indio, his best-known work, he describes
aspects of the city and proposes the emergence of a new type of Indian, thereby
contradicting the attitude of other Indigenists.
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Teatro quechua
El teatro en quechua es otra vertiente de la ideologa cuzquea.
Las primeras dcadas se caracterizaron por presentacin de
obras de diversos gneros. Resalta en este teatro, adems de
funcionar como articulador, el uso del quechua, el idioma de
los incas. Esta caracterstica la incluye en su totalidad, a corrientes ideolgicas locales. La temtica es bsicamente
indigenista e incanista, tambin hubo obras con fines de
catequizacin catlica o de reafirmacin de esta fe.
Calle Abrasitos
Se asista al teatro en forma familiar. Las de clase alta iba acompaada con squito de
sirvientes que llevan sillas y alfombras, porque los teatros no contaban con todas
estas instalaciones. Adems los actores y autores de las obras, fueron parte de la
sociedad cuzquea. El sacerdote Nemesio Ziga Cazorla fue autor de autos
sacramentales y obras incsicas. Otros autores son Nicanor Jara; Flix Silva; Luis
Ochoa Guevara, que tambin fue actor, resalta por su actuacin en el drama Ollanta.
Pintura
La pintura de caballete, muestra la sensibilidad de los artistas plsticos, unos como
prctica permanente, otros de manera ocasional. Resalta la temtica de la vida camEl Centro del Universo Andino
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Luis E. Valcrcel researched and wrote about a variety of subjects that we group
together today as archaeology and ethnic history. He wrote about the Incas, their
ethnology, and concerned himself with the social conditions of the indigenous
population. In Tempestad en los Andes, written during a period of social conflict, he
expresses the essence of Indigenist thought.
Quechua Theatre
Theatre in the Quechua tongue is another product of Cuzco ideology. Its first decades
produced a number of works. Quechua was the language of the Incas and is therefore
the chosen vehicle of expression for local ideological currents. The subject of this
theatre is essentially Indigenist and Incanist, although works were also produced
that reaffirmed the Catholic faith through the catechism.
Theatre was a family entertainment, and the upper class went accompanied by their
servants bearing seats and carpets not provided by the establishment. The actors
and the authors were all members of Cuzco society. The priest Nemesio Ziga Cazorla
was the author of both Incan and sacramental works. Other authors included Nicanor
Jara, Flix Silva and Luis Ochoa Guevara, who was also an actor famed for his
distinguished performance in the drama Ollanta.
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pesina, con personajes de gran fuerza y vigor, aunque no estn ausentes las que
denunciaron la explotacin a que son sometidos, por su condicin de servidumbre.
Sobresale la produccin de Francisco Gonzlez Gamarra; Mariano Fuentes Lira; Manuel Figueroa Aznar; Agustn Rivero; Julio G. Gutirrez.
Fotografa
La tecnologa fotogrfica que fue introducida por viajeros europeos a fines del siglo
XIX, fue asimilada con entusiasmo y calidad por artistas locales. La realidad circundante formada por imponentes monumentos incas y coloniales, combinada con las
imgenes de la vida local y rural inspir a los fotgrafos locales. Sus imgenes
perennizan visualmente la vida urbana de la primera mitad del siglo XX. Combin
calidad tcnica con refinamiento artstico, proporcionando insustituible documentacin visual de la ciudad y su entorno. Son varios los fotgrafos de esta poca como
Miguel Chani; Manuel Figueroa Aznar; los Hermanos Cabrera; Horacio Ochoa; Jos
Gabriel Gonzlez y Abraham Guilln. Resalta la figura de Martn Chambi, identificado
como el fotgrafo del Cuzco.
La vida nacional llega indudablemente a una etapa interesantsima. Se dira que
asistimos a un renacimiento peruano. Tenemos arte incaico. Teatro Incaico. Msica
Incaica. Y para que nada nos falte nos ha sobrevenido una revolucin incaica (El
Tiempo, No. 288: 25-04-1917, Lima).
Calle Tigre
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Painting
Cuzco easel painting shows the sensibility of the artists, some of whom were
professionals, others amateur. Rural life is a recurring theme, with protagonists of
great strength and vigour, although paintings were also produced that denounce the
exploitation these characters were submitted to in their condition as underlings. The
most distinguished exponents of this movement were: Francisco Gonzlez Gamarra;
Mariano Fuentes Lira; Manuel Figueroa Aznar; Agustn Rivero and Julio G. Gutirrez.
Photography
The technology of photography was introduced by European travellers towards the
end of the 19th century and was assimilated enthusiasically and expertly by local
artists. The abundance of nearby Inca and colonial monuments, combined with images
of local and rural life, inspired
local photographers. Their images captured for ever Cuzco life in the first half of the
20th century, combining technical quality with artistic refinement, and providing an
irreplaceable visual document of the city and its surroundings. Several photographers
of the period deserve mention, and they include: Miguel Chani; Manuel Figueroa
Aznar: the Cabrera brothers; Horacio Ochoa; Jos Gabriel Gonzlez. The most important
figure of the genre was Martn Chambi, from Puno but identified as a Cusco
photographer.
National life has without doubt reached a fascinating stage. It may come to be known by
some as a Peruvian Renaissance. There is Inca art, Inca theatre and Inca music, practically an
Inca revolution. (El Tiempo, No.288:25-04-1917, Lima)
The above paragraph is revealing. It was evidently written with Cuzco Incanism in
mind, by an unknown author, for the ideological movement was limited geographically.
The quote was included by the linguist Csar Itier, in the book he wrote about Cuzco
theatre. El Tiempo, from whence it comes, was a newspaper published in Lima as an
organ of the Unin Nacional political party led by Manuel Gonzlez Prada, a radical
known as the Master of the Youth (Itier, 2000).
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Casa de Cartagena
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Casa Cuzquea
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Today the people of Cuzco have set themselves up as the controllers of the quality,
historical veracity, authenticity and artistic quality of Inti Raymi. Experts in Inca
ethnic history and culture pronounce on the ceremony. This attitude is understandable,
because it is the result of a participation in the continuing Inca legacy of the city. It is
yet another collective manifestation of the ideology of Incanism.
Cuzco Day was later transformed from a one day celebration to Cuzco Week, and
finally to Cuzco Anniversary Month. Processions involving local educational
establishments of all kinds have been added, and the two city universities have their
own procession day. The celebration is for the citys inhabitants, but it has also become
a tourist attraction, with Peruvian visitors outnumbering those from overseas. At
Saqsaywaman alone, some 50,000 spectators gather each year.
The success of Inti Raymi has motivated other cities to present similar ceremonies,
like that held in Puno on November 4th. On this anniversary of the citys Spanish
foundation the Emergence of Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo is staged. This is inspired
by the myth of the founding couple who emerged from Lake Titicaca to establish
Qosqo. In Cuzco, the Festival of Raqchi was begun in 1969, at the peasant village
which is home to the monumental Inca Temple of Wiracocha. By 2000, thirty-three
Raymis were being celebrated in the department of Cuzco, and the celebrations have
spread throughout the country and as far afield as Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Spain
and Italy. These festivals names vary according to their dates and local interpretations,
but for all of them the model is Cuzcos Inti Raymi.
Beyond their ideological content, the new presentations of Inti Raymi and its imitators
show that Quechua theatre is alive and well. The scripts are written in Quechua by
local intellectuals, and university professors are often asked to advise at events, in
the role of social science specialists.
The Inti Raymi of the 1940s had its precedents in the events held by the Incas in the
16th, 17th and 18th centuries during the procession of Corpus Christi. They recreated
Inca processions once held to mark the birth of heirs to the throne, royal marriages or
the arrival of regional governors. The most recent event of this type was that held to
mark the 400th anniversary of the Spanish founding of the city in the 1920s.
Science
The development of science in the 20th century was linked to the Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad, and its professors and students constituted the greater part
of scientific activity. Their principle contributions were in the fields of natural sciences
particularly botany and social sciences like geography, history, anthropology and
folklore. They adhered to the principles of Indigenism.
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Ciencia
El desarrollo cientfico del siglo XX est vinculado con la Universidad Nacional de San
Antonio Abad. Fueron profesores y estudiantes los que realizaron la mayor parte de la
actividad cientfica. Como adelantamos las principales contribuciones son en ciencias naturales, especialmente la botnica y ciencias sociales como geografa, historia,
antropologa, folklore. No estuvieron ajenos al indigenismo en sus principios generales.
El Centro Cientfico del Cuzco funcion en el trnsito del siglo XIX al XX, puesto que
se fund en septiembre de 1897. Reuni destacadas personalidades, dedicadas al
estudio de la realidad regional. Entre los fundadores y principales animadores estuvieron Manuel Edmundo Montesinos; Eusebio Corazao; Lucas Capar Muiz; Antonio Lorena, autor de varios libros dedicados a la flora regional. Publicaron el Boletn
Cientfico del Cuzco, impreso prcticamente desconocido en el Cuzco, convertido en
joya bibliogrfica.
Turismo
La publicidad que recibi la ciudad inca de Machupiqchu, de la ciudad perdida de
los incas por Hiram Bingham, la convirti en atractivo mundial. Primero fueron estudiosos inducidos por el mito creado por Bingham o simples curiosos a los que atraen
lugares exticos. Hasta la dcada de los aos cuarenta del siglo pasado, los visitantes
fueron grupos reducidos. Ascendan al cerro Piccho caminando o en mulas, ofertadas
a quienes no estaban dispuestos a caminar.
El viaje se efectuaba en tren, hasta la estacin, entonces llamada Punta de Rieles,
hoy Machupiqchu Pueblo, despus de haber sido Aguas Calientes. A partir de los
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The Cuzco Scientific Centre was founded on the cusp of the transition from the 19th to
the 20th century in September 1897. It brought together distinguished local personages
dedicated to the study of the regions reality. Among the founders and promotors of
this institution were Manuel Edmundo Montesinos, Eusebio Corazao, Lucas Capar
Muiz and Antonio Lorena, the author of several books on the regions flora. They
published the Cuzco Scientific Bulletin, practically unknown in Cuzco at the time
and now a bibliographical jewel.
Tourism
The publicity received by the Inca city of Machupiqchu, the Lost City of the Incas
after Hiram Binghams visit made it a global attraction. The first visitors were scholars
attracted by the myth created by Bingham or curious laymen attracted to the exotic.
Until the 1940s visitor numbers were low. They would climb the Piccho hill on foot or
muleback.
The first train trips went as far as Punta de Rieles Station, now Machu Picchu Pueblo
and known also as Aguas Calientes. By the 1940s, four to six passengers could be
taken at a time, and these transports were superceded by wagons able to carry thirty
passengers.
From 1950, due to the growth in tourism, exclusive tourist transport was established,
with larger carriages. And since 1948, when the road to the ruins was opened, physical
strength has not been a requirement of visitors to Machupiqchu. And the rest, of
course, is history.
Machupiqchu receives more visitors than any other site in Cuzco and has become a
symbol of the Incas, a place that must be visited. Peru and Cuzco are defined by this
important archaeological site. Any visit to the city of Cuzco and its surrounding
monuments culminates in the trip to Machupiqchu.
Tourism has added economic value to Machupiqchus ideological value, and in less
than thirty years it has become one of the worlds greatest tourist attractions, as well
as being recognised as an exceptional place of sacred and mystical significance.
The impact of the city is evidenced by the continuous construction of new
accommodation of all categories, from five star hotels to simple rooms offering a floor
for tired backpackers to stretch out on. The services offered to those visiting Cuzco
centre around Machupiqchu, and the economy of the city, are linked to tourism,
though not to the degree claimed by local entrepreneurs.
Tourism grew from 1950, but increased in earnest from 1985, with occasional minor
fluctuations. Cuzcos urban structure was altered as old buildings were converted
into hotels. Restaurants, bars, travel agents and other services linked to 20th century
travel were established. The urban layout was modified. Old colonial houses
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tado fue que el gobierno cancel sus propuestas. Este captulo ilustra la importancia
y fuerza del smbolo en el imaginario colectivo, de los niveles a los que se llega, cuando se considera que el smbolo es mellado.
El terremoto de 1950
El 20 de mayo de 1950, la ciudad volvi a sufrir los efectos de un terremoto. Este
fenmeno natural sirve de hito temporal para concluir esta historia de la ciudad. En
el medio siglo transcurrido, el Cuzco, ha experimentado cambios acelerados en sus
formas de vida. La ciudad ha sido transformada en su traza urbana, con cambios no
siempre adecuados. La economa ha recibido impacto del turismo, que ha modificado, en gran parte, su tradicional vocacin agropecuaria y minera. La ciudad se ha
adecuado a servicios para el turismo. Este proceso, al mismo tiempo, ha despertado
conciencia de la necesidad de proteger el centro histrico monumental. Va tomando
cuerpo el inters por la cultura inmaterial o viva, que debe ser parte del quehacer de
los diversos niveles de gobierno, con participacin ciudadana.
El desarrollo cientfico, artstico, ha experimentado notable desarrollo. Son numerosos los cientficos que sobresalen, especialmente en el campo de las ciencias naturales, sociales, agropecuarias. La creacin artstica es notable, tanto en la literatura,
cuanto en las artes plsticas, especialmente pintura y escultura. La literatura es
cultivada con calidad, con autores de nivel local, nacional e internacional.
Debe entenderse que la decisin de concluir esta historia en 1950 es arbitraria. La
complejidad social, econmica, poltica, cientfica y cultural de los ltimos cincuenta
aos de por s merece trabajos especiales de investigacin.
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130
Referencias
Aguilar, Rafael
1961
Aragn, Luis Angel
1983
Avendao, Angel
1987
1993
Burns, Kathryn
1999
1992
2000
2004
Escandell-Tur, Neus
1997
131
Itier, Csar
1995
2000
Kristal, Efran
1991
2004
Historia del indigenismo cuzqueo Siglos XVI-XX. Instituto Nacional de Cultura. Lima.
1992
Historia General del QOSQO. Una historia regional desde el perodo ltico
hasta el ao 2000. Municipalidad del
Qosqo. Qosqo.
Valcrcel, Luis E.
1981
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Wiener, Charles
1880