Andean Lives

Paul H. Gelles is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Riverside. Gabriela Martínez Escobar is a professional ethnographic filmmaker in Berkeley, California.

[This book] represents a remarkable achievement and provides an accessible way for English-speaking students to hear the voices of an oppressed people. . . . This translation records the incredibly difficult lives of people like Gregorio and Asunta and thus constitutes a monument to their struggles. 'Through their accounts, Asunta and Gregorio speak for the oppressed, marginalized, and largely silenced cultural majority of the Andean countries.' Highly recommended for undergraduate libraries. (Choice) It brings to life the words, worldview, and historical consciousness of Gregorio and Asunta, who impart their accounts with stoicism, humor, and anger. Their descriptions of life in rural villages, isolated mines, semifuedal haciendas, and the houses of their powerful Misti masters in Cuzco are eloquent testimonies to the beauty and brutality of everyday life in the Andean highlands. (Translation Review) A highly readable book. The testimonies are vivid and intimate accounts of the brutality and exploitation experienced by landless Indians in the Andes. They also reflect the patience, humour, determination and defiance of these people. . . . As they tell their stories, we see the complexity of Andean culture, ethnic and gender relations and Peruvian history. Our understanding  of the significance of Gregorio's and Asunta's testimonies are aided by the annotation and glossary provided by Gelles and MartÍnez. The annotation, which makes reference to many recent works, is particularly useful and would make this book a good starting point for teaching students about the Andes. This book will also be of use to those interested in the writing of ethnography and oral history. (Bulletin of Latin American Research) Andean Lives is a superb book, highly recommended for readers of all levels of expertise and interest in South America. . . . [It] will serve as a wonderful introduction on the undergraduate level to Andean history and culture, and could also be used in a general Latin American Studies course. The book is completely appropriate for advanced courses such as history or anthropology graduate seminars focused on the modern Andean region, as well as literature or culture classes concerned with problems of translation, cross-cultural relations, or oral history. The work is also entirely suitable for general readers. The smooth and open quality of the translation and its ability to draw the reader into the world and life experiences of the speakers deserves the highest accolades. (Latin American Indian Literatures Journal)

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Paul H. GellesPreliminary Note to the Original Edition: Ricardo Valderrama FernÁndez and Carmen Escalante GutiÉrrezGregorio Condori Mamani 1. Beginnings2. Aeroplanes and Other Beasts3. Military Tricks4. Earth Mother, Cropkeeper, and the Three Brothers5. The Barracks6. "The Army Isn't Christian"7. Inkas and Spaniards8. Stories from Jail9. Rosa, Josefa, and Miracle Shrines10. Life with Asunta11. The Factory12. We StrappersAsunta Quispe HuamÁn 13. Running Away from the Hacienda14. Eusebio15. "I Stopped Bearing That Cross"16. Life with GregorioPostscript: Paul H. Gelles and Gabriela Martinez EscobarNotesGlossaryBibliographyIndex