Beginning
My wife, her parents and I arrived in Ayacucho from Lima on a domestic 1.5-hour flight. Ayacucho is 2,746m above sea level which some people have problems with altitude sickness, I didn’t notice this as much as I did in Cusco which is 3,399m above sea level. Before we departed Australia for Lima I conducted some basic research of Ayacucho on Wikipedia and discovered that Ayacucho is primarily known for its number of churches 33, which represent one for each year of Jesus’ life. What I didn’t know about Ayacucho are the terrorism and killings that have occurred here from the rise of the Communist Party and its offshoot, The Shining Path. In this blog, I will discuss some of the atrocities that have occurred here along with some of the other histories of Ayacucho and their surroundings.
Day 1 Ayacucho Square and Cathedral
After we arrived in Ayacucho we jumped in our hotel shuttle bus and headed to the hotel, The hotel was very central, basic, food was ok and service was average. But we were not there for the hotel. Once we settled in we headed to a tour agency and organised a city tour, my wife and her parents took care of it all.
We started the tour with another couple, unfortunately for me, the tour guide was speaking Spanish and my Spanish language level is a beginner so I tried my best to take away a few of the important things and my Wife translated for me when she could. We started off in a colonial entrance to a building and the tour guide explained the reason for the oversised doors and that they were designed so that horses were able to enter. There were a couple of small artillery guns in the small courtyard, Spanish most likely.
After that, we headed to the central square which reminded me of Cusco in the way it was designed and laid out. In the center was a man on a horse with his sword drawn, his name was Antonio José de Sucre y Alcalá known as the Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho or the Grand Marshal of Ayacucho. Sucre was the victor of the Peruvian war on independence during the battle of Ayacucho, which saw an end to the Spanish American wars.
From there we moved to a church adjacent to the square which was very impressive and is considered to be one of the most beautiful Cathedrals in Peru, it is also the largest in Ayacucho. From there we jumped on a tour bus and headed to a Museum and this is where I learn about the mass killings that occurred in Ayacucho.
Museo-de-la-memoria
As I said earlier the tour guide was speaking in Spanish so I didnt understand alot of what he was saying, so I started wondering around the museum and noticed that they had English translations for a lot of the writings and descriptions of photos etc. What I discovered was that Ayacucho has been the site of terrorist acts and campaigns by the revolutionary organisation called the Shining Path. After wandering around and reading these and looking at all the horrific photos of innocent people that were beaten, tortured, raped and murdered. I wanted to understand how this happened and why? At a couple of points inside the museum, I found myself almost tearing up and crying, I didnt know why since I am not Peruvian at all but maybe it was because I couldn’t understand why this had happened and how? This led me to do some further research on the Shining Path, who were they and how and why did this happen? My Wife had told me about this terrorism before but I never really understood it well.
Shining Path. The Shining Path was led by Abimael Guzmán, Guzmán was a professor of philosophy active in left-wing politics and strongly influenced by Marxism and Maoism. My Wife’s Father actually attended a university in Arequipa where Guzman was lecturing philosophy. The goal of Shining Path was to overthrow the state by guerrilla warfare and replace it with a New Democracy. The Shining Path believed that by establishing a dictatorship of the proletariat, inducing a cultural revolution, and eventually sparking a world revolution, they could arrive at full communism. Eventually, Guzman was recruited to Ayacucho University to lecture philosophy. Guzman learned one of the native languages Quechua. Guzman was able to influence his students and Ayacucho tribes where he gained his support which is where all this brutality started. Military schools were stood up and Guerilla war began in the Ayacucho highlands.
Shortly after the rise of Guzman and the Shining Path the Peru Government declared an “emergency zone” in the three Andean regions of Ayacucho, Huancavelica, and Apurímac and granted the military the power to arbitrarily detain any suspicious person. The military abused this power, arresting scores of innocent people, at times subjecting them to torture during interrogation as well as rape. Police, military forces, and members of the Popular Guerrilla Army (Ejército Guerrillero Popular, or EGP) carried out several massacres throughout the conflict. Military personnel started to wear black ski-masks to hide their identities and protect their safety, and that of their families.
The military armed some of the peasants in order to defeat some of the Shining Path, these peasants were called “rondas”. Rondas captured one of the Shining Path and publicly executed him. The retaliation of the execution from the Shining Path led to the Lucanamarca_massacre where 69 peasants were killed. On September 12, 1992, El Grupo Especial de Inteligencia (GEIN) captured Guzmán and several Shining Path leaders in an apartment above a dance studio in the Surquillo district of Lima. However, most supporters of Shining Path continued to cause havoc in Peru until 2003. Even then there have been instances up until 2017 where Shining Path killed 3 police officers.
Church, Lookout, and Stone Carvings
After the Museum we continued the tour to another Church, again I didn’t understand much, from there we went to a lookout, overlooking a valley of Ayacucho, there was also a large statue of Jesus. My wife and I took a few photos before getting back on the bus. From there we visited a stone carving shop where we a stone carver was speaking about his work, we both bought souvenirs and got back on the bus and headed to the hotel.
Day 2
We all jumped on another bus and headed to the countryside to Quinua and the province of Huamanga during the bus ride we had to introduce ourselves. I had a go speaking Spanish, I think I got it right, then the tour guide starting to speak about Australia, Koalas, and eucalyptus trees everyone clapped afterward as the guide was able to say something about everyone’s place of origin.
The first stop was the Museum site of the Wari culture. The Wari culture is known for its art and architecture. We move outside to the archeological site where we are shown a sacrifice stone and from what my wife told me they would sacrifice a farm animal and the blood was used to look at stars from the reflection to predict the seasons for their crops or something like that.. We got our picture taken acting out a Wari fight scene and continued and were shown some amazing burial and ceremonial sites.
Next, we visited the Pampa de la Quinua which has a large obelisk, the obelisk signifies the end of Spanish American wars and the South American independence, it is also the scene where the Battle of Ayacucho was held on December 9, 1824 where the Spanish were defeated. The work represents nearly half a century of struggle for freedom and American independence, from the Tupac Amaru Revolution in 1780 to its victorious culmination here.
We move on to the town of Quinoa where we have an amazing local lunch, I get a chance to try Guinea pig, tasted like chicken to me, not much meat though. After that, we head out the back where there is a pottery maker and pottery house and we are taught how they make the different types of pottery and get a chance to make some using a mold. That ends our tour for day 2 and we head back to the hotel.
End
Quinua, Peru is a monumental place of history with the Battle for Peru and South American Independence. Then there is the rise of Shining Path which impacted Ayacuhco’s people and surroundings. I was very surprised to hear of the Shining Path as I did not realise how recently this event had occurred. What’s next that Peru has to offer and for me to grow and learn from history and different struggles? Lots no doubt!