May 2, 2009
- 9:00 am depart LIM
- 10:15 am arrive Cuzco
- Hostel
- United Mice Tours
- Post Office & Train Station
- Cathedral
- Qorikancha
- Mass @ La Compañía
I arrived in Cuzco today. What a gem of a city. It has a compact, walkable city center, with evidence of Incan architectural ingenuity, baroque churches, and extraordinarily friendly and helpful people. They make you feel so happy to be here.
Unfortunately, I had overscheduled myself. Sunday: Sacred Valley tour. Monday-Friday: Salkantay Trek. Saturday: Train trip to Puno. All this while I still had to adjust to the altitude. The Puno train trip never happened and I got to rest on Saturday.
The original walls of the Qosco were built without any mortar. Amazing.
Swine Flu
The Peruvians seems very concerned with this swine flu. Upon arriving in Lima there were airport workers with masks and gloves. On the newsstands, the tabloids were sensationalizing the fact that an Argentinean woman had entered Lima and now the entire Peruvian population was in danger. Time and time again small talk centers around ¨la gripe porcina¨: taxi drivers, craft sellers, hotel receptionists, the tour companies. Everyone is scared—I would say a bit hysterical.
When I arrived at my Hostel in Cuzco, the receptionist said to me: “You are Mexican.”
“Yes.” I responded.
“I don’t know if I can accept you as you might have the swine flu.”
¨But I am from the US,¨ I protested.
He was being funny and let me stay.
I entered a restaurant in Cuzco because it had cuy (guinea pig) on the menu but opted for alpaca instead (it tasted slightly like pork). When the waiter and hostess found out I was from the US, they asked if the swine flu had arrived in the US. I said that it had but that it had not been as deadly as in Mexico. The waiter seemed very alarmed; I suddenly felt like a leper with a disease. I tried to assuage the waiter that I had last been in Mexico in March, but it didn’t help. The waiter’s face looked ashen.
“Pure Catholicism”
One of the guides in the Cathedral mentioned that in Peru there is not a “pure Catholicism,” rather it is a fusion of Catholicism and Indigenous beliefs, called syncretism. I would counter that there has never been such a thing as “pure Catholicism.” Catholicism in Europe has been infused with European culture and it adopted practices and beliefs from the pagan (indigenous) religions there. For example, the fir tree was venerated in Germanic countries. It became the Christmas tree that has been adopted universally, even in non-Christian countries. Even before the spread of Christianity into Europe, Christianity had adopted pagan elements of the ancient world. The fact that Christmas is celebrated on December 25, near the Winter solstice is no accident, when the light of the Sun begins to increase I the northern hemisphere. Even the word “Easter,” which is denotes on the most important Christian holiday comes from the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre whose Spring feast was associated with rebirth and new life, eggs and hares. So the Catholicism that came to the Americas was infused with Spanish and Portuguese culture that would blend with indigenous beliefs already here.
I would say that Catholicism, or any religion, really doesn’t take root in a society until it takes on cultural aspects. One can be Catholic in a non-Catholic society, but once it has an impact on the culture and society is when it also impacts the practice of religion: it is a two-way street.
Faith Manifesto—a draft
This comes out of a result of reflection on my faith, discussions with others on the history of the Church and the role of religion, and witnessing the role of the Church in Latin America. This is a draft, in need of discussion and further reflection.
- A faith that is nourished by a relationship to Christ. Also his example, his teaching, his love guide me. Catholic faith makes no sense with out it. It informs rituals, my community relationships and is informed by knowledge of the world.
- I want to be part of a faith that supports personal integrity. One that has a moral compass, that challenges the present morality and keeps abreast of the times. A faith that is solid and confident about where it stands and what it values, but not one that is fossilized, or prideful, or intolerant or closed to others’ opinions.
- A faith that demonstrates love to all human beings, especially the irksome ones and promotes working irksome folks for common goals.
- A faith that nourishes and feeds me, but one that impels me to feed and nourish others.
- A faith that is not afraid to stretch, to risk, and to change adapting the gospel to contemporary circumstances. It is a faith that is not afraid of engaging with other faiths, atheists, agnostics and irreligious. I believe that the traditions, perspectives and opinions of those who are not like us enrich us.
- A faith that integrates reason. A faith that lives in the world, relishes creation and doesn’t cloister itself with those it agrees. It is a faith that is accepts the truth of humanity, science, psychology, and politics.
- A faith that is involved in politics and does everything it can to bring about a more just and peaceful world even as it recognizes that everything is in Christ’s hands. There are two extremes to avoid: 1. A total involvement in politics, thinking humans can do it all and 2. being uninvolved in politics and leaving political and social change to God.
- A faith that stands up for what is true, good and just. A faith that stands against all evil. A faith that stands with the poor and marginalized.
C'orao
Pisac
Ollantaytambo
May 3, 2009
- 9:20 am tour bus
- C’orao artesanias
- Pisac & Intihuanta
- Ollantaytambo
- Chinchero
- Cuzco
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