Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Putting Your Life in Your Work

This evening we had the honor of being invited to Lucho´s house to see his collection of mate burilado (carved gourds). In the morning over toast and coffee he had joined us, and spoke with knowledge and passion about the crafts of the Mantaro Valley and the history of Sendero Luminoso (¨The Shining Path¨) and Tupac Amaru. (Sendero Luminoso and Tupac Amaru were/are two revolutionary groups labeled by the government as terrorist groups. Sendero Luminoso could reasonably labeled as such, as they resorted to violence and, from what we have read, systematic assasination of community leaders. Tupac Amaru, though it started as a group focused on change through peaceful means, also resorted to kidnapping.) Sendero Luminoso in particular, combined with the government´s response to the group, hurled Peru into a dark era, culminating in the early 1990´s.

Lucho spoke about the history and culture of his country in a way that had us all entranced. Then he offered to show us his collection in the evening, if we wished. Steve and I made sure to take him up on the offer, and others followed.

We climbed the steps to the floor above his restaurant to rooms where tourists learn Spanish, his bedroom off to the side. And he started pulling down gourds. One fell, we gasped. ¨Oh, don´t worry. The good thing about the gourds--they don´t break.¨ And he dropped another on the floor.

¨Now this one, this was a model done by two very talented gourd-carvers. Two brothers, good friends of mine. They made this gourd, and showed it to me and asked, ¨We are thinking of entering this into the national competition. We can reproduce it on a larger gourd. What do you think, do you think we should do it?¨

It was 1991 and the worst year of the violence and terror brought by Sendero Luminoso. The gourd showed the blowing up of electric towers, the Sendero Luminoso flag, Fujimori. It also showed the Gulf War with portraits of Bush and Saddam, tanks and oil fields. (¨You know, we´re not stupid here,¨ Lucho said, ¨We know it was all about oil.¨) It showed also the cultural traditions--festivals, etc. And a bit of Kama Sutra on the bottom. It showed the times, it showed the events of life of 1991.

Lucho said he told them they should enter the competition, that they should create a gourd that came from their hearts and it would be a piece of art.

So they did. And it won. And after it won, it was confiscated by the government as a piece of Sendero Luminoso propaganda. Both brothers went to jail.

Lucho´s friends said, ¨You know, you told them to do it.¨ So they worked to raise money, to get a lawyer, with the goal of getting their friends and the gourd back. While in jail, the artists were apparently forced to carve out an ¨x¨ over the Sendero flag.

After three years, the friends and the gourd were free. Lucho was offered the gourd.

So there it was, a gourd about 1-1/2 feet wide by 1 foot tall, every inch carved and some parts colored. The tanks from the Gulf War, the electric towers falling, the people dancing.

¨And there´s this one, a very special gourd created by a man who started carving at 80 years of age. He began carving because he was partly crippled. He had been a weaver. You can see that the work is not mature, it is like a child made it.¨

¨This one is a very small one that is used for limestone, ground lime, that people chew with coca leaves. The work is very small, very fine, and the dark lines are made by heating a small stick and using the end to burn in a design.¨

¨This one is very special because it shows what the gourds are all about. There is a man, his father was an excellent gourd-carver. And the son grew up by his side. He became really a fantastic gourd carver, very famous, and started exporting his work. He moved to Lima. And now he has a son. When the son was old enough to start, he gave him a gourd to carve. And what do you think he carved? Look. It´s the city, all rectangular buildings. Some day he will come to Cochas and learn to make finer work. But you see? He carved what he knew. That is what is important about the gourds. The people put their lives into them.¨

¨See this one. It is a beautiful piece of artwork. It shows the customs. You can see people carving gourds. Here, you can see them cooking meals. Having babies. Celebrating together. Some learn to carve and make beautiful little llamas. But their heart is not in it. Here, the heart is here, their life is here.¨


[I´m sorry to say we don´t have photos of his gourds, nor are we carrying our computer to post photos of those we´ve purchased. You´ll have to come by and see them when we get home...]

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