N 39 - Winter 2011/2012 to ask questions, to shrug off the predictable, and embrace the implausible. A confection of curiosity and wonder would take over my cerebellum and cause me to finger through every article I could find about Peruvian mythology and cultural heritage. It became a hobby to be anthropologic, a hidden love shared only in passing fancy with those of an elite knowing. First priorities: painting, graduating, finding a job, besting my friends and their summer and after school plans. All else eclipsed by the need to learn the things that are not taught in common institutional circles.
VANDAL- Relentless Creativity
the region in the past 30 years. Still untapped, no one can be sure exactly what is under the soil. It should be common knowledge, that in the presence of any major commodity (diamonds, gold, oil, etc.) cultural preservation, the preservation of life, all of morality itself falls in the wake of progress. There are many examples of this but my favorite comes from Lima, Peru itself, in the early 20th century when the president of Peru, searching for hidden treasures to boost the national economy, dynamited the temple of Pachacamac, the great temple of the earthquake god, (the biggest temple nearest to Lima). Nothing was found and, once he stepped Sept. 2006: An isolated tribe, down, the government spent never previously contacted, millions of dollars repairing the is discovered in the Eastern damage. This is an example of Peruvian Amazon by a helicopter cultural pluralism, which occurs crew surveying a newly when one culture adopts some of purchased area of rainforest, now the traits of another culture because under the ownership of Peruanco they see benefit in their inclusion. Oil (French owned, Peruvian Unfortunately the insidious trait sounding). No permission, absorbed by Peru through years of nor discussion of sale took suffering, betrayal and genocide, place between the indigenous was that of greed. peoples of the area and the oil company, which was trying its Oct. 2006: I am convinced that damnedest to hide the news of the indigenous population of the uncontacted tribe from the the Eastern Peruvian Amazon global public. Claiming that the will meet with an unfortunate tribe was nomadic and often went demise at the hands of an obese back and forth between Brazil oil-consuming culture. Fear for and Peru, this was a cunning the livelihood of the shimmering attempt to avoid governmental virtuous cultures I had come to interference, and to skirt the love gripped me in a moment of issue of the tribes presence and clear moral choice. No one I knew, importance. However, due to cared enough, knew enough, nor national exposure the issue went had the determination or grit to global. Peruanco, along with explore this road. I would make my several other oil companies plans through restless nights, trying discovered oil in the Amazon; to tongue the borders of the path it is the biggest discovery in ahead. N 39 - Winter 2011/2012
More details came in, the uncontacted tribe is perhaps 100 souls or fewer. The oil company had settled with the Peruvian government on buying a 2 million dollar plane to scan for heat signatures in the jungle tracking the tribes movement. The sole responsibility of monitoring the tribe is set upon the oil company and the lobbyists breeding in the local bureaucracy. It seemed inevitable that the tribe would be lost. I would seek only to learn more about tribes like these so that I could somehow preserve some fragment of their cultural heritage before the double tailed coin toss that would decide their future for them. March 2008: Made contact with an advertising agency in Lima which will help me build my living from the $1000 I have left in my bank account. For the next 6 months I will learn Spanish from nothing but a knowledge of the pronunciation of numerals. I will lend a fraction of my soul to the Devil so that my better nature can keep track of what we ad men feed the public; I would rather it be me than someone who values money over what exactly goes into baby formula. I do the job well but after Christmas I leave to pursue a deeper understanding of my fate. I travel one hour north by plane to the only accessible landing strip on the border of the Amazon, then three days by boat. With my Spanish I speak to many wise men, tribal leaders that have grown weary of the outside world’s encroaching duality and corruption. In me they seem to