The condor passes... through smoke: Incaism, environmentalism, and mining

Abstract

This article analyzes the script of the Peruvian musical drama El còndor pasa. . . taking into account its Incanist and indigenist elements in relation to recent studies about Andean religiosity and the economic and socio-political context of Peru in the early twentieth century. The complexity and value of the script are also visible when contrasted with Peruvian society under neoliberalism a century later. The script presents an important proposal that repudiates mining and advocates for a proto-ecologist and cultural survival agenda, with important lessons for today.