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Pishtacos. Human fat murderers, structural inequalities, and resistances in Peru

Pishtacos. Human fat murderers, structural inequalities, and resistances in Peru

Pishtacos. Human fat murderers, structural inequalities, and resistances in Peru

Political, economic, and institutional inequalities have enormous impacts on human problems and people’s everyday lives. They create collective experiences of social suffering that may frequently find release through the production of collective imaginaries. Among Peru’s marginalized populations, ongoing exposure to both historical memories of colonization and oppression, as well as contemporary encounters with injustice, impoverishment, and inequalities, constitute the scenario for the emergence of an evil character: the pishtaco, almost always a powerful stranger who steals the body fat of indigenous and impoverished individuals. The pishtaco, an ambiguous, fluid, and complex figure, represents various aspects of power and violence that are familiar to people in the Andean region of Peru and Bolivia. This paper examines the myth of pishtaco in Peru, arising from experiences of colonial rule up to the present media news reports and discussions in on-line Peruvian newspaper sites.Keywords: Pishtaco; Structural Inequalities; Resistance; Peru

Las desigualdades políticas, económicas e institucionales tienen un enorme impacto en lo cotidiano de las personas y en sus problemas diarios. Se producen experiencias colectivas de sufrimiento social que a menudo encuentran alivio a través de la producción de imaginarios compartidos. Entre las poblaciones marginadas/marginales del Perú, la continua exposición a experiencias de colonización y opresión, así como el enfrentamiento a las injusticias, el empobrecimiento y las desigualdades actuales, han constituido el escenario para el surgimiento de un personaje maligno: el pishtaco, que, por lo general, suele ser un extranjero poderoso que roba la grasa humana de los indígenas y de los indigentes. El pishtaco, una figura ambigua, cambiante y compleja, representa diversos aspectos del poder y de la violencia que son muy familiares para los habitantes de las regiones andinas del Perú y de Bolivia. Este artículo analiza el mito del pishtaco en el Perú, desde su surgimiento en la época de la Colonia hasta su representaciones en los medios actuales y los comentarios que aparecen en los periódicos digitales peruanos.Palabras clave: Pishtaco; Desigualdades estructurales; Resistencia; Perú

Political, economic, and institutional inequalities have enormous impacts on human problems and people’s everyday lives. They create collective experiences of social suffering that may frequently find release through the production of collective imaginaries. Among Peru’s marginalized populations, ongoing exposure to both historical memories of colonization and oppression, as well as contemporary encounters with injustice, impoverishment, and inequalities, constitute the scenario for the emergence of an evil character: the pishtaco, almost always a powerful stranger who steals the body fat of indigenous and impoverished individuals. The pishtaco, an ambiguous, fluid, and complex figure, represents various aspects of power and violence that are familiar to people in the Andean region of Peru and Bolivia. This paper examines the myth of pishtaco in Peru, arising from experiences of colonial rule up to the present media news reports and discussions in on-line Peruvian newspaper sites.Palabras clave: Pishtaco; Desigualdades estructurales; Resistencia; Perú

10.13125/americacritica/3378

urn:nbn:it:unica-24487