Fields of Huascarán

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Fields of Huascarán
Huascarán looms over the vast valley and the replica of the church front, a reminder of nature's power

On May 31, 1970, an earthquake in the Ancash region of north-central Peru sent a large mass of glacial ice from the mountain, Huascarán, down into the valley to on its western side, killing the 25,000 residents of the town of Yungay. Now, fields of grass and roses, speckled with few reminders of that day, make up that valley. A stunning presence in most of the surrounding towns and villages, looking up at Huascarán from the fields that were once Yungay is a particularly visceral experience. Dwarfed in its vastness, you are reminded of the immediate relationship between the lives of people and communities, and their physical environments. Today, Huascarán continues to play a life or death role in the daily lives of those who can see it from their windows- and those far away- supplying water for much of the region and beyond. But the mountain- and the fields of Yungay- supply much more that that.

a powerful monument to those lost, the cemetery houses many of the dead- and was the place where many of the 92 people who survived the accident were when the rubble came through
from the beauty and stillness of the cemetery vantage point, it is easy to see the path that the glacial rubble took through the valley
family members from the neighboring Yungay Nuevo- and around the country- visit those lost at the cemetery overlooking the site of the tragedy
a Quechua farmer tends to her animals- the mountain is a daily visual reminder of how she relies on its water for her life and livelihood
the mangled bus recovered from the wreckage of the glacier’s path gives an immediate connection to those that lost their lives
traveling on foot to the glacier every day to retrieve ice for raspadilla- or a sweet, flavored shaved ice- is another way many local people depend on this environment for daily life
the church front was restored for visitors- family outings and picnics are common- remembering the dead through celebrating life in the shadow of the mountain that took that life but also gives it every day
the empty hallway of the old church front, with its few doors, has become a place to sit and visit loved ones lost or share with loved ones found
Huascarán looms over the vast valley and the replica of the church front, a reminder of nature’s power

Kristina Baines is our resident cool anthropologist. She’s been formally trained in applied, sociocultural, ecological and medical anthropology at Florida Atlantic University (BA, MA), the University of Oxford (MSc) and the University of South Florida (PhD). She has a strong interest in corn, how what we do in our environment makes us well, and using innovative methods to make anthropology relevant and accessible to a wide audience. You can find out more about how these interests translate into projects and pursuits by perusing the rest of our site, or you can contact her directly at kristina@coolanthropology.com

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