The Procession that Travels Inside: Yuyachkani's "Santiago"

Abstract

In collaborative theater projects like Yuyachkani, it is hard to define the exact moment when a new project begins. Generally we have a very imprecise idea as our initial point of departure and we explore it more fully in the day-to-day work, where it changes a great deal. is a project that began as a processional performance piece in the public plazas before premiering as a theatrical work in its current form, as a largely Quechua-language play focusing on permutations of faith in an almost uninhabited Andean village. The final project arrived as a result of this complex process of research and exploration. has a very long road to its current form, always with the indispensable accompaniment of the writer Peter Elmore, the co-author of the play. This article is available in Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature: http://newprairiepress.org/sttcl/vol32/iss2/5 The Procession That Travels Inside: Yuyachkani’s “Santiago” Miguel Rubio Zapata Grupo Cultural Yuyachkani “the war is over, but when will peace arrive?”1 The last three inhabitants of an almost empty town one night are locked into a church where Santiago, the town’s patron saint, is venerated. Political violence and illness explain the recent abandonment of the town and the church, located somewhere in the Andes mountains. There are three characters inside the church: Bernardina has lost her twin sons during the time of violence and has promised to take the saint out in procession. She looks for retribution, by way of a miracle from Apostle Santiago, that will make her children reappear. Armando, a businessman and self-proclaimed MC of the festival, wants the saint to process so that life might return to town, and he can continue with his business. Rufino, the church custodian, who inherited the job from his father, does not really care if the procession takes place or not, a reason that the others are suspicious of him. Bernardina thinks that the church is closed because it was hit by lightning; for that reason she feels that everything there remains as if carved in stone. An ancient belief names children born during storms as “Children of Lighting.” Thus, they are destined to become priests in the Andean tradition, and when they are born twins, one of them is dedicated to the service of the God of thunder and storm. She observes the custodian distrustfully and is almost certain that 1 Zapata: The Procession that Travels Inside: Yuyachkani's Santiago Published by New Prairie Press 308 STT that statue has mysteriously and permanently disappeared.