Treasuring roots

Thank you for having sent me "The heritage of ñaupa", this profound treatise, on the meaning of heritage, of what it is to be alive, with the life of the cultural identity rooted in each one. I have read it now, carefully, twice: it brings me to the case of the minimization and objectification of what is only 'seen' by tourists who come to buy souvenirs, but in reality they do not want to know the roots and reality of being Peruvian. Really good people, but on vacation, looking for the new, the beautiful, the fascinating ... And then they go home.

I can tell you that those of us who had the privilege of sharing life with the Peruvian people, really miss Peru. When I returned to my country, for a long time I had constant dreams of Peru, and they were painful dreams.

During the time that we were blessed to be with the people there, whom we love, we found another culture, and a better culture. Although the poverty we saw –induced by the greedy– really broke our hearts, at the same time we experienced a lot of joy thanks to the people. At the same time, we were learning all the time from this ancient, modern, better culture: an ancient way that Peruvians have to treasure the family, the roots of the culture.

Thank you for this insightful and inspiring essay on ñaupa. As he says, and it is seen: "I am elevating respect, I am elevating gratitude, I am magnifying the bond with the earth and its roots."

With a hug,

Wendy Cotter,

from Canada.