Reframing Latin America: A Cultural Theory Reading ... - BGSU Blogs

58 reframing latin america
the infl uence of their writing on national discourses became much greater.
We also include the work of an uneducated indigenous peasant woman who
traditionally has been excluded from national discourse.
Consider the historical context and biography of El Inca Garcilaso de la
Vega, known as the fi rst successful mestizo writer. He was born in Cuzco,
Peru in 1539 to an Incan princess and a Spanish military captain. He spent
the fi rst part of his life with his mother’s family in Cuzco. As a result,
he was bilingual in Spanish and Quechua, an indigenous language spoken
in the Andes Mountains. At the age of 22 he moved to Spain and shortly
thereafter began to write about indigenous culture, religion, and myths
for a Spanish audience. His unique bicultural and intellectual background
gave him a different perspective on the Conquest than that of his Spanish
contemporaries. He celebrated indigenous culture and endeavored to show
that it was not as barbaric as the conquistadors had characterized it. Yet,
in his writings he claimed to be in agreement with the principal Spanish
chronicles of the Conquest and insisted that his goal was simply to include
some additional information. Though he strikes a careful balance between
indigenous beliefs and Catholicism, he also describes Catholicism as the
only true religion. While El Inca’s writings have been subjected to many differing
essentialist analyses, modernists generally agree that he presents an
authentic version of indigenous culture because of his family background.
His nickname, “El Inca,” comes from his indigenous heritage.
Semiotic readings of El Inca Garcilaso de la Vega consider other aspects
of his work. Instead of seeing El Inca as an authority because of his genetic
background or his ability to tap into the true indigenous experience, semioticians
consider how he was an outsider in Spanish society and that
his writings were an attempt to provide him with legitimacy. They focus
on the many contradictions in the text. El Inca claims that his interpretation
fundamentally complements the Spanish chronicles, yet the text is
also a celebration of indigenous culture. He presents a different version of
the Conquest, while claiming that it is not new. He contests the imposition
of colonialism on a rich and ancient culture, while denying that he does so.
Furthermore, El Inca was writing during the Spanish Inquisition and had to
be careful to avoid being accused of heresy, which makes his defense of the
Catholic Church ever more complex.
Semiotic analyses also consider El Inca’s intended audience. He directed
his text to a particular audience; otherwise, he would have had difficulties
fi nding a publisher and a readership. His texts might have been quite different
had he been writing for an indigenous rather than a European audience.
El Inca’s writings can be read as his attempt to situate himself between two