Death in the Andes

A presentation by Lauren Byrum

The Main Characters

• Corporal Lituma: a man who is given the task of finding three men who have disappeared through suspected foul play. He embodies the idea of a good person striving for the truth in a society full of lies and evils.

• Tomas Carreno: Lituma’s partner, or side kick. Carreno embodies the vision of innocence that comes off as extremely naïve.

• Together the two explore the mysterious and sinister land of the village of Naccos.

Superstitions

• The people of Naccos believe in a variety of different superstitions that portray the evils that surround the society.

• Believe in spirits that wreak havoc upon the village

• However, the inhabitants do most of the damage themselves.

• Believe in a creature called the pishtaco which sucks the body fat out of its victems until they die

• Represents the evils that live within the society through the people and that are turned into folklore.

• Shows a sinister and dark side of Peru

The Shining Path Movement

• The shining path movement was an effort to break away from modernization and urbanization and back to a civilization such as the ancient Inca

• This movement was portrayed through the guerilla “warfare” that laid within the village of Naccos

• It shows the affects of extremist political ideas and the instability it can create within a society of people