In Ayacucho, the Andean city known for having an abundance of churches, Elizabeth and Mariah have an extra measure of family members.
Elizabeth poses with her host family on their porch overlooking Ayacucho.
Elizabeth lives with Pastor Dionicio Bautista Gomez and Elizabeth Huarcaya Yarasca and their five children: Luis, Herbert, Diego, Wendy and Wanda. Mariah lives next door with Nieves Bautista Gomez, who is Dionicio’s sister, and her son, Javier.
The Goshen students have the run of both houses. It’s not unusual to have supper in one house and dessert in another — or even to have two suppers on the same night!
During our visit we enjoyed pachamanca (plates piled high with chicken and several varieties of potatoes) in Mariah’s home, and then fried trout and potatoes (served with Qapchi, a sauce made with fresh Andean cheese, peppers and scallions) with Elizabeth’s family.
Elizabeth joined us for a photo with Mariah and her host family, after stopping by to say hello.
Dionicio and Elizabeth are the founders and administrators of several schools, including the Institución Educativa Privada William Thomson, a private Christian primary school where both students work one day a week, helping with English instruction.
Mariah and Elizabeth turned the game musical chairs into a teaching tool the morning we visited. While they sang “Caminamos en la Luz de Dios” (“We are Walking in the Light of God”), children circled the chairs. Whoever ended up without a chair could move safely to the next round only by giving the English equivalent for queso (cheese) or other Spanish words.
Playing an educational game of musical chairs at William Thomson school.
Mariah and Elizabeth also work at Institución Educativa Inicial Privada Vidas, a preschool, one morning a week. On the other weekdays, Elizabeth and Mariah help to care for toddlers and preschool children at Hogar Casa Luz, an orphanage that presently serves 27 children.
Mariah with twin girls, just over a year old, at Hogar Casa Luz orphanage.
Ayacucho is located in a valley about 2,761 meters, or 9,058 feet, above sea level in the Andes mountain range. The city of 151,000 people is known for its colonial architecture, 33 churches (one for each year of the life of Jesus Christ) and religious observances.
The central park, or plaza mayor, draws a crowd by day and by night. We watched at least half a dozen different processions, whether to mark a graduation or saint’s day, slowly circle the park while we were there. Often these processions are accompanied by fireworks. On our last evening there, children singing traditional Ayacuchan songs in one corner of the park competed with a graduating class of young soldiers who danced to a brass band just down the street.
The Plaza Mayor of Ayacucho is THE place to be on a Friday night, with lots of music, dancing and fireworks.
The Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro founded the city in 1540 as San Juan de la Frontera de Huamanga and intended it to be a bulwark against a possible Inca rebellion. The city is celebrated throughout South America because of the critical battle for independence that was fought in 1824 in the nearby highlands of Quinua.
General Antonio José de Sucre, who had been appointed by South American liberator Simón Bolivar, commanded troops that defeated Royalist forces, setting the stage for independence of Peru and the rest of South America. In honor of the victory, Bolivar changed the city’s name to Ayacucho. A statue of Sucre in Ayacucho’s main plaza commemorates the battle and its significance for the Americas.
Statue of Sucre in the Plaza Mayor in Ayacucho.
Bloodshed and conflict returned to Ayacucho 156 years later with the advent of the violent revolutionary movement known as the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path). Abimael Guzmán Reynoso, a philosophy professor at the San Cristóbal of Huamanga National University in Ayacucho, founded the Shining Path and launched a conflict that spread throughout the country.
More than 70,000 Peruvians died in the 1980s and 1990s. Ayacucho was the departamento (state) that suffered the greatest number of killings – by the Shining Path as well as the military and police. That sorrowful era is remembered at the Museo de la Memoria, which relates the stories of the victims and the survivors, “so this never happens again.”
Painted exterior of the Museo de la Memoria in Ayacucho: “para que no se repita.”
We toured the museum one afternoon, feeling the sacredness of the space, which included walls with photos and articles of clothing of a sampling of the casualties in the civil war, victims of mass murders, torture, rape and forced disappearance. The museum was founded in 2005 by a group of Quechua-speaking women who lost close family members during the war.
At the William Thomson school, the children sang a song that envisions a world where Christian love (amar) triumphs and where neither one’s race (raza) nor skin color (color de la piel) are of any consequence: “Cristo te necesita para amar, para amar, Cristo te necesita para amar. No te importan las razas ni el color de la piel. Ama a todos como hermanos y haz el bien.”
Photos and editing by Karen Stoltzfus
Mariah’s host mother and brother pose for a photo after a Pachamanca lunch.Elizabeth joined us for a photo with Mariah and her host family, after stopping by to say hello.Elizabeth and Mariah pose in front of their houses, right next door to one another.A better view of the houses where Elizabeth and Mariah live, with Mariah’s host mother and brother looking out the window above.A street in Mariah and Elizabeth’s neighborhood.A school group marches in the streets as we walking to the orphanage where Mariah and Elizabeth work.A street near the orphanage where Mariah and Elizabeth work.Elizabeth and Mariah hold twins as another child waits for attention.Mariah holds one of the twins while other children mill about the room, or sleep.Elizabeth holds two children from the Casa Luz orphanage in Ayacucho.Mariah with twin girls, just over a year old, at Casa Hogar orphanage.Mariah, Elizabeth and one of the ‘tias’ who works with the children at Casa Luz orphanage.Elizabeth and Mariah pose in front of the Casa Luz orphanage, freshly painted purple!Plaza Mayor, on an Ayacucho afernoon.Mariah and Elizabeth enjoy ice cream in the central plaza of Ayacucho.A parade on the plaza.A parade on the plaza, celebrating a saint.Elizabeth and Mariah are excited to read a letter from a fellow student in Cusco.Flora and fauna at the Ayacucho zoo.Llama at the zoo in Ayacucho.A llama at the zoo in Ayacucho.Vicuña at the zoo in Ayauchco.A large spider that reminded Elizabeth of one that was in her bed one night.Willy stops to feed the deer.A small bear hangs out in the zoo in Ayacucho.A leopard at the zoo in Ayacucho.Posing for a photo at the zoo, with Mariah’s host family, and Inka Kola!Mariah’s host mother especially seemed to enjoy the monkeys.There were many lovely, and talkative, birds in the zoo in Ayacucho.Elizabeth and Mariah prepare to leave the zoo, as the lights begin to come on in the city.The central plaza in Ayacucho at night.A parade of children in the central plaza in Ayacucho.Mariah and Elizabeth pose at the restaurant where we had our supper overlooking the plaza.Iglesia Santo Domingo, not far from the central plaza.Tower that’s a part of the Santo Domingo church, lit brightly at night.Welcome to William Thomson school, where Mariah and Elizabeth help teach.The sign in front of the William Thomson school. Note the Goshen College partnership listed on the sign.Looking up the street from William Thomson school.Looking down the street from William Thomson school.Karen and Duane pose with Elizabeth, Elizabeth’s host mother, at William Thomson school. She is an administrator there.Students warm up with “head and shoulders, knees and toes….”Mariah and Elizabeth talk with their class about their plans for the day.Mariah and Elizabeth sing while the children play musical chairs.Playing an educational game of musical chairs at William Thomson school.The children play an educational game of musical chairs.Mariah and Elizabeth pose with their class and the regular teacher for the class.A shop near William Thomson school where Mariah and Elizabeth help to teach.Signage near the William Thomson school, a reminder of recent elections.A shop near William Thomson school where Mariah and Elizabeth help to teach.Luz y Vida, a comedor in Ayacucho where GC students have served in the past. We delivered a donation from a previous student volunteer.A street in Ayacucho near Luz y Vida comedor.Karen and Willy finish eating a delicious meal with Elizabeth’s host family.Quinoa drying on the porch at Elizabeth’s host home.Elizabeth poses with her host family on their porch overlooking Ayacucho.Elizabeth poses with her host family, along with Duane, Karen and Willy.View from Elizabeth and Mariah’s homes.Another view from the homes.Karen and Duane pose under the arches at the mirador, overlooking Ayacucho.Tourist menu at the mirador, with many Ayacucho favorites.Another view of the city from the mirador.Museo de la Memoria in Ayacucho: “para que no se repita.”Parque de la Memoria with a 3-sided sculpture.Evening in the Plaza Mayor.Statue of Sucre in the Plaza Mayor in Ayacucho.A retableau at the Cultural Center in Ayacucho.An example of Quinua pottery at the Cultural Center.Wawa bread given to us by Elizabeth’s host mother. Wawa is an onomatopoeic word meaning “baby” or “child” in Quechua.Walking along the streets of Ayacucho.There are many influences from the Colonial times in Ayacucho.Eating ‘chaplas’ for breakfast – a delicious Ayacucho bread that puffs up and works well for eggs or jam.View of the plaza in the early morning.Church building in the main plaza in Quinua.A horse runs through the pueblo of Quinua.View of Quinua on the way to visit the battleground.Obelisk on the pampa near Quinua commemorating the Battle of Ayacucho. It is noted as the site of the 1824 Battle of Ayacucho.The Peruvian flag waves grandly above the grounds where the battle for independence took place.Another of the 33 churches in Ayacucho on yet another plaza.A bell tower that flanks the main cathedral in Ayacucho.A courtyard tucked away next to the main cathedral, Catedral de Huamanga, in Ayacucho.A sculpture in the courtyard next to the main cathedral in Ayacucho.Statue of St. Paul in front of the Cathedral de Huamanga at the main plaza.Yet another parade in the streets around the plaza.Yet another parade in the streets around the plaza, toward the end of the day.The Plaza Mayor of Ayacucho is THE place to be on a Friday night, with lots of music, dancing and fireworks.
