The descendant of the last viceroy of Peru wants to be Peruvian. He is a historian and Peruvian. He came to participate in the International Congress for the Bicentennial of Ayacuchoorganized by the Academic Excellence Group and the Humanities Department of the UPC. His arrival served to reflect on the impact of the battle of Ayacucho in Peruvian identity, politics and economy. Also to think about the idea of freedom in these two centuries of independence of Peru.
Moreno wants to be honored with Peruvian nationality this December 9, the central day of the historic battle, although he already feels Peruvian.
Look: Coin is put into circulation for the Bicentennial of the Battle of Ayacucho
Are viceroys studied a lot in Spain? Here not as much as the Incas.
It depends on what context, like everything. I think it’s logical. After the independence of Peru, they had to somehow legitimize that independence made by the Creoles. The same thing happens in Mexico. How do you legitimize it? You pull from all the pre-Columbian history.
Did you feel a lot of anti-Hispanism last October 12? Postcolonial criticism is very current.
Yes, indeed. It is barbaric to throw down statues. It’s a current.
Now they say that Christopher Columbus was a Sephardic Jew.
Apparently they are trying to extract his DNA. What difference does it make if he was Jewish? The point is that the expedition was incredible.
They have released the documentary Hispanoamérica in all cinemas, including Peruvian ones. The cultural battle continues.
It is by José Luis López-Linares. I saw her at the Spanish Embassy. It is a vindication of the Spanish legacy.
Does the Spanish ‘black legend’ persist?
The black legend was tremendous. It was even caused by Spain itself at the time. There is a humanist current at that time in Spain that says that Indians are men and have souls. And since they have a soul, they have to be respected and are equal to others. Isabel la Católica herself states in her will that the peninsular people are as much her subjects as the Indians themselves.
That is why Spain creates so many hospitals and universities in America.
Indeed. What mattered to them, above all, was giving them Christian formation. For this reason, Bartolomé de las Casas is in some way the precursor of the ‘black legend’. The Dutch and the English took advantage of this, who were the enemies of Spain and created the ‘black legend’. A curious thing because later it is said that the Inquisition really was not as barbaric as they painted it. However, Lutherans and Calvinists are true genocides. What is happening in Switzerland is tremendous; They kill half the population due to religious wars.
Philip II granted a coat of arms to the Huancas, which is that of Huancayo.
And there are beginning to be saints. Santa Rosa de Lima, for example. Atahualpa’s own descendants are recognized for their nobility and end up having noble titles. And in Mexico there is a Duke of Moctezuma. There is a recognition of that indigenous nobility.
Pedro Castillo criticized “the men of Castile” in his presidential speech, despite his surname.
That’s why I tell you. It’s absurd. It’s like throwing stones at your own roof.
In his doctoral thesis, anthropologist José María Arguedas demonstrates the similarities between the peoples of Spain and Peru.
I was in Ayacucho. I loved it. They were celebrating the procession of the Virgin of the Rosary. Religion, music, partying. All.
Here you can read more about Viceroy Manuel de Amat.
The designer Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada is his descendant. I know many descendants of those who were in the battle of Ayacucho. For example, General José de Canterac and General Gerónimo Valdés.
He has Peruvian friends in Madrid. Alfredo Barnechea, Aldo Mariátegui…
I see ‘Popy’ (Fernando Olivera) from time to time; and Luis Iberico, of course. Andrés Roca Rey is wonderful. I feel like a Peruvian in exile. There should be a law to recognize the peninsulars expelled from Peru. Bernardo de Monteagudo was a savage who expelled up to two thousand peninsulars with what they were wearing, they even threw them away barefoot.
What reflection does the battle of Ayacucho?
It is a date that must be commemorated, but it is also a date to mark the ties we have between Spain and Peru. It is not to divide us, but to remember what brings people together.
Today there are more Peruvians than ever in Spain.
There is a great Peruvian migration. This shows that, when you leave your country, you usually go to the place where you have the most affinity. Your own language, your religion, part of your gastronomy. It is logical that Peruvians go to Spain.
RECOMMENDED VIDEO
