Peru Diction Quiz

Peru was probably the most unique country that Ernesto visited thus far, as it gave both Ernesto and Alberto a significant glimpse into the lives of the native people. Since much of Peru’s population is indigenous, the country is very clearly divided by language, culture, architecture, and history. Witnessing cultural division in Peru helped Ernesto to make a huge leap in his young life by ultimately leading to him coming very close to having his epiphany and realizing his life’s purpose.

Upon arriving in Peru, Ernesto and Alberto were confronted with great hospitality. Many of the Peruvians were curious about life in Argentina, and Ernesto described it as an ALLURING country, “where Peron lived with his wife Evita, where the poor have as much as the rich, and the Indian isn’t exploited…” (91). From the very moment that Ernesto arrived in Peru, it was evident that the poor state of the natives was DISQUIETING to Ernesto. By painting a wonderful picture of his country in their minds, he hoped to provide them with a shred of hope.

Arriving in Cuzco was one of the most important parts of Ernesto’s journey through Peru. Cuzco was once a city built as a fort by the Incas, simply to provide SUSTENANCE or preservation for a people in danger of invaders. Despite its original purpose as a fort, Cuzco was actually a very artfully crafted city, which contained several IDYLLIC walls and structures built by the Incas many years ago. Although the Incans proved their intelligence in their architecture, their empire was certainly not INTERMINABLE. Once the European settlers arrived, the Incans were BEREAVED of much of their land and many of their structures were RAZED. Ernesto states that the descendents of white settlers admire Cuzco because it was valiantly overtaken by their European ancestors. However, Ernesto’s narration contains several TIRADES about the unfairness and injustice that had BEFALLEN in this ancient city.

After visiting Cuzco, Ernesto and Alberto move on to Machu Picchu, meaning “old Mountain” in Quechua. Machu Picchu is IRREFUTABLY the most glorified site of Incan ruins, and according to Ernesto, attracts many tourists that believe the country has nothing else to offer. During his visit to Machu Picchu, Ernesto finds it ENIGMATIC that European settlers could take a glorious native settlement and turn it into the towns that cover the countryside to day over the course of just a few hundred years. Machu Picchu was yet another indicator of a long history of an oppressed race.

The final stage of Ernesto and Alberto’s stay in Peru was their time in the leper colony. Ernesto sought to change the ways of the colony in which the lepers live in isolation from the doctors. By initiating in games of soccer with the patients and befriending them, Ernesto provided some much needed change for the staff and patients alike. Before they set off on the Mambo-Tango, Ernesto and Alberto were thrown a farewell party in which Ernesto made a toast to a “United Latin America,” which, according to Ernesto, was received with praise.

At the end of this section, Ernesto exposes that he is beginning to reach his epiphany through his desire to bridge the severe cultural gaps and live as one united country. Although Ernesto truly impacted many of the natives and patients he encountered in Peru, the impact that Peru left as a whole on him was still greater.