Cut Stones and Crossroads

Ronald Wright's journey through Peru is simultaneously an account of the country's proud Inca heritage and of the modern mestizo nation — its two worlds. Beginning in Cajamarca, where Spain first defeated the Inca army, Wright traces the indigenous history back to its mythic origins at Lake Titicaca. Yet Wright is equally interested in the chance encounters of the road — the music of everyday — and above all in the realities of life for the native Runa Indians. Moving between desert and mountain, Spanish and Indian, he explores the place of their ancient traditions in today's Peru with admiration and anger.