La Vida Idealist

Last weekend, I participated in a huatia event with some of my gringo friends and their coworkers. Huatia is a tradition that dates back to the days when the Incan Empire was more than just some stones serving as the façade of a hotel. It is an event where potatoes and other food are cooked under an oven made out of the earth. The huatias are held up without any support and eventually collapse and smother the food to cook it.

The day began like any other. We planned to meet at 11 a.m. to walk up the mountain. Naturally, people did not begin arriving until two hours later. By 2 p.m., we finally made it to our destination. The Peruvians who had accompanied us immediately began to construct our cooking furnaces. Like any friendly gathering, a competition began based on which team could build the best huatia. There was no real winner as everyone became more fascinated with the endless amounts of Inca Kola, perhaps the soda with the most sugar in the world.

Adam putting the finishing touches on the huatia.

No meal here in Peru is complete without a side of potatoes. Peruvians are absolute magicians when it comes to cooking any sort of papas and the huatia event was no different. After about 45 minutes, we all sat down together to eat our potatoes and trucha. The trout was seasoned perfectly; anything tastes better with a little bit of dirt.

We followed the meal with an event that would make third grade boys in gym class pee themselves with excitement. The game was called mata gente, which translates to “kill people.” Simply put, the game consists of two circles with one team on the outside and the other team forming an inner ring. The teams were divided in the fairest way imaginable, boys vs. girls. Imagine the second circle being only five feet behind the first and having a dodgeball to peg at the opposing team. That is mata gente. I think without much extrapolation, it’s easy to guess which team won. By the end of it, the women were on the sideline nursing their injuries. It was very Lord of the Flies-esque to see how quickly the men degenerated into absolute animals. Like I said, a third grade boy would have drooled at the chance to peg his crush with a dodgeball.

The event ended with the sunset. After taking in one last view of the valley, we packed up our belongings and left. The women hobbled home and we men patted ourselves on the back for our victory. Easily enough, we left our stoves right where they were to be used for the next afternoon huatia event.

Jonah Brill is currently volunteering as a Field Researcher with Arariwa in Cusco, Peru.

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