Tag: kukama-culture
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on the unfamiliar
When I first moved to Iquitos, a city deep in the Peruvian Amazon, I felt farther from home than I’d ever been. Nothing was familiar. Motos screeched around corners—many with small children, many with women nursing babies. It was 100 degrees, but people stood on sidewalks grilling whole fish. Cumbia rhythms poured through windows. Yet…
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on discovery
One fall Saturday while visiting my parents in upstate New York, we went to the town’s famous annual shindig: the Hilton Apple Fest. We parked at a church nearby, and on the way back to the car, we passed what looked like overgrown brush. Until: “Is that okra?” I said, stepping off the path. “Where?”…
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on wonder
“Why is it important to preserve Kukama culture?” someone asked. “Because the plants don’t speak to us in Spanish,” answered Pascual. “They speak to us in Kukama.” * On Friday I got back from five days in the Amazon. (When I’m not writing, I volunteer with an NGO called Minga Peru. Usually that means meetings…
Kimberly Bunker, MFA 