THE NORTH RIDING PROJECT

At the outdoor market down in a canyon village, Narciso would go around to see the peddler’s wares and perhaps buy a hard candy. One Friday, a few strangers appeared. They wore peasant garb and spoke Quechua, and, quite suddenly, one loudly demanded the attention of the marketgoers. They belonged to the Peruvian Communist Party, the young man announced. “We will destroy the government of the rich and make a government for the poor.” Narciso had heard stories around Huaychao, whispers really. The strangers supposedly roamed the cliffs with guns and knives, sometimes coming to farmhouses to ask for food and shelter.

Starn/Shining