South America and what goes on down here is more important to you gringos than you think. We provide “coming attractions” to a degree that few of you realize or understand.
How many of you recognize the name of the guerilla group known as “Shining Path” (Sendero Luminoso)? How many know anything about its leader, the demented philosophy professor Abimael Guzmán (aka “Presidente Gonazlo”)? How many of the people you know can even find Perú on a map, never mind have even a vague idea of its history?
The same could likely be said of all South American nations: nearly no one in the northern hemisphere knows much about them, save perhaps for a diminishing number of Spaniards and Portuguese. Misunderstandings abound, much to the detriment of those who might become happy and prosperous migrants were they to be able, shall we say, to read in Spanish the handwriting on the wall.
Living in South America as I do, traveling throughout it visiting friends in other countries down here, I like to believe I have a perspective on the place that most USAers do not. I’m bilingual in Spanish and can read Portuguese with ease, which helps. Having older, mostly well-connected host-country friends is also a plus. I’ve learned a great deal from them.
Perú, for example: Perú? Oh yeah, “Macho Pickoo” (Machu Picchu) and condors, right?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8eGnOM7YCg
Simon and Garfunkel popularized this in the USA, but with barf bag lyrics. But check out them Injuns in those funny, folkloric outfits! Snap some pics and buy yourself a Rocky Cap (aka “chullo”), groove with the indigenes: Every hippie who comes down here gets one!
The genuine folks who wear these as part of their everyday apparel because of the cold in the Cordillera de los Andes were subjected to a twelve-year reign of terror by the aforementioned philosophy professor and his demented Maoist followers. Don’t think for a minute that someone like him couldn’t appear in the USA and gather a following among the antifas. The USA doesn’t have the appropriate topography, but socially..? Oh yeah. Were a black swan to shadow the electrical infrastructure, the crazies would be coming out of the woodwork faster than wood lice on a damp day.
Very little has been written in English about the “Shining Path”, most likely because there is so little interest about what goes on down here. Very short-sighted, that; El sur también existe. The sooner one realizes that and begins to study it, the better. Believe it or not, I see this continent as the “final frontier” for those of European and North American origin, or at least for those with some initiative and flexibility.
The “Shining Path” is not one of revolution and Marxism-Leninism as José Carlos Mariátegui, founder of the original Peruvian Communist Party in the 1920s and coiner of the phrase believed. Even less is it what the murderous Maoist monster Guzmán believed. There is increasing opening across the continent to individual entrepreneurial initiative, albeit with many bureaucratic hurdles still to be surmounted, many taxes to be paid; the yellow-brick road is in fact paved with adulterated cement.
Study up a bit on the “Shining Path” if you will. Learn some of what’s happened down here on the eventual path to prosperity for many Peruvians. Watch this movie for a once-over-lightly treatment of the terror if you wish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddZZ39dP3vg . I have a friend who lost an eye thanks to the Sendero terrorists (in the true meaning of the word), smack-dab in one of the most upscale parts of the capital: take a look at this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUi4TIYQPik and this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlxD22YY4q0. Doesn’t really matter if you don’t understand Spanish; the images tell you pretty much all you need to know. Could be coming your way soon, don’t think it can’t. The sister of the aforementioned friend, she a very close friend of mine, lives three blocks from that place in a gated community and her house shook while her brother was losing his eye. I keep that in mind when I think of gated communities in the USA, although the Perú (and Miraflores) of today is imho a much safer place than much of Gringolándia.
Prof. Guzmán remains caged, the wretched USA migrant terrorist Lori Berenson (https://infogalactic.com/info/Lori_Berenson), now paroled and back in NYC is out of Perú and won’t be coming back, but she and plenty more like her are just awaiting their moment in a country (the one and only USA) truly as foreign to them as is Perú, but in which they have no hesitation with respect to imposing their alien ideals.
The true “Shining Path” is that which is carved out by the individual, he or she who keeps the eye on the destination, however far off it may be, both in space and time, unto future generations. The “collective vision” is myopic in the extreme, destined to end in an eternal blur of vaguely defined “good intentions”. To quote a favorite line from the highly appreciated leftist Spanish poet Antonio Machado: “Caminante no hay camino, se hace camino al andar”, which is to say, loosely translated, “Waymaker, there is no way, you make the way by walking it”. In other words, the path is yours to make shine or not.
Nobody needs a half-baked philosophy professor to explain how the genuine shining path is to be made. It’s all up to you.
More condescending than enlightening.
Bingo, my first thought exactly.
“How many of the people you know can even find Perú on a map…?”
Probably about as many Peruvians that can find Ohio on a map.
I remember Shining Path. (Some Americans are literate and aware. Surprise!) I always thought it ironic that a godless communist organization would base their group’s name on a Bible verse.
…the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. — Proverbs 4:18
Probably most of us here know about Shining Path. I’ve had a couple hours to stew about this. We hear all the time about how Americans are ignorant of other countries – that someone in, say, Kenya knows more about the U.S. than your average American knows about Kenya. It’s ridiculous. Of course that’s the case. For good or ill, America has been the most consequential country in the world for the last century or more. There are 195 countries in the world. We’re supposed to know as much about each of those countries as their inhabitants know about the country that produced the lightbulb, the telephone, the airplane, etc. and is the only country to have used the atom bomb? Again, it’s a ridiculous expectation, but liberal Americans – like dickless Western Europeans- like to flagellate themselves over their purported faults – exaggerate them even. My point isn’t that we’re not ignorant. It’s that we’re no more ignorant than most people in the world. The test isn’t how much your average Peruvian knows about America. America’s like the 100 story building that towers over a city. Everyone can see it. The test is how much your average Peruvian knows about a similarly inconsequential country – say, Myanmar or Algeria. Ask Jose Blow in Lima what the capital of Myanmar is. I think we’d fare just fine in comparison.
Well ain’t you a smarty, Iska. I believe Monte was providing an introductory comment and not a tract on Shining Path. He covers a lot of ground, I think he may have more in store.
He is aiming his article at folks like BW who might not know what lies beyond the southern border. Ignorance may be bliss for some folks, other folks just like to be prepared.
Like the old saying goes, Iska, if your so rich, why ain’t you smart? You could have written an article on Shining Path already.
EC
Seemed like 2/3 of it was berating Americans for being ignorant. I hear that shit every day. We may be ignorant, but not uniquely so.
My experience has been that among young Americans, Shining Path is not well known, and little is known of it by others. I first became conversant with it at a dinner party held just after Guzmán’s capture, when the Peruvians paraded him around Lima in a striped convict’s suit and an open cage. Various remarks were made and the hostess suddenly burst into tears and fled the room. Turned out Guzmán was her half-brother. I decided to learn more as a result.
I don’t see how you can believe I’m condescending. I wrote the thing to be informative to those who might find it so, to speculate on such stuff happening in the USA, to perhaps interest some folks up there to take more of an interest in South America, a place that could benefit from yanqui immigration and might provide opportunities that are growing fewer up there. It’s proven true for me and my family, so why not others?
How many of you recognize
How many of you know anything about
How many of the people you know can even find Peru on a map?
Yeah nothing condescending there. For the final time, I’m not deny Americans’ ignorance. I’m saying we’re no more ignorant than anyone else. Take a globe down your nearest street there, Monte. Ask ten people to point to Uganda or Poland or Cambodia. Why do you expect Americans to know more about Peru than Peruvians know about Cambodia? That’s all I’m saying – and as Uncola says below, I generally appreciate your comments and insights.
Thanks, but I still don’t understand why you think Peruvians are smarter than Americans; I don’t. I guess the problem is I’ve become used to people being ignorant about SA, but that doesn’t include everyone. I’d be honestly curious if anyone on here did learn something new from that post. If not, than it was a time-waster for all of us.
I don’t live in Perú, I should add. And as far as I know, the only globe on my street is that which I gave my grandsons. An intellectual paradise my village is not, but it’s certainly nice in other ways and that more than makes up for it. Then again, we´re not depending upon a school to educate the boys; that’s an inside job.
Montefrio, I learned something because I had never heard of the Shining Path. In fact, I’m one of those people who little knowledge of South America. Number one, I was never truly interested so didn’t study it. But thanks for the info. I really should look into South America more.
The Weather Underground used to blow up high voltage power pylons in California years ago but, so far, no guerilla army with more than a handful of followers has developed in the US. Our governments power and police capabilities are orders of magnitude greater than what Latin American nations can deploy.
That said small groups or lone madmen can ( and do ) launch one off attacks ( Oklahoma City, World Trade Center attacks one and two), Orlando, Las Vegas that have taken heavy tolls on innocent life. I suppose negroes, were they capable of organizing, could form a guerilla army in our bigger ghettoes and be impervious ( for awhile anyway) to police penetration but , so far, other than some half assed media clown groups like the Black Panthers, they haven’t been able to demonstrate the financial and organizational ability of a Shining Path type group.
As Montefrio stated, just for starters the topography isn’t conducive.
Actually, Oklahoma City, World Trade Centers one and two were inside jobs. The first to were sting operations that went live. Still unsure which agencies were involved in 9/11, but looks like probably CIA.
Really excellent, Montefrío.
I have often speculated regarding the attraction of Communism to its adherent’s across ethnic and national boundaries. It seems the common desire is to create heaven on Earth; a desire stemming from empty vessels; from clouds yielding acid rain; from flawed and spiritually vacated people promising paradise out of the vacuum of their own souls, and instead, delivering only violence and death.
I have always enjoyed your written contributions here on The Burning Platform and regretted when you flounced over Dutchman’s misogynistic comment to Ms. Stephanie. However, I did see you commenting from time to time on the Z-man’s blog, and I believe it was on one of my own post here where you made your return to commenting on TBP. I am so glad you did.
I’ll definitely watch the film on YouTube (which you posted above) entitled “Dancer Upstairs”. It appears it was produced by John Malkovich and stars some heavy-hitters delivering some fine performances.
Thank you again for posting. By the way, if you ever wish to embed the YouTube videos into your future articles, there is a tab to the upper left on the WordPress dashboard that says “Add Media”. Simply click that tab, scroll down to where it says “embed from URL” and paste the YouTube link therein.
Looking forward to your future posts.
Thank you! That’s high praise coming from one of the best on here, so I’m encouraged. Thanks too for the tube tip!
I was expecting to be disappointed by “Dancer Upstairs,” but was pleased when my expectation proved false. Lima is a different city now, of course, but up in the cordillera, things haven’t changed much since the 80s.
I’n new at this, so I’ll be writing in fits and starts, but your encouragement is much appreciated and we’ll see what I can do to deserve it.
Acid rainclouds for sure:
http://thefederalist.com/2014/01/13/if-you-think-communism-is-bad-for-people-check-out-what-it-did-to-the-environment/
Thanks for this article. I’m writing from Tarapoto, Peru today. I saw the light years ago, and am so glad that I learned Spanish.
Anyway, what a lot of people don’t realize about the Shining Path is that they were very popular at first (far above the national government) and controlled about 1/4 of the country at their peak. Everyone in the rural areas loved their new land that had been stripped from those evil capitalists. As the government cracked down, the Shining Path car bombed in Lima, attacked army units, and terrorized citizens who were accused of collaborating with the government. The army in turn, was guilty of brutal atrocities. All in all, this terrible time resulted in the deaths of over 80,000 people.
Through our coffee business, we’ve met people who lived this time first hand, and the stories are appalling. Years later, many have still not returned to the farms, and may never do so again. How can you keep them on the farm, when they’ve seen Lima?
It seems surreal to think that things could go so off the rails here (the US,) but it’s the same story again. A profligate government borrows excessively & overspends, causing 5,000% inflation, and a currency collapse. (see Venezuela for a modern day example.) In dire situations, charismatic leaders can rise suddenly, even if they are pure evil. Desperation makes people do funny things…
Speaking Spanish is very useful, no doubt about it, but Quechua can come in handy as well!
Thanks for your observations. It’s true, in its beginnings Sendero attracted many rural people, but not for all that long, I don’t believe. The Senderistas were too Khmer Rouge/Red Guard type crazy.
The calle Tarata bombing was the last straw for the limeños; the gloves came completely off after that. As you say, “Desperate people…”.
As commenters above correctly observed, it’s highly unlikely that such a group could exist in today’s USA, but car-bombing urban guerrillas… Well, I wouldn’t dismiss that possibility.
When it comes to the history of the world, Americans are, for the most part, woefully ignorant. The history of Palestine is the most obvious example. Why of they hate us? Indeed.
Woefully but not uniquely, and only woefully because we go butting in everywhere.
You cannot mention the murderous insanity of Communism too often, as is demonstrated by the various university professors scattered around the land and the existence of Antifa, whose flag-symbol comes directly from 1930 German Communists.
Whether they are in Russia, China, Cambodia, Cuba or Peru, they murder everywhere they go and leave a trail of desolation where they linger. That Buddhist-Islam picture from before could just as easily be Capitalism – Communism, given the way they treated the kulaks, peasants, …
I wonder what Lori Berenson has in common with so many other communist organizers? I’m certain it’s something we aren’t allowed to notice.
South America’s diversity can fill pages if not volumes. From year-round hot climates to the skiing and snowboarding venues in southern Chile and Argentina. From tropical forests in Brazil and Bolivia to the deserts of northern Argentina to the beaches of Uruguay to the landlocked territory of Paraguay. Amazing ceviche and a plethora of other seafood dishes in Ecuador and in Peru; miles of gorgeous littoral sights, along with delectable delicacies, on the long coast of Brazil.
If Americans are ignorant of South America, they shouldn’t necessarily be faulted. Many Americans are also ignorant of Asia or even of Europe, and many an American is ignorant of the states bordering their own states of residence.
I’ve read so much about expat life in South America, but the educated American used to the rule of law and to systems simply working may be in for painfully rude awakenings if he relocates to South America. Barring a few exceptions, what he will encounter is corruption and crime on a scale he is just not ready for as his middle/upper-middle-class background, rearing, education, and lifestyle simply did not give him those problems.
Not that there is no value in experiencing all this – it can grant one perspective as well as a deeper appreciation for that which we find normative if not to be expected in the United States (unless you live in one of its Third World-like, unsafe, and degenerate pockets).
Corruption is endemic down here. Just look at what is taking place in Argentina as politicians up to and including the former prez are being prosecuted along with important biz leaders. And it sinks right on down to folks in the local tax office, permit-granters, etc. It’s an ugly fact of life that is indeed hard to get used to.
Crime on the other hand is largely confined to big cities. Out here in the boons, I don’t lock my house, leave my keys in the car with purchases in plain sight when I’m out and around (that changes in tourist season, however), walk alone at night, you get the picture: Mayburrito, R.F.D. It’s places like this that I’d suggest folks up north might wish to explore with an eye to the future.
Good article Monte,but you need to tell them what it took to get rid of the Shining Path.
An absolutely brutal leader who if I recall correctly had near dictatorial powers.
Also,I thought Guzman had died in prison.
No, he’s still kicking and they allowed him to marry some years ago!
Yes, Fujimori established what amounted to a quasi-military dictatorship, and I’d agree that it was necessary not just to capture Guzmán but to regain the senderista strongholds. I have a number of friends and their aged relatives who were active in that, so as former military, they praise it, but when pressed admit that there were many abuses, too many, just as was the case in Argentina and Chile, a sad side effect of restoring order.