"Two hundred years after the last Inca ruler (Tupac Amaru) died, a rebellion began to bubble away in Peru"... Micaela Bastidas Puyucawa and her husband, known as Tupac Amaru II, led a huge uprising against the Spanish. Who was Micaela exactly? What was she like? How did the movement end? And what legacy did the couple leave behind? All this and more in 'Andean Storm'.

Lightning has evoked a numinous response as well as powerful timeless references and symbols among ancient religions throughout the world. Thunder and lightning have also taken on various symbolic manifestations, some representing primary deities, as in the case of Zeus and Jupiter in the Greco/Roman tradition, and Thor in Norse myth. Similarly, lightning veneration played an important role to the ancient civilizations of Mesoamerica and Andean South America. Lightning veneration and the religious cults and their associated rituals represent to varying degrees a worship of nature and the forces that shape the natural world. The inter-relatedness of the cultural and natural environment is related to what may be called a widespread cultural perception of the natural world as sacred, a kind of mythic landscape. Comparative analysis of the Andes and Mesoamerica has been a recurring theme recently in part because two of the areas of "high civilization" in the Americas have much in common despite substantial ecological differences, and in part because there is some evidence, of varying quality, that some people had migrated from one area to the other. Lightning in the Andes and Mesoamerica is the first ever study to explore the symbolic elements surrounding lightning in their associated Pre-Columbian religious ideologies. Moreover, it extends its examination to contemporary culture to reveal how cultural perceptions of the sacred, their symbolic representations and ritual practices, and architectural representations in the landscape were conjoined in the ancient past. Ethnographic accounts and ethnohistoric documents provide insights through first-hand accounts that broaden our understanding of levels of syncretism since the European contact. The interdisciplinary research presented herein also provides a basis for tracing back Pre-Columbian manifestations of lightning its associated religious beliefs and ritual practices, as well as its mythological, symbolic, iconographic, and architectural representations to earlier civilizations. This unique study will be of great interest to scholars of Pre-Columbian South and Mesoamerica, and will stimulate future comparative studies by archaeologists and anthropologists.

Capitán Cristóbal de Varga's drive for glory and gold in 1538 Peru leads him and his army of conquistadors into a New World that refuses to be conquered. He is a man torn by life-long obsessions and knows this is his last campaign. What he doesn't know is that his Incan allies led by the princess Sarpay have their own furtive plans to make sure he never finds the golden city of Vilcabamba. He also doesn't know that Héctor Valiente, the freed African slave he appointed as his lieutenant, has found a portal that will lead them all into a world that will challenge his deepest beliefs. And what he can't possibly know is that this world will trap him in a war between two eternal enemies, leading him to question everything he has devoted his life to - his command, his Incan princess, his honor, his God. In the end, he faces the ultimate dilemma: how is it possible to battle your own obsessions . . . to conquer yourself?

Monograph on the role of USA in the present and historical political development of the Andean region - treats the rise of 'corporativism', ie. The protection of traditional culture and social structure from negative outside capitalistic influences, in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, and discusses the effects of race and religion, Marxism, elites, and the CIAP on the formation of political ideology. Maps and references.

Discover powerful energetic rites based on Andean shamanic teachings to heal the wounds of your past, further your spiritual evolution, and reveal your sacred purpose. Marcela Lobos presents the 10 rites of the Munay-Ki, which are gateways to the evolution of our consciousness. These teachings are based on initiatory practices of the shamans of the Andes and the Amazon, transformed for the modern age. She shares her personal journey and discoveries with the Quero healers, along with stories of how her and her students’ lives were changed, to inspire you on your own spiritual path. “Munay” means “universal love” in the Quechua language, while “ki” is from the Japanese word for energy. Together, these words mean “energy of love.” After you go through the rites of the Munay-Ki, you can begin to dream the world into being—the world we want our children’s children to inherit.