Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, the son of the conquest who rode his life for the value of miscegenation

Born under the union of two worlds, between worldview believers and those with a desire for power, the mestizo of Hispanic-Inca descent became one of the greatest references in describing the reality experienced by our ancestors in the struggle caused by the Spanish conquest. His historical writings of great linguistic value allow us to appreciate in detail the heritage we adopt for the formation of our identity as a country. Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, also known as the 'Prince of the Writers of the New World', dragged us into his close public life in one of the most important empires that continues to be the object of study and admiration in the world.

THE FIRSTBORN

Cusco became his first home when he was born on April 12, 1539, seven years after the capture of Atahualpa in Cajamarca. His Inca and Spanish essence was formed by his father, a Spanish captain named Sebastián Garcilaso de la Vega - who belonged to the high-rise elite who arrived in our territory - and his mother, Chimpu Ocllo, daughter of Tupac Hualpa.

After his birth he was considered one of the first mestizos born of an interracial bond as a result of the conquest. For 2013, psychoanalyst Max Hernández offered his contribution to the relationship that his parents would have maintained, noting that he did not speak Quechua and she did not understand Spanish. “There was an encounter, we don't know if it was merely sexual or love, but we do know that it went through the body and the looks than through the dialogue. His son was the product of a union not fully communicated.”

It is necessary that the conqueror was located in the capital of the empire to serve as a recipient of rich parcels. During her work she met who would be the mother of her first child.

CALL OF THEIR ANCESTORS

He was given the name of his ancestors because of his father's preferences, being recognized as Gómez Suárez de Figueroa. The man chosen to be his godfather for baptism was Francisco de Almendras, one of the wealthiest and most reckless of the time. With the time that had elapsed, his godfather of confirmation, the ostentatious commissioner of Cusco, Diego de Silva, came into his life. In 1539, he made an amendment to his identity title to pay tribute to his illustrious literary ancestor. This critical stance and search for its origins led him to be assumed as Inca Garcilaso de la Vega.

HISTORIAL FAMILIAR

His father's inheritance was always linked to lyrics. His father was the nephew of Garcilaso de la Vega, a Renaissance poet of Spanish nationality. He was also joined by Jorge Manrique, author of “Las Coplas for the death of his father”.

His mother's story has its origin in the panaca of Tupac Yupanqui and Huayna Cápac, thus consolidating a royal family. These offspring were related to Huascar. In the midst of the clashes over land domination, the young woman managed to escape and survive the conflict. His chances of staying alive were in the minority, but he managed to maintain his courage to face any pain or unfortunate event that arose.

During her first years of life she had no greater interest in weapons or acts of violence, since she preferred to learn her mother's language, Quechua, as well as the practice of hand weaving.

In 1549, when he was still a child, he witnessed the separation of his parents because of the decision of his father, who began a new life with Luisa Martel de los Ríos, a lady who came from a clan that set out on trips to conquer territories in America. Years later, the father figure was taken over by Juan del Pedroche.

THE VALUE OF BEING MESTIZO

It is considered by many to be the first biological mestizo. Even more so when in his writings the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega refers to his breed and where he comes from. It is known that he was the son of an interracial bond, which he proudly sought to reassess.

How did you manage to prove it? For example, he lived through stages where his existence was in danger due to the repression of the Spaniards against the Incas, to the point of leaving Cusco.

Eduardo González Viaña, author of “Kutimuy, Garcilaso!” , mentioned in an interview with El Comercio that Garcilaso entered into an internal conflict over his race along with a resentment about the treatment his mother received. “At that time there was no vision of miscegenation, so what is it? Is he a Spaniard or an Inca? This miscegenation is what we are going to know through it.”

“(Do you become aware of the miscegenation it represents?) Never, because at certain times he doubts. He even seems to apologize for being a half-breed. But the fact of approaching a gigantic work like 'Royal Commentaries of the Incas', which are like 800 pages of memories, makes him and his readers men of a different nation. I don't say Peruvian because the word Peru hadn't been used until he does,” he said.

IDENTITY CONFLICTS

Being recognized as mestizo was the core of a dilemma for its growth. After his mother's estrangement, at the age of 21 he moved to Spain to look for his family roots, passing through Seville, Montilla and Córdoba. There he studied classical and renaissance poets where the work “Real Commentaries of the Incas” (1609) was born in order to seek to claim their lineage, despite the contradictions that can be interpreted in books.

Living in a time where the Spanish crown occupied Peruvian territory and coming from a childhood that was considered privileged, he always sought to find that representation based on archives and his memory. Mario Vargas Llosa, in an article written for the magazine Letras Libres, in 2002, describes the Inca as the first mestizo and vindictor for his Indian and Spanish status.

“Talking about a mestizo style would be redundant, because they all are: there is no pure style, because there are no pure languages. But Garcilaso's language is a language that has a music, a cadence, ways imbued with reminiscences of its origin and status as an Indian, which gives it a singular personality. And, of course, a pioneer,” says the writer.

This is shown in his summit work as “Real Commentaries of the Inca”, which describes Inca history under his experiences, studies and memory. The book, which was banned after the Túpac Amaru rebellion, has remained in the archive to understand Garcilaso's dilemma of living with two classes and how to represent himself.

THE REAL COMMENTS OF THE INCAS

The work that still generates debate today tells the description of the Inca era under the vision of the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. Divided into nine books, with details and facts through documents, chronicles and oral information that the writer obtained during that period. On the other hand, it is important to know Gómez Suárez's appreciation of Cusco, the pinnacle of the myths and legends that are proclaimed in books in reference to the period of the Incanate.

“Real Commentaries of the Incas” was published in 1609, composed of 9 books of 262 chapters; and the second part of the work appeared in General History of Peru (1617) in 8 books of 268 chapters.

In the first part, not only the author's literary quality is highlighted, but also his interpretation of the Inca empire as an almost bucolic and paradisiacal model of society and government. In addition, it shows for posterity culture from the point of view of its rulers, of which it was part. The work begins with the beginnings of their ancestors, and ends with the Spaniards when they conquered Tahuantinsuyo; the work describes the customs, their religions, their system of government, their lives, their wars, etc.

In the second part, the author develops in a vibrant style the conquest of Peru, the civil wars between the conquistadors and the establishment of the Viceroyalty of Peru, as well as the resistance of the Incas of Vilcabamba, culminating in the execution of the last of these, Tupac Amaru I, in Cusco Square in 1572. It includes in its pages a rehabilitation of his father, Captain Sebastián Garcilaso de la Vega, who was discredited before the Crown for having played on the side of the rebel Gonzalo Pizarro.

The facts reflect that the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, despite his critics in how he describes history in order to find the answer to his race, always tried to rebelliously count part of Peruvian history, which cannot be forgotten for analysis and debate in the loss of critical sense due to the current polarization.

KEEP READING