Yuyachkani and the Reinvention of Adiós, Ayacucho by Julio Ortega: Embodiment and Memory

Bautista A.V.; Leal I.G.G. · Desde el Sur (2026) · DOI: 10.21142/des-1804-2026-0101

Resumen

This study is a reflection on the play Adiós, Ayacucho, an adaptation of Julio Ortega’s novel. Our goal is to reflect on how the ritual nature of theater and an understanding of the body from the Andean worldview give meaning to the representation of a non-presence. The play stars a peasant from Ayacucho who was murdered by the Peruvian police during the era of terrorism. This character, now a mutilated corpse, embarks on a journey to Lima in search of justice. Yuyachkani then faces the challenge of showing an absence on stage. From our reading, the inert and mutilated body is materialized/staged by resorting to a ritual typical of the 1980s in Peru (keeping vigil over the clothes of the disappeared), and also by understanding that, in the Andean world, the boundaries between life and death, and body and soul, are blurred.

Instituciones: Universidad Científica del Sur