She is from Salta, lovingly carved by indigenas hands

      When the Spanish conquistadores stepped foot on America with sword and cross, the indigenous population hadn't even the foggiest idea what was in store for them. For all of their virtues or short-commings, they were still closely integrated with mother nature. The notion of private property was unknown to them; they cured themselves with herbs and took what they needed from nature but did not exploit her for their own benefit.

      All over the South American continent you can still see vestiges of one of humanity's most devasting genocides: in the city of Cuzco, Perú. the streets are still paved with the stones carefully laid by the Incas and the bottom half of most of the older houses still carry the distinctive mark of Inca architecture. A less visible mark is the disruption of social and family ties--nevertheless tenaciously conserved by native peoples.

     Not only that: churches also are marked by native hands. The ikon in the photo, from the museum of history in Salta, is a good example. Artists and creative people invariably paint, or write or compose or sculpture on the basis of their own experience, the beliefs and feelings that navigate in their innermost consciousness. Likewise, all over America--especially in remote rural areas--the descendents of the Incas and the Mayas and the Tobas and the Mapuches have meshed their own beliefs with those of the conqueror: the "Pacha Mama" is an excellent example. They still adore and celebrate her by digging holes in the earth to give her food and drink.