Representation of Andean Communities: Indigenous Cultures and Languages in Peruvian Cinema

Peru is a country that has a world-renowned cultural heritage. However, there is a set of historical discrimination in different instances of society against the indigenous population, their cultural identity, social recognition, and even legal protection. Due to this situation, there have been recent manifestations in the cinema, television and education products with the purpose of recognizing, integrating and valuing all people and their cultures. This differs significantly from almost all of republican history, characterized by the unilateral representation of the privileged classes of the Peruvian cities. For that reason, this article analyzes three independent films dedicated to representation of Andean characters: Wiñaypacha (‘Eternity’) (2017), Retablo (‘Altarpiece’) (2017), and Willaq Pirqa, el cine de mi pueblo (‘Speaking Wall, the cinema of my town’) (2022), which have achieved a high degree of acceptance by the public and specialized critics. The proposal analyzes the recognition and revaluation of the Andean characters in these films, based on the linguistic, cultural and social dimensions, and the ideas of nationhood that are developed discursively and symbolically.