ABOUT Q’EROS

The Q'eros are a Quechua-speaking people who live high in the

Andes Mountains of southeast Peru. Q'eros is also the name of the
cultural region that comprises the eight Q'eros' communities of
Kiku, Hapu, Hatun Q'eros, Q'eros Totorani, Marcachea, Pucara,
Q'achupata, and K'allacancha, which are located in the province of
Paucartambo, approximately one hundred miles east of the ancient
Inkan capital of Cusco. These communities all have their own
corresponding annexes or hamlets, consisting of small isolated
clusters of houses. Five of these communities, (the first five listed
above) recently banded together in a statement of solidarity to form
the "Nacion Q'eros." This documentary is based on Hatun Q'eros,
the largest and most remote of the Q'eros' communities.  

The most distinct geographic characteristic of the Q'eros region is

the area they inhabit, which spans from 6,000 feet up to 15,500
feet, moving from cloud forest to snow-capped mountains in a
distance of about twenty miles. The rapid change, combined with
the humidity created by the Amazon, renders three ecological zones
within proximity of each other, each with its own characteristic
productivity: 1) Puna  or loma  (13,500 - 15,500 feet), for raising
llamas and alpacas; 2) qheswa    (10,500 - 13,5000 feet), for
cultivating a variety of potatoes and tubers and raising European-
introduced sheep and cows; and 3) yunga  (called monte  by the
Q'eros, 6,000 - 8,500 feet), for cultivating corn, squash, peppers,
and various types of bamboo and wood.  

They spend most of their time in the high altitudes, caring for the
llamas and alpacas. Exploiting three ecological zones has promoted
self-sufficiency among the Q'eros. Because of this self-sufficiency
and their relative isolation, the Q'eros have maintained many of
their traditional customs, such as their music, which other Andean
groups no longer practice.

In May 2006, during the Dalai Lama's visit to South America, some
Q'eros were chosen to participate in his visit to Cusco, as
representatives of 'authentic' Andean culture. They conversed with
him about their lifestyle, and closed the meeting by singing the
traditional Q'eros' song, "Thurpa." Peru's National Institute of
Culture (INC) recently declared the Q'eros cultural group a cultural
patrimony (patrimonio cultural), the first and only people in Peru
to receive this recognition. The INC has begun a dialogue with the
Nacion Q'eros about plans for ethno-development ( etnodesarollo),
giving the Q'eros a voice from which to plan their own future with
outside assistance. This unique identity and position gives the
Q'eros people a singular platform for indigenous leadership in
southeast Peru1.

1
http://qerosmusic.com/qeros.php