Reflections and projections

Despite many imaginaries that have projected “the Andes” as a homogeneous and singular world, partly determined by geography, scholars of the Andes have long debated how to convey the diversity of Andean worlds, both for purposes of informal exploration as well as for systematic analysis. The Andean region has been envisioned as an exhilarating, exotic, and stunning high mountain region; as a label that connotes non-western and “Indian”; as a blanket reference to the many indigenous movements of resistance, revitalization, and political mobilization that challenge colonial and postcolonial constructs of Andean peoples as victims; and, most recently, as a commercial brand for a healthy and spiritually invigorating life style. ² Nevertheless, although in geographical terms the Andean region extends from the Caribbean to Patagonia, in political terms the Andean community is comprised of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. And although Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia share more in common culturally than they do with Colombia, even among these three countries there are notable differences that should not be ignored and that demand explanation.