My paper topic came quite by mistake. I was looking for a topic to use, something original, but was at a loss. All I knew was that I wanted to do some research on Peruvian art, but what kind? I skimmed through images on google, until suddenly, I encountered one that I recognized. It was a wooden box, with intricately carved tiny figures arranged in a religious scene. I remembered seeing something just like this box when I was little, on that had been given to me by my mother, who had brought it from Peru. It caught my interest, and when I clicked on the image, I found a site on Peruvian retablos. Hence the inspiration for my topic.
So this week I was researching retablos for my paper topic, and was amazed at what I found. It turns out that, like in Mexico, the retablos were originally religious items, but they stopped being made long ago. EXCEPT for in small villages in Peru, which specialize in a very different type of retablo. Retablos were brought to Peru to convert the locals there, by telling them stories with the scenes depicted in the retablo. Now retablos are made not only as religious objects, but also a vessel to tell stories, protest against tyranny, and reaffirm Peruvian identity.
