When Jon said new age tourism was all the rage in Pisac, I honestly didn’t imagine how prevalent the hippies and the commodification of Indigeneity for their consumption would be. There are so many representations of Indigeneity here in Pisac, it is hard to pick and sift through them for a blog post. One I have noticed a lot is imitations of Inca walls, such as in the front of hotels, or in shops. These walls feel like laminate flooring, and they are all a uniform dark grey, very different from the Inca walls we saw in Cusco, the ones Arguedas described as alive and moving; these ones are certainly not alive.
Yesterday Gabo and I decided to venture out of the hotel, partly to be academic weapons and partly to find trust-worthy nutrition after having both been sick. We found the most new-age touristy cafe ever, just down the street from the Hotel Florencio hacienda. It was like all the hippies congregated there, and as we spent the afternoon sipping our elixir juice and chai concoctions, we heard pieces of some very stereotypical conversations about enlightenment, spiritual connection, and mind, body and soul authentic shamanistic experiences. It made me reflect a lot on the question: what is ‘authenticity’? In only a few days, I have seen countless enlightenment experience fliers, shaman storefronts, and advertisements for ayahuasca. Many of them just seem like tourist traps to me, just people trying to make a buck. But to the people in the cafe, dressed in their 800 soles alpaca ponchos, bohemian dresses and psychedelic-patterned balloon pants, these things on offer in Pisac seemingly are an ‘authentic’ experience that they crave and get enlightenment out of. I may not find their experience to be ‘authentic’, but if they feel that they are getting an ‘authentic’ experience, that is, if it is ‘authentic’ to them, who am I to say it is not? It authenticity not subjective? The cafe itself was catering to this group, making them feel so enlightened for ordering a ‘sun salutation elixir’ with cordyceps in it. They sold impossible burgers of various kinds, one of them advertised as the “gringo” impossible burger, and a thai soup that vaguely reminded me of Tom Kha but with less flavour without the chicken. The furniture was wicker, the menu was vegan-nutrition-based, and the decor was macrame.
Jon would have HATED it.
But my smoothie bowl and blue spirulina lemonade were excellent.
Caroline, this is interesting, but a bit short at only just over 300 words... can you say more?