Path to the Huacas

por Nora Alarcón

November, 2025

Route of the potato
life created
in the land of the morochucos
an offering to Apu Pariahunca
before the harvesting of the native potatoes

a violin inhabits me
a spear
blooms retamas along my path

shiny obsidian blade of the gods
listen to the song of the prince of the wind
heights of the puna

The watercolors weary my feet
cosmic tangle furrowed by condors
to be dust of little stars that stain the instant
and disappear

my motives become fugitives

Translated from Spanish to English by Caroline Stewart
This poem was translated in classes taught by Professor Christian Elguera Olortegui at Marist University.

Photo: Getty Images, Unsplash.

Nora Alarcón

Nora Alarcón is a multidisciplinary artist from Peru. Her books of poetry include Alas de viento (Lima, 2000), Bellas y suicidas (Lima, 2010), and Malvas (Lima, 2013). Her collection Ninata Rawrarichisun / Revivamos el fuego (Lima, 2015) was a finalist for the Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal’s Premio Nacional de Poesía Quechua in 2014. Her other works include Pacha Achikllaq / Aurora del tiempo (Lima, 2018), Chaska poesía (Montevideo, 2020), and Músico de Fuego / Ninapi harawiq (2023). Her poems have been included in Harawinchis: Poesía quechua contemporánea (1904 – 2021) and in several anthologies of Peruvian poetry published abroad. Her poems have been translated to English, German, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Polish, and French.

Caroline Stewart

Caroline Stewart is a senior at Marist University studying Human Biology with a pathway in Spanish. Caroline is passionate about the use of Spanish in medical and research settings as she completed her senior research in Madrid, Spain. In the future, Caroline hopes to promote medical comprehension in Spanish-speaking communities to those in need of care.