The Last Supper Cathedral of Cusco - Odi Gonzales

Blindly attributed
to the Chiaroscurists of San Blas
to the Anonymous One of Maras
to the Master of Taray 
                                    a little something
I have to say:
                        this painting
came from my own hands: I  alone
painted, prepared, set forth the Sacred Meal

                                                            Here
the cunning Indian painter – the Anonymous One of the Cathedral –
in a flight of ecstasy
added from his own stores
hearty stews and the fruits of his harvest:

            in place of
the traditional bread – flat and unleavened --
he set upon on the paschal table
roasted cuy, stuffed spicy peppers
as if the Upper Room were not in the Holy Land

                                                but more likely
in cozy tavern in Cusco, let’s say
                                    “La Chola.”

---

Odi Gonzales (born 1962) Peru
Translated by Lynn Levin
Source: Per Contra, Winter 2007-2008

• Maras - A small Andean town in what is now known as the Sacred Valley of Peru. Before the Spanish conquest, this region was the center of the Inca civilization.
• Taray - A village in the Sacred Valley of Peru.
• Cuy - Guinea pig, a staple of the Andean diet.
• Chola - An affectionate name for an indigenous Andean girl or woman.