Cholas and Pishtacos - Stories of Race and Sex in the Andes

Winner of the 2003 Senior Book Prize from the American Ethnological Society.
The chola and the pishtaco are provocative characters from South American popular culture--the former a sensual mixed-race woman and the latter a horrifying white killer--who show up in everything from horror stories and dirty jokes to romantic novels and travel posters. In this elegantly written book, these two figures become vehicles for an exploration of race, sex, and violence that pulls the reader into the vivid landscapes and lively cities of the Andes. Weismantel's theory of race and sex begins not with individual identity but with three forms of social and economic interaction: estrangement, exchange, and accumulation. She maps the barriers that separate white and Indian, male and female-barriers that exist not in order to prevent exchange, but rather to exacerbate its inequality.
Weismantel weaves together sources ranging from her own fieldwork and the words of potato sellers, hotel maids, and tourists to classic works by photographer Martin Chambi and novelist Jose Maria Arguedas. "Cholas and Pishtacos is also an enjoyable and informative introduction to a relatively unknown region of the Americas.

About the author

Mary Weismantel is an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology and chair of Latin American studies at Northwestern University. She is the author of "Food, Gender and Poverty in the Ecuadorian Andes."

Summary

Cholas and Pishtacos are two provocative characters from South American popular culture. In this book, these two figures become vehicles for an exploration of race, sex, and violence beginning with three forms of social and economic interaction: estrangement, exchange and accumulation.

Product details

• Authors: Mary Weismantel, Mary J. Weismantel, Weismantel Mary
• Publisher: University Presses
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 15.12.2001
• EAN: 9780226891545
• ISBN: 978-0-226-89154-5
• No. of pages: 334
• Dimensions: 17 mm x 23 mm x 2 mm
• Weight: 567 g
• Series: Women in Culture and Society Series; Women in Culture & Society (Pa; Women in Culture and Society Series; Women in Culture and Society; Women in Culture & Society Series WCS (CHUP); Women in Culture & Society Series WCS
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > Social structure research; Ethnic Studies, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Gender Studies, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Violence in Society, Andes, Gender studies, gender groups, Violence in society, Violence and abuse in society, Andes mountains, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Cultural & Ethnic Studies / General