An Uru legend, tells of a young Aymara boy adopted by a flock of condors. The boy is told the secret of the Condors´ treasure which is hidden in the Azanaque mountains (just outside the uru village, Llapallapani). In return he swears to protect the precious metals and jewels at all costs.
One day he is accidently left behind in Llapallapni after the Condors eat a llama and fly off without him. The Urus find him and and slyly trick him into revealing the secrets he has sworn to protect.
A war ensues between the condors and Urus. And when all seems lost, the Urus prematurely confident in their victory, the lead Condor summons the power of the wind turning their treaure into flowers and the young Aymara boy into a mountain.
Apparently the condor also condemns the Urus to a livlihood based on fishing alone.
This last condemnation is key to understanding Uru poverty and marginalization. The Urus are not agriculturalists like their Ayamara and Quechua neighbors. And if the lake is low or contaminated, fishing is made impossible and thus they are forced to search for work outside their community.
I wonder to whom this story brings peace? I don´t suppose the Urus could find that Condor king and beg for mercy, parole or a statute of limitations having served centuries of marginalization. Do explanations suffice when salvation is absent?
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