Pantry Item #2: Straddling Two Worlds in Peru

Pantry Item: Boogie Ice Chewing Gum

Produced By: Confiteca

Location: Peru

While hiking the Incan trail in Peru I came across this line of chewing gum in several towns along the way. I was intrigued by the combination of English advertising and also the connection to longstanding traditions in Peru.

Ice is a pretty common advertising mechanism for gum like this since it has a menthol quality that clears the senses but the Globefodder will break down why this seemingly innocuous chewing gum is a harbinger of change.

Confiteca has mastered the art of straddling two worlds in this confection not simply because this is gum with a liquid center, but also because this English language branded candy highlights the intersection of traditional Andean theology with the encroaching Catholicism of Colonial Peru. This deep cultural heritage is also advertised in a feel-good "get your groove on" meme at a time when ecological collapse is at the threshold of the party.

Qoyllur Rit'i is a sacred ritual that has been recorded to be taking place in the Andes mountains near Cusco since about 1780. The tale behind this festival is one of a young Andean boy named Mariano herding llamas near Sinakara who meets an infant Christ, named Manuel, moonlighting as a shepherd himself at about 4700 meters. This chance encounter inspires Mariano to go on a shopping trip in order to dress like Manuel. The cool thing is that Manuel offers up a swatch of his clothing and when Mariano can't find a match of this in town he takes it to the town priest, Pedro de Landa, who recognizes this as a holy garment. They make a mad dash back up the mountain to greet their savior but unfortunately the only thing left of Christ, Manuel, is a rock that would forever be known as "Lord of Star Snow" because Mariano dies on the spot and an effigy of Christ forms on the stone before their eyes. This narrative lays the groundwork for a Christian understanding of an Andean festival which was probably going on for years prior this chance encounter.

In Peru, the Andes dominate the vistas and the lifestyles of different groups of people so that it comes as no surprise that each peak would become its own god known as an Apu. So the festival of Qoyllur Rit'i is a ritual to honor the god of Mount Colqepunku (Ice God). Pilgrims come from all surrounding towns and valleys to offer wishes and ask for guidance and forgiveness as they make their way up to the glaciers to the highest point. Only a select few pilgrims known as pabluchas can travel to the heart of the glacier to leave offerings and also to carve out a block of ice to be brought down to the crowds below. As the ice descends on the backs of some dancing pabluchas their is elation as the cleansing glacier waters of this summer solstice ritual can be seen as part baptism, part communion, part irrigation and yes even dance partners for some pilgrims. Thus Boogie Ice is born!

Confiteca has combined these two cultures through the creation of Boogie Ice. The small balls of chicle are white and pure like the snows of Colqepunke or like the communion wafers at your regular mass. The gum is filled with the gush of snow melt of a benevolent mountain god or a reminder of Holy Water found in your neighborhood church. There is reason to dance for in this little cultural artifact religion and nature are inextricably linked much like pabluchas who dance down the mountainside pleased that god has provided for yet another year. Yet as we dance today celebrating the cultural heritage found in this rugged terrain and the amazing minty taste of liquid and solid gum we are faced with the sinking feeling that this might all be for naught.

The pabluchas are no longer allowed to bring down blocks of ice because the prayers of all the pilgrims are no longer working. The Peruvian government has banned the taking of ice because global climate change has thinned glaciers to precarious levels. So now that offerings cannot be made at the heart of the Ice God at 6362 meters high and a key ingredient in keeping the gods pleased has been disrupted the only thing left to do is to dance! By spreading out the work of dancing with pieces of glaciers to the masses of Peru with Boogie Ice in non-biodegradable packaging the impending cataclysm can be avoided.

How does it taste? Mint gum filled with refreshing glacial melt!

Lets Dance!