Fieldwork in Cusco (October 10-19)

Before leaving for the city of Cusco, a group of students defined a tentative fieldwork plan, and we began to identify and schedule meetings with our contacts in Cusco. The schedule included time for us to tour the streets and become familiar with the city and its historical sites. Time was scheduled for the whole class to complete tasks for each theme group, as well as for the four theme groups to work independently. Meetings that would benefit everyone such as one with the local director of the Instituto Nactional de Cultura were scheduled into our group time. Once we arrived in the city the plan was revisited and edited each night as we reflected on the work we had done so far and what we had left to accomplish.

Music and Culture – The music and culture group began the task of assessing the influence of tourism on the music scene in Cusco by conducting a series of interviews. The group interviewed a range of people from a professor and students from the Music School in the city, and an employee of a local museum to a number of musicians and actors from across the city. The group also conducted a mapping exercise to determine if the divide between the tourist and local areas of the city are reflected in the musical backdrop of the city.

Housing and Retail – The fieldwork plan of this group included a combination of interviews and activities involving the entire class. Interviews were conducted with local residents, business owners and officials such as an employee of the Instituto Nacional de Cultura. The entire class of seventeen split up into pairs and conducted between two and six interviews each with residents of San Blas about the effects of recent changes in their neighborhoods. The group also used a mapping exercise to collect data on the residential space in the neighborhood of San Blas.

Crafts and Souvenirs – The crafts and souvenirs group conducted individual interviews with some of the major craftspeople, artisans, artists, vendors and shop owners in San Blas and Centro Historico. The group also created an interview tool for the entire class to use and we each completed a series of interviews with both craftspeople as well as the tourists buying their products at a large marketplace.

Restaurants, Bars and Hotels – The ‘RBH’ group conducted interviews with actors such as some key business and property holders in the city. The entire class also engaged in a mapping exercise for this group. We each used a map of the area to record the location, price range and customer base of the restaurants, bars and hotels in San Blas. The whole class also took time over the course of the trip to conduct some short interviews in the restaurants and bars we went to as we got to know the neighborhood.

We ended our fieldwork by organizing a two-day conference titled, “Construction of a New Shared Vision of the City.” The objective of the conference was to create a space for local Cusqueños to voice their concerns and visions of how they wanted to see Cusco develop. There were three panels: Culture & Diversity, Economy & Tourism, and Transformation of the City. The Panelist included people from various organizations in Cusco such as Centro Guaman Poma de Ayala, the Chamber of Commerce of Tourism, a local business owner and others. At the final part of the conference a workshop was held where participants, panelist and our class were split into small groups to discuss the specific challenges and also solutions of the development process in the city. Each participant and panelist then received a certificate for being part of the conference. The conference made Cusco news and an article was written about our studio class and the conference.