Raza de bronce: ¿novela de hambrientos?

Raza de bronce by Alcides Arguedas is one of the most famous examples of the "novela indigenista" in Latin America. Although this novel is considered to defend the Aimara Indians, certain textual passages show these people as subhuman, without a sophisticated culture, particularly in the depiction of what they eat. Besides the chronic scarcity of food, their culture is described as one that lacks culinary sophistication: its diet is mainly potatoes and dry corn seasoned with fat. In those cases when this diet is diversified, the availability of food is a product of robbery or an unequal exchange that devalues indigenous people on various levels. In fact, the "Indian" not only is poor, a thief or dishonest, but also a beast that could ingest anything and could even become a cannibal in order to satisfy his desires for revenge. This essay demonstrates the ambiguity in the literary description of indigenous people. On the one hand, they are portrayed as exploited human beings that need the protection of the rest of society. On the other hand, they are described as inferior human beings and therefore their exploitation is "justified" by the landowner elite.