Peru: Indigenous Peoples and Globalization

Faculty and Staff

Karina Pacheco Medrano, Ph.D., Academic Director
Karina Pacheco Medrano is a native of Cusco. She earned her Ph.D. in Latin American anthropology at the Complutense University of Madrid in 2000; her thesis was on indigenismo and cultural identity in Cusco. She also holds a postgraduate degree in inequality, aid, and development from that same university, and a second postgraduate diploma in Amerindian Studies from Casa de América-UNESCO. She graduated with her bachelor’s in anthropology from the San Antonio Abad Public University of Cusco with a thesis on traditional coca leaf producers in the Amazonian valleys of Cusco. She has worked as a consultant on an array of projects in Peru and Spain and as a professor at the University of Cusco and at the University of San Marcos, Lima, specializing in the methodology for social research and development projects, formulation, and evaluation. Karina is also a writer; she has published three novels and a book of short stories.

Through various professional experiences, she has acquired profound knowledge of the realities and discrimination faced by indigenous peoples in Latin America, and the challenge of cultural diversity in a globalized world. She has written books and several specialized articles in this field, including a book on identity and ethnicity in Cusco (Incas, indios y fiestas, 2007) and the essay “The Oppression of Diversity” (“La diversidad oprimida”, 2006), which examines how public policies and ‘national’ interpretations in a country like Peru respond primarily to the realities of upper urban classes from Peru’s coast, whilst urban poor, black minorities and indigenous populations from the Andes and Amazonian regions have historically been neglected. She is currently working on a book on racism and discrimination in Cusco, scheduled to be published at the end of 2011.

Review Karina Pacheco Medrano’s complete CV.

Milagros del Carpio, Program Coordinator
Milagros del Carpio studied social communication at San Antonio Abad University of Cusco. She has worked for years in the field of alternative cross-cultural education with teenagers focusing on environmental education. She specializes in interpersonal relations training with adults and young leaders, as well as massive social communication campaigns that strive for respectful improvement of certain matters in rural communities. As a journalist, she worked at the newspaper El Comercio and the magazine Somos in Lima. She has also hosted a radio program in Cusco Como en casa. In addition, she has acted in several plays, a TV production, and had the lead role in two Peruvian films about terrorism and drug trafficking. In her role as program coordinator, Milagros works with the academic director in developing program activities, helps oversee the program’s structure, and assists students with daily issues and cross-cultural communication.

Adela Margarita Da Silva, Iquitos Regional Coordinator
Adela Margarita Da Silva Arirama studied education with an emphasis on biology at the National University of the Peruvian Amazon. She lives in Iquitos, and her work has taken her to many cities, villages, and native communities in the Peruvian jungle. She has worked for nine years on environmental issues at Peru’s Ministry of Education. She is currently in charge of the Public Use of the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve program; she has contributed to the program’s tourist and recreational plan, as well as its education-communication plan aimed at local populations. The Pacaya Samiria National Reserve is the largest reserve in Peru.

In consultation with the academic director, Margarita coordinates the program’s excursions in Iquitos and Pacaya Samiria Reserve, and assists students who choose to focus on this region for their Independent Study Projects.

Ursula Medina, Program Assistant
Ursula Medina has worked with SIT since 2009. She studied systems engineering at the Catolica Santa Maria University of Arequipa as well as language and literature at the Garcilazo de la Vega University of Lima. She has extensive experience teaching Spanish to foreigners (adults, teenagers, and children) in Cusco, and has also coordinated Spanish and English programs at local schools in Cusco. She speaks English and Italian fluently, as well as French, Japanese, and Quechua conversationally. She coordinates the program’s homestay component and is responsible for logistics related to site visits and excursions, as well as other administrative tasks.

Aníbal Berdejo Mendiguri, Colca Regional Coordinator
Aníbal Berdejo Mendiguri is a biologist with a special interest in native Andean birds. Currently, his primary objective is to help the Colca community create a role for itself in the tourism industry that complements traditional activities. Key themes considered in his work include: using tourism as a tool to fortify local identity, creating a balance between tourism and the environment, and galvanizing local attention for opportunities in rural tourism development. Aníbal's commitment has evolved through his work as a tour guide.
In consultation with the academic director, Aníbal oversees the coordination of the field-based portion of the seminars in the Colca Valley.