In The Land of Pisco ... Meeting Doctor Pisco: Part II

Pisco / Peru more than 400 years of History and Tradition (1613 - 2013)

Here we share the second part of a three part article. We found it to be very interesting! Enjoy! A Linguistic Issue Dr. Cesar Angeles was not interested in finding out how much Peruvian firewater was produced in the days of Spanish Colonization, nor did he care if Pisco was ever produced in the city of Pisco. Neither was he interested in whether or not the denomination of origin zone was too large. He did not begin the absurd practice of purchasing different firewaters in order to establish positive qualities, which would always be considered subjective. He reduced the entire debate to a linguistic issue. And certainly in this area there was no possibility of “fixing the result.” “This is essentially a linguistic, lexicographic issue (not a grape-related issue, notes the author). The Quechua (or Paracas) word ‘pisco’ means ‘little bird.’ In the city of Pisco at that time, there were many birds, and ancient Peruvians, as did many people, named the location based upon its topographic or geographic characteristics. Just like in the city of Lima, the name comes from rimac, which means ‘river that speaks.’ The inhabitants of these areas were potters, and were also called ‘Piscos.’ During colonization, the earthenware jugs were called ‘Piscos’ and since the firewater was stored in these jugs, the firewater became known as Pisco. The word is also a last name: such as Piscoya, Pisconte. It is a sublimely Peruvian word,” he states, summarizing his thesis. “If the Chancellery or the Peruvian Government has not argued the above, it is because they are ignorant, because they don’t investigate. If they would have presented their argument from this point of view, we would have won the battle ages ago. If they had done so, no one around the world would be allowed to call something Pisco that wasn’t. They should have applied for the designation that firewater from Peruvian grapes is Pisco with proof that the word Pisco is completely Peruvian, not the other way around. The linguistic argument is central, not an accessory. I am a lonely defender of this argument.” The intellectual “loans” of “the Peruvianness of Pisco” have appeared with these arguments which were very well documented and demonstrated in 1972, published by Nueva Educacion. The publication immediately sold out, and there were new editions published every two years, at least, until today. Today it is edited by Editorial San Marcos, and is part of the triple edition of “The Harvest,” “The Pisco Dictionary” and the classic “the Peruvianness of Pisco.” But the “lonely defender of this argument” has not only been very well read by the majority of authors that have later produced works regarding the national firewater, but also—which he demonstrates with justifiable disdain—has been the victim of plagiarism. We are talking about intellectual and literary plagiarism, such as when other writes develop the same ideas, changing just a few words, citing the same primary sources, but without having the tact to mention where they got the information or even giving the respective credit to the researcher and author, in this case, Dr. Pisco, Cesar Angeles Caballero. “When there are citations, there’s no problem. But when this plagiarism is written by historians who have access to technology and the knowledge of book-writing, and they don’t even have a bibliography, it’s too much. Everyone who plagiarizes me, they hide my book, and they don’t even cite me.” He gives us various examples—from the best known to moderately respected authors. But the reader must understand that when it comes to who these people are, it isn’t even worth it to mention their names. Written by: Manuel Cadenas Mujica The editors Elpiscoesdelperu.com Compartimos con Uds. este artículo que será difundido en 3 entregas, nos pareció muy interesante. Disfrútenlo. Conozcamos al Doctor Pisco - Parte II Un tema lingüístico No le interesó a César Ángeles indagar cuánto aguardiente peruano se producía en los días de la colonia o si en la ciudad de Pisco se produjo alguna vez pisco, ni si la zona de denominación de origen es demasiado extensa. Tampoco entró a majadería de comparar un aguardiente con otro buscando establecer calidades, siempre subjetivas. Redujo toda la discusión a un asunto netamente lingüístico. Y ciertamente en ese ámbito no había ni hay posibilidad de enmendarle la plana. “Es un tema netamente lingüístico, lexicográfico (no enológico, nota del autor). La palabra quechua (o paracas) ‘pisco’ significa ‘avecita’. En la actual Pisco había muchas avecitas y los antiguos peruanos, como muchos pueblos, llamaban al lugar por su característica topográficas o geográficas, así como Lima viene de ‘rímac’ = río que habla. A los habitantes de esas zonas, que eran alfareros, se les llamó también ‘piscos’. En la colonia, a las botijas se les llamó ‘piscos’ y como en ellas se envasaba el aguardiente, también a éste se le llamó ‘pisco’. La palabra, además, es también un apellido: hay Piscoya, Pisconte. Es una palabra eminentemente peruana”, ha sintetizado su tesis al máximo. “Si la Cancillería o el Gobierno peruano no se lo han planteado así es por ignorantes, porque no investigan. Si lo hubiesen planteado desde ese punto de vista, hubiéramos ganado la batalla hace tiempo. Si eso se hubiera hecho, internacionalmente nadie podía llamar ‘pisco’ a nada más. Comprobada la peruanidad de la palabra ‘pisco’, consecuentemente se hubiera aplicado al aguardiente de uva peruano, y no al revés. El argumento lingüístico es central, no accesorio. Soy un solitario defensor de este argumento”. “Préstamos” intelectuales “Peruanidad del Pisco” apareció con esos argumentos muy bien planteados y documentados en 1972, bajo el sello editorial Nueva Educación. Se agotó de inmediato y se sucedieron ediciones cada dos años, al menos, hasta hoy, que ha editado bajo Editorial San Marcos una edición triple de sus obras “La Vendimia”, “Diccionario del Pisco” y el clásico “Peruanidad del Pisco”. Pero el “solitario defensor de este argumento” ha sido no solo muy bien leído por la mayoría de autores que posteriormente han dado a luz obras acerca del aguardiente nacional, sino además –lo señala con justificable sinsabor– plagiado. Hablamos de plagio intelectual y literario cuando otros escritores desarrollan a pie juntillas las mismas ideas, cambiando apenas uno que otro vocablo, incluso remitiéndose a las mismas referencias de fuentes primarias, pero sin tener la delicadeza de mencionar de dónde las obtuvieron ni dando el crédito respectivo al investigador y/o autor, en este caso el “Doctor Pisco”, César Ángeles Caballero. “Cuando hay citas no hay problema. Pero que sean escritos por historiadores que conocen la tecnología y la técnica de escribir un libro y ni siquiera tengan bibliografía, es el colmo. Todos los que me plagian esconden mi libro, ni siquiera me citan”. Da varios ejemplos, de los más conocidos y reputados autores, pero el lector sabrá comprender de quiénes se tratan, no vale la pena mencionarlos. Por Manuel Cadenas Mujica Los Editores elpiscoesdelperu.com elpiscoesdelperu

In the land of Pisco... Meeting Doctor Pisco: Part I

"Pisco / Peru more than 400 years of History and Tradition (1613 -2013)"

Here we share this article that will be separated into three parts. We found it to be very interesting! Enjoy! César Ángeles Caballero, the prominent academic who dedicated a great portion of his intellectual work to the research and subsequent demonstration and defense of the “Peruvianness” of the word Pisco. Whether or not Pisco was Peruvian was never previously discussed. It was simply a given. The tiresome, dry and not very well defined argument about whether or not Pisco is from Peru is a more recent phenomenon. The Chileans argue that if they had not industrialized and exported their firewater in the proportion that they do (and there is no way to negate this), it is posible that we never would have had the least concern about it. It’s a possibility. One of the first people, if not the first, to bring out into the open this controversy was Dr. César Ángeles Caballero. In 1972 he published a book regarding the “Peruvianness of Pisco.” However, after its publication, the battles between the two countries regarding the denomination of origin of the firewater did not develop in the areas in which the author postulated. And even today, 34 years later, his original thesis is widely unknown. Pisco’s Document of National Identity Although Dr. Cesar Angeles has retired from the academic life, he has not left study and research, his life-long passion. According to the title of this article, one would expect him to be an oenologist, or at least an eminent pisco-drinker. However, we find an academic who finds refuge in a sea of knowledge rather than firewaters, in books, rather than distilled grapes. His location is in a prodigious library, not a distillery. However, he is the undeniable “Dr. Pisco,” as his knowledge has given us the best resources in order to feel more proud than ever of our “silver elixir.” He has a doctorate in literature and journalism, is the former dean and founding president of the San Luis Gonzaga de Ica National University, where he is president emeritus today. He is not from Ica, as we would expect, but from Ancash. “From Caraz, sweety; perhaps that is why I am diabetic,” he laughs quietly, as if he were laughing on the inside. What has been Dr. Pisco’s contribution to our national culture? Everything began in 1969, eight years after he visited Ica for the first time, as the dean of the Department of Education. He had proposed research regarding everything that was representative of Ica, and he began with the area’s literature. “I have written about, since that year, Peruvian literature by each department in the country.” While developing his bibliography, he ran into a Chilean magazine “Hechos Mundiales” and he saw inside the magazine a picture of a bottle of Chilean firewater that said “Pisco Valley of Elqui.” He became upset and decided instead to investigate the “Peruvianness” of Pisco. But his proposal did not follow the paths which had been taken with international organizations in order to defend Peru. “How can I prove that Pisco is Peruvian? I asked myself. It was very simple; I would demonstrate that the word “Pisco” is a Peruvian word.” Up until that point, there was no scandal regarding Pisco. As a professor of the course of Investigative Methods (and author of the manual that is used in all universities for many years), one had to state the hypothesis of the case. “Just like the National Document of Identity (DNI) describes you and gives you an identity, the DNI of Peruvian firewater is the word Pisco. Those Peruvians among us that want to fight with Chile are silly. The only thing that we need to do is demonstrate that the word Pisco is, in fact, Peruvian. Written By: Manuel Cadenas Mujica The editors Elpiscoesdelperu.com

In the Land of Pisco "A Rural Legend"

This legend was told to me years ago by workers in one of the Villacuri Country Estates. Every year, Jose and Mario, who were neighbors, competed to see who had the best grape harvest in Ica, Peru. Both were very good farmers who passionately and carefully dedicated themselves to their grapevines. But one day in July, Jose found that his grape leaves had been eaten by his donkey, Jacinto. He became so angry that he followed him all around the countryside with a whip in hand. Meanwhile, Mario watched Jose and said “You’ve forgotten to put a fence around your fields! That is why Jacinto and other animals get in your grapevines. Put a fence up!” Jose nodded, but remained astonished by the disaster that had occurred. Weeks went by and spring came to the countryside. Just like he did every day, Jose got to his fields early in the morning and he was amazed! His grapevines had germinated like he had never seen before, and they were full of grapes! He compared his fields with Mario, and despite Jacinto’s efforts, Jose’s fields were splendid! “What had happened?” Simple! Jacinto the donkey had taught them a secret that had not been revealed until then: The pruning of the grapevine. From then on, this became a very important step in the cultivation of grapes. That year Jose and Mario celebrated the harvest and the discovery with a big party. The editors Translate by Katrina Heimark elpiscoesdelperu