Manu: A Family Story

How I ended up in the same part of the Amazon as my family

I love being in places where my family used to be. Coming from a Peruvian, Argentinian, Serbian, and Croatian background—with relatives who have moved all around—I feel lucky to visit places across the world and carry memories with me from before I was even born. In Manu, in the buffer zone of Manu National Park, in the Amazon, where I’m currently based, is where my maternal side of the family had some incredible adventures.

In the 80s, my great-grandpa Mariano, from Cusco, had the most random idea: to grow Malaysian shrimp around here and sell them to top restaurants in Lima. To make this happen, my grandpa and his siblings supported the project by acquiring land in the town of Pilcopata and buying small planes to move the shrimp from the jungle to the coast. The project didn’t end up being a success, but during a visit to the jungle, my Serbian dad told me he actually tried the Malaysian shrimp—and basically ate them every day.

He was there at the same time my mom, then a young anthropology student in her early 20s, was learning from the Indigenous Peoples of the area—in particular, the Matsigenka. She was staying in the house my family had built on the land of my great-grandpa’s wild idea. One day, she opened the closet in her bedroom and found the carcass of a boa constrictor.

Another family memory from this area is when one of my uncles was roaming in the jungle with his dog, and a puma appeared in front of him. Behind him was a river. His dog sacrificed its life so the puma wouldn’t attack, giving my uncle enough time to cross the river.

Stories like these amazed me as a little girl when my mom would share them. She had a musical instrument and some necklaces from the Matsigenka that I remember loving. Later, when I was eleven years old, I gave a speech in elementary school about the Amazon—wearing one of those jewelry pieces.

Now, even though I’m not living at my family’s place, I’m staying about an hour away by boat. The other day, I visited the Indigenous land of the Harakmbut and met Juana, an artisan from whom I bought a necklace made of different seeds from the area. It made me think of my mom, her time in Manu, her necklace—and how one day, maybe, this necklace will inspire a future daughter too.