Why the day of the condor could be drawing to a close

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http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/why-the-day-of-the-condor-could-be-drawing-to-a-close-2331401.html

As the bull twists and bucks, the frightened condor strapped to its back helplessly flaps its huge wings, almost dwarfing the enraged animal. To a chorus of battered horns, a villager with a tattered cape steps into the dusty square.

Chicha, the fermented maize juice that is the preferred tipple of many Andeans, has been flowing for hours and the man appears unsteady on his feet. The bull snags the cape on its horns as the man barely manages to sidestep the charging beast before leaping over the barrier, back into the safety of the cheering crowd.

With its roots in the colonial era, the Yawar Fiesta symbolises the struggle between the Spanish and Andean cultures, and is viewed by many Peruvians as a key part of their identity. Here in Cotabambas, a remote village a hair-raising four-hour drive from Cusco through the Apurimac Canyon, one of the deepest in the world, the festival is the highlight of the year for many locals.