THE CHICHA AND ATAHUALPA: THE CAJAMARCA ENCOUNTER IN JUAN DIEZ DE BETANZOS’ NARRATIVE OF THE INCAS

The Cajamarca Encounter is probably the most representative event of the conquest of the Incas and one of the most symbolic in the establishment of the colonial system in the Andean region. By analyzing Juan Diez de Betanzos’ version which appears in his Narrative of the Incas, this essay proposes an alternative reading of the event, in which the Inca Atahualpa, after consuming chicha in excess, is probably drunk when confronted with Fray Vicente de Valverde, preventing him from clearly discerning the threat posed by the invaders.