El Viaje Épico de un Llamero en el Desierto

Hurry up, hurry up. Heraclio is a fireman. He drives fire caravans. To earn a living, Heraclio crosses the largest salt desert in the world twice a year. He goes from the highlands to the lowlands, where he exchanges blocks of salt for goods. Heraclio has about 100 flames. A few days before starting the spring journey, he goes down to his best specimens of mountain pastures and forms the caravan. Of about 20 animals, no more. Hilarion is the oldest fireman in the village. Two years ago he had to stop making these trips because he could no longer walk. Hilarion has a wound in his soul. His son Roberto has lived in a separate world since the day he was born, the world of silence. The villagers say he is a son of the gods. If Heraclio had a son, he would teach him to choose the most vigorous males and to put the straps on them without hurting them. He would take him down the trails that go down to the valleys and teach him to look at the sky and talk to the stars. Roberto is alien to all that. Roberto only has one friend, his white flame. In these mountains there are no roads or post offices. When Heraclio goes down to the valley, the villagers ask him to bring gifts to other relatives. The fireman knows all the secrets. He is the confidant, the discreet messenger. He participates in all the romances of the highlands. For this woman, a letter addressed to her husband, Elias, who works in the salt mines. Heraclio chooses his words well, the ones that provide the greatest comfort. For this other woman, a gift for her daughter about to give birth. Heraclio will take it because his village is on his way. Heraclio goes to the furthest houses to pick up the packages from his neighbors. The weaver wants him to bring fruit in exchange for the chalets he has made. I have come to bring your load. You will buy it, ma'am. See you later, ma'am. The old Ilarion knows that Heraclio is leaving tomorrow. He would like Roberto to accompany him on this great journey. In these sterile plains, victims of the volcanoes, no one undertakes the journey, whether for an hour, a day or a year, without first making an offering to Pachamama, the mother of the earth and the mountains. The old weaver has made a decision. He will ask Heraclio to take his son with him. But Roberto has to agree to leave his white flame. That night, some words fly from the remote village. They are Quechua words, the language of the Incas, simple words, those of a worried father, words that say, tomorrow you will go with Heraclio. Roberto, do you hear me? The caravans always carry a chief flame, which is always the strongest and bravest, and the closest to the weaver. During the journey, the other flames follow her, and she obeys the orders of the weaver. Heraclio has his doubts, because the journey is hard, and young Roberto is very different. But among the weavers, there are things that cannot be denied. Heraclio and little Roberto will return in three months. Travelers, let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go, hurry, hurry, hurry. The flames can withstand extreme conditions. They walk for hours without eating or drinking. For Heraclio, a flame is at the same time a mule and a sheep, all in one. Pachamama also blessed the animal with pillows on the nipples, thanks to which it moves as silently as a puma. Days go by, Roberto walks, does not complain, does not smile. Heraclio feels alone with his flames. He knows them, but he can hardly understand this little creature, wrapped in his wool poncho. Every time the herd stops, Roberto gets between the flames. It is the only place where he seems to gain life. Men and flames have lived together for thousands of years. Five centuries ago, the Incas sent hundreds of caravans through all the Andes to build and supply their immense empire. Today, Heraclio travels the same routes. The pregnant lady, where are you? There, of course. Very good. Greetings. Good evening, sir. I have returned now. A woman is about to give birth. The doll represents a boy who will grant the wishes of the future mother. Roberto had no mother and has never been close to a pregnant woman. Let's go. Before crossing the salty desert, the visit to Carlos is mandatory. Carlos makes shoes and glasses for the flames. He says that salt makes them crazy, that the sun mixed with salt burns the eyes and feet of any living being that crosses it. Heraclio has already heard everything before, but always pretends to listen to him as if it were the first time. Salt is not to be taken lightly. The Incas built entire cities to study the stars. Like all their people, Heraclio has inherited part of their knowledge. Like them, he reads his way in the stars, he reads the destiny of the flame. All aspects of life are written up there. Look at the flame and its enemy, the puma. But also the round houses, the loom of the weaver, and the tombs of his ancestors. Far from here, the old Hilarion feels he cannot be with his son to talk to him about the great white desert, about the nights when the puma wanders around the herd, and about Pachamama, who has never abandoned him. The Salar de Uyuni is the only route to the south for the caravans. Three hundred kilometres of white desert, sprinkled here and there with brown lava islets. Heraclio was the same age as Roberto when he crossed it for the first time. Heraclio buys the blocks of salt from the only mine in the Salar. This is where Elías works. The salt miners cut the crystal crust 15 hours a day. The last time Elías heard from his wife was six months ago. Heraclio will take some money to the people. The salt is loaded on the volcanic border of the Salar. Two blocks per flame, 24 kilos per animal, no more. Heraclio warns Roberto of the dangers of the great crossing and how to avoid them. They will be alone, they will have to be strong. Walk, walk and don't think about anything else. Sometimes a hungry puma goes into the salt desert. At night he can kill a flame with a blow, swallow it and drag it to the limit. Heraclio, like all the salt miners, knows he won't do anything to stop the feline. The puma is sacred. The sun burns the eyes. The salt burns the skin. This is not a place for living beings. The wool of the flames absorbs the radiation of the sun and the salt. The salt miners use it to protect the eyes of their animals. And no one crosses the desert of the Salar without a hat of wool of flame. In the Salar you advance through the night and hide to sleep during the day. Heraclio has read something in the stars. The sun and the moon will meet. For the Incas it is a bad omen. According to the legend, a hungry flame tries to devour the sun to create darkness and cause chaos in the world. Only Pachamama can restore the order of things. Some coca leaves and a little alcohol will appease his anger. Heraclio prays until night falls. Roberto has fallen asleep and the flames have fled. In the Salar, and without the yamero, the flames always go to the nearest islet, because they know that there they will find food. But in this desert, the nearest islet, although it seems to be close, can be several days away. For the first time, Roberto opens the way. He wants to recover his flames. The wound is not serious. The puma fled with an animal, but the rest of the herd is fine. In a week, they will reach their destination. In the Valley of Flowers, no one has forgotten the black sun. Roberto is received like a hero. The inhabitants of the village have been waiting for months for the arrival of the yamero with the salt. Cheap bananas, pineapples, I have watermelons. Cheap wine. Buy me. Cheap, cheap. Cheap, cheap, I have cheap. On the way back, Heraclio lets Roberto guide the caravan. It took them a month to return home. On the way, they went to visit the young mother, who had had a boy, named Roberto. With the money, Elías's wife, the salinero, wants to buy some flames. She needs wool. The weaver had been dreaming of these apples for months. The whole village will enjoy the fruit with her. The journey is over. The little Roberto is now a yamero. Now he can guide a caravan. Hope has returned to the heart of Hilarion. The village has found a new yamero. Roberto still does not speak to human beings, but the whole world will depend on him. He is still the son of the gods.