I Have a Dream (2004) is a stop-motion video featuring a Despacho ceremony created in Cusco, Peru. The work is an artistic call for peace and justice, integrating the ancient Andean ritual with excerpts from Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic speech, I Have a Dream, recited as a mantra. The piece is set to One Nation, a musical composition by Tito La Rosa featuring Mary Youngblood.

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A Despacho ceremony is a sacred Andean ritual offering, performed to strengthen harmony, reciprocity, and reverence for Pachamama (Mother Earth) and the Apus (mountains). Andean priests, as keepers of ancient knowledge, conduct the Despacho to nourish the natural world and protect human life. This ceremonial art form serves as a microcosm representing all aspects of life in the Andes and is comparable to the Tibetan Sand Mandala ritual.

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The Despacho featured in the video was created in collaboration with Pampamisayoq Mariano Quispe Flores, Santiago Quispe Qhapaq, Benito Apaza Lunasco, Lorenzo Qhapaq Apaza, and Nicolás Flores Apaza, as part of the larger work Hanaqpacha Intiq Sombran (The Mother Earth Sun Shadow in Quechua). To mark the completion of this project, the group performed a Despacho at Tipón, an Inca water temple outside Cusco. This ceremony is also documented in the video Ayni = Reciprocity, providing deeper insight into the ritual. Don Mariano Quispe Flores leads the ceremony, surrounded by Benito, Santiago, Nicolás, and Lorenzo.

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The collaboration between the artists extends beyond this project, fostering deep, ongoing relationships. For more information about Zackin’s ongoing residency project in Peru, Chokechaka - Click Here. 

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Exhibition History:

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• Mandala, Alianza Francesa de Lima, Peru (2004)

• Pachamama Hanaqpacha K’anchay, ICPNA, Cusco, Peru (2004)

• Killamanta Kutimusaq, Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT (2006)

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