{"id":63199,"date":"2026-07-17T06:57:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T04:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.omnesmag.com\/?p=63199"},"modified":"2026-07-17T11:32:57","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T09:32:57","slug":"rafael-aita-there-were-incas-who-were-catholic-spoke-spanish-and-latin-and-were-allies-of-the-king","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.omnesmag.com\/en\/foco\/rafael-aita-existieron-incas-que-eran-catolicos-hablaban-espanol-y-latin-y-eran-aliados-del-rey\/","title":{"rendered":"Rafael Aita: \u00abThere were Incas who were Catholic, spoke Spanish and Latin, and were allies of the king.\u00bb"},"content":{"rendered":"

An engineer by profession but a historian by vocation, Peruvian writer Rafael Aita\u2014known on social media as Captain Peru<\/a><\/em>\u2014 has become one of the most forceful and disruptive voices in popular history in Latin America. Through highly influential works such as The Hispanic Incas<\/em> y The Catholic Incas<\/a><\/em>, Aita combats the politicization of classrooms and the entrenchment of the \u00abblack legend,\u00bb rescuing from oblivion the alliances with indigenous peoples and the profound process of evangelization that united Spain and the Americas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this interview, the contributor to the acclaimed documentary Spanish America<\/em> It invites us to rediscover a shared past free from ideological biases, where figures such as Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo laid the spiritual foundations for half a continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You're an industrial engineer with a master's degree in business administration. Why have you devoted yourself so wholeheartedly to writing history books?<\/strong>?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u2013Because history is taught so poorly in our countries. Anyone who loves their country, regardless of their profession, should know its history and culture. When I began to do so, I found so many inconsistencies between the history in the books and the history that was being taught that I simply had to address the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peru's history is directly linked to Spain, which we often refer to as the \u201cMotherland.\u201d We owe our religion and culture to Spain. Is this acknowledged in history books?<\/strong>?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u2013In many books, yes; there\u2019s the great Peruvian historian Jos\u00e9 Antonio del Busto, who spoke out publicly against the removal of the statue of Francisco Pizarro from Lima\u2019s Plaza de Armas. Unfortunately, these texts don\u2019t make it into the school curriculum, which is highly politicized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where do anti-Hispanic sentiments originate? Are they directed against Spain or against religion?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u2013At first, the two went hand in hand: the \u201cBlack Legend\u201d spread by England and the Netherlands was accompanied by the political war against Spain, as well as the schism with the Catholic Church. Today, however, this is not necessarily the case, and many Catholics have embraced the \u201cBlack Legend\u201d against Spain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What exactly are the so-called \u201cblack legends\u201d?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u2013It is defined as the combination of exaggerations, manipulations, omissions, distortions, and historical biases intended to cast a single side\u2014in this case, the Spanish and Catholic side\u2014in a negative light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I see that you've written several books, including *The Hispanic Incas* and *The Catholic Incas*. What do you mean by these books?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u2013The title itself is disruptive, since many people think that the Inca is the opposite of the Hispanic and incompatible with Catholicism, precisely because no one has explained to us that there were Incas who were Catholic, spoke Spanish and Latin, and were allies of the king. The purpose of both books is to dispel that prejudice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I saw that you appeared in Jos\u00e9 Luis L\u00f3pez Linares\u201c documentary \u201dHispanoam\u00e9rica.\u201d What is the purpose of that documentary? Is it in line with your books?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u2013Not only is it along the same lines, but Jos\u00e9 Luis L\u00f3pez Linares also purchased my book *Los Incas Hispanos* to help him with the section on Peru. I had the opportunity to film part of the documentary with him in Cusco\u2014one of my fondest memories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you think the story we've been told in Peru isn't true?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u2013During my last talk at a parish, I asked the parishioners the following question: How many Indigenous people were executed by the Inquisition? The answers ranged from hundreds to thousands. They couldn\u2019t believe it when I told them that only 32 people were executed, and none of them were Indigenous. We\u2019re talking about a Catholic audience\u2014regular parishioners who have been attending educational talks for decades\u2014so imagine what the rest of the population has been taught.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Am I correct in thinking that Spain's history with regard to Peru should not be called a \"conquest,\" nor is it \"colonialism,\" but rather the history of evangelization?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u2013That's right, and as Ram\u00f3n Mujica Pinilla said, the conquest of Peru was achieved more through alliances than by force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How are the projects for a new sister-city partnership between Spain and Latin America coming along?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u2013Although politically distant, I see that the scaffolding of the \u201cblack legend\u201d is crumbling day by day, which is necessary before any kind of unity can be achieved. First, we must be united in thought, and then the rest will follow from that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pope Leo has mentioned Saint Toribio de Mogrovejo three times in Spain as one of his favorite saints. Do you think that Saint Toribio, as Archbishop of Lima, was the leader or a key figure in the evangelization of Latin America?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u2013Of course, Saint Toribio organized the Church\u2019s structure in Peru and evangelized its people, baptizing and confirming around half a million people. Let\u2019s remember that at that time, Peru stretched from Panama to Patagonia, so we can safely say that half of the American continent is Catholic thanks to the work of Saint Toribio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Television Interview with Rafael Aita<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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