El lazarillo de ciegos caminantes

_El lazarillo de ciegos caminantes desde Buenos Aires hasta Lima_ (1773), pseudonymously attributed to “Concolorcorvo” (likely an alias for Calixto Bustamante Carlos Inca or even the Inspector Alonso Carrió de la Vandera himself), offers a vivid and concrete portrayal of colonial life in South America between 1771 and 1773. This clandestinely circulated text serves as both a detailed travel guide and a sharp social satire, documenting the itinerary from Montevideo to Lima via Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Salta, Potosí, Chuquisaca, and Cuzco.

The work transcribes the observations made during Don Alonso Carrió de la Vandera’s commission to organize mail and postal services, providing practical details alongside biting commentary on society. As historian José Luis Busaniche notes, it “circulates through its pages a new sentiment of nature, very alien to that expressed until then by the letters and documents of the colonial era.”

This edition explores the intriguing question of its authorship and its unique blend of official reportage, travelogue, and sarcastic humor. Concolorcorvo's Lazarillo is a foundational text not only for its historical insights into colonial administration and daily life but also for its literary innovation, foreshadowing genres that blend observation with critique, all while entertaining the “tired, thirsty, and dusty travelers” of its time.