Retablo Ayacuchano of the Condor and the Fox

This Peruvian style retablo (retablo Ayacuchano) depicts a version of the famous Andean folktale, El Zorro y el Cóndor en el Cielo (The Fox and the Condor in Heaven), as told by the Jiménez Family.

The story begins with the fox and the condor, who are compadres with a playful but competitive relationship. One day, the condor boasts about attending a grand feast in heaven, an exclusive gathering for all the animals of the sky. Knowing this would make the earthbound fox envious, the condor slyly taunts him. Desperate to join, the fox begs the condor for help and eventually offers to steal a sheep for the condor in exchange for a ride to the celestial party.

At the feast, the fox embarrasses the condor with his behavior. He eats voraciously, drinks excessively, and dances inappropriately, drawing disapproving looks from the other animals. Eventually, the fox overeats to the point of passing out.

When the fox awakens, the feast has ended, and all the animals, including the condor, have left. Stranded in the heavens with no way to return to earth, the fox pleads with God for help, lamenting his aching stomach. God instructs him to make a rope and climb back down to earth.

As the fox descends, he encounters a flock of parrots flying by. True to his brash nature, the fox mocks the parrots, making rude remarks about their beaks and laughing at them. Insulted, the parrots retaliate by snipping the fox’s rope with their sharp beaks. The fox plummets to the ground, his stomach bursting upon impact.

From the remnants of the fox’s feast, seeds scatter across the earth, giving rise to the plants that sustain all living things.