About this product
Fists at his sides, chullo pulled low, standing absolutely still in the way that precedes movement — the illustrated portrait of Túpac Katari occupies the full chest of a deep chocolate brown tee, rendered in rust and cracked cream, the poncho carrying the weight of the altiplano in its folds. "KATARI" spans above him in massive block letters, the ink fractured across every letterform like dried earth after drought — the cracking is not damage, it's the texture of something that has been under pressure for a long time. Below: "EL ALTO, BOLIVIA – NOVEMBER 1781 / REBEL RISING TOUR."
Julián Apaza Nina took the name Túpac Katari — borrowing from two earlier Andean leaders, Túpac Amaru and Tomás Katari — and in 1781 led the most sustained indigenous siege of a colonial city in South American history, surrounding La Paz for months with an Aymara force of tens of thousands. The Spanish broke it eventually. They executed him by drawing and quartering on November 15, 1781, on the altiplano above the city he had held under siege. His last words, in Aymara, have been moving through Bolivian political life ever since. The design puts him before all of that — standing, still, already decided. Poetas Y Punks mark at the neckline. 4.2 oz Airlume combed ring-spun cotton, retail fit.