Part of El primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno, Abril is one of the 12 fine-line images created by Felipe Guamán Poma de Ayala to represent the Inca cycle of agricultural practices and the native people's connection to their ecological-agrarian rituals. Abril, or April, was the time for maize maturation - when people had to watch out for thieves.
The painting's central element is precisely that of a thief, who seems to be hiding beneath the maize plants and picking up a few corncobs. By his side is his faithful companion, a llama (or maybe an Alpaca? I'm sorry, but I'm no biologist).
Native South and Central American peoples were responsible for many important agricultural achievements and developments, including the creation of maize as we know it today and the introduction of potatoes to the Europeans.
