Octavio Paz once famously said that "we Latin Americans are the children both of the enlightenment and the counter reformation." One of the main instruments of the Roman Catholic counter reformation and also of the overall "project for the extirpation of idolatory" was the "Inquisition" - in this case the Spanish Inquisition. This was the label utilised in the "black legend" versions of Peruvian and Spanish colonial history. Peggy Massey in her bilingual article invites us to explore further. The dark side of Peruvian history.