Barranca

CHARACTER
Barranca
Gender	Male
Death	1936 Peru
Nationality	Peruvian
Profession(s)	Guide Thief

"If they knew we were here, they would've killed us already."

―Barranca on the Hovitos

Barranca was a Peruvian guide and thief who tried to kill Indiana Jones to claim a Chachapoyan Fertility Idol.

Biography

Barranca ran scams in the South American jungles along his partner Satipo. They based their guide business from the jungle outpost of Machete Landing. The two con men had contacts throughout Peru, Colombia and Venezuela who set up jobs for them. They often guided adventurers into the jungle only to then murder or rob them.

In 1936, Barranca and Satipo were hired by the American archaeologist Indiana Jones to guide him to the Temple of the Chachapoyan Warriors to learn the fate of his competitor Forrestal and if possible, retrieve the golden idol said to be there, despite Jones' acknowledge about their reputation. Indy might have have eventually found the Temple on his own, but that would have taken more time whereas Barranca and Satipo had a fragment of the map towards the Temple and some knowledge of the route aside that Jones was certain that some treasure hunter had a head start on him.. During all the way to the temple, Barranca became irritated due the superstition of the Quechuan porters Jones hired and treated them harshly as their fears progressed, even to the point of silencing them harsly as they were jabbering after seeing a macaw, leading Jones to even sympathize with them.

After sighting Mount Shubet, Barranca helped to tie off one of the mules carrying supplies. Later, while Satipo examined a freshly poisoned Hovitos dart that Jones had found, Barranca commented that the Hovitos were probably unaware of their presence. When they reached a pond, Jones stopped to review a map he had kept from his guides. Seeing the map, Barranca attempted to silently draw his pistol and cocked it. Jones' keen hearing sensed the weapon being primed and Jones used his bullwhip to disarm his traitorous guide at Dead Man Falls.

Barranca pulled his gun on Indiana Jones near Dead Man Falls.

Without his pistol, Barranca fled into the jungle while Satipo remained with Jones, assuring him that Barranca was crazy and knew nothing about his plans. He encountered the French archaeologist mercenary René Emile Belloq and a group of Hovitos. Barranca directed Belloq and his men to the location of the others before he was hunted down and killed by the darts of the Hovitos for violating the valley of their ancestors.

After Jones escaped from the temple with the Chachapoyan Fertility Idol, Jones saw his former guide's dead body fall to the jungle floor, his back riddled with the Hovitos' darts. Barranca's corpse remained there as Jones escaped back to his plane and the Hovitos chased him down while Belloq laughed evilly for finally acquiring the idol.

Personality and traits

As Satipo, Barranca was a furtive and a swindler. He had no qualms to be entrusted by adventurers to serve as their guide only to then rob or murder them at the jungle, being the bloodthirsty brains of the pair, as he made the deals, bargained the terms and was the one concerned with making off with the prize. Unlike his partner, however, Barranca was more spiteful and treacherous, as he was willing to betray Satipo in a minute if the profits were big enough.

During the way to the Temple of the Chachapoyan Warriors, Barranca irritated easily with the Peruvian porters Indiana Jones hired due their fears to the Chachapoyan curse, ignoring that their superstition was passed down from generation to generation, even to the point of treating them harshly, silencing them with a fierce command, for example. As like in other ocassions, Barranca tried to trick Jones into thinking that he was weaker or easier than he really was, as in that way, he was generally able to convince people in trust on him.

Aside from money, both Barranca and Satipo liked sports and were enraged when Peru's president announced that the Peru team had been forced to withdrew from the Olympic Games on Berlin due Austria's complaints, reason for which both treasure thieves hoped to console their country's loss by claiming any treasure they could found for themselves.

Behind the scenes

Barranca was portrayed by Vic Tablian in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Tablian also played the Monkey Man in the film and later went on to play Demetrios/Claw in Young Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Jackal.

In Lawrence Kasdan's earlier drafts of the film, Indiana Jones was the direct cause of Barranca's death instead of the Hovitos. When Barranca pulls his gun out on Jones, the archaeologist uses his whip to make Barranca shoot himself.

Barranca actually survives in the Raiders comic book adaptation as he isn't present when Belloq and the Hovitos meet Jones at the temple entrance. He also survives in LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, chased away by bats to an unknown fate in the opening scenes, instead of the Peruvian Porter, who is absent from the game. In the video game's sequel, however, Barranca is absent as the whole South America sequence is omitted.

Barranca, like Satipo, never appears in Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! at Disney World. Indy independently goes to the temple to retrieve the golden idol. Barranca is also absent from LEGO Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Brick, in which Indy and Satipo go alone to the temple.

Appearances

• Raiders of the Lost Ark novel (First appearance)
• Raiders of the Lost Ark
• Raiders of the Lost Ark comic
• Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark junior novelization
• LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (Non-canonical appearance)
• LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues (Non-canonical appearance) (Portable consoles exclusive)

Sources

• Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Illustrated Screenplay
• Raiders of the Lost Ark Sourcebook
•  Barranca's Marshall College entry on IndianaJones.com (backup link on Archive.org)
•  Satipo's Marshall College entry on IndianaJones.com (backup link on Archive.org)
• The Complete Making of Indiana Jones