The Cajamarca series was inspired by an indigenous poem describing the capture, ransom and execution of the Inca chief by the conquistador Francisco Pizarro in the ancient Inca city of Cajamarca. Executed upon his return to Peru after a period in Paris, the series marks the first time that a Peruvian content was expressed in a non-representational language. In writing of Szyszlo's work of this period, critic Carlos Rodriguez Saavedra notes that the "color emerges from the canvas through the dense brushwork, rich in glazes. Free in statement and controlled by an exact chromatic refinement, the paintings create an atmosphere of dramatic richness." Particularly as regards color and texture, his painting recalls aesthetic concepts embodied in Peruvian textiles of the pre-Hispanic past.