Peruvian Folklore Revisited
by Marietta Ulacia
ed. by Luis Rumbaut, Carlos Giménez

An outsider may think of Peruvian folk music in terms of the broad category of Andean music, common elements of which can be found from Colombia in the North to Chile in the South. That music is essentially Native American music from the altiplano, or highlands, characterized by instruments like the charango, the small guitar-like instrument that is often made of armadillo shells; the pan pipes; and the chajchas, or clusters of dried goat hooves. Andean music can be lively and danceable, as is the huayno, or have the soft sound of a lament, like that of the yaraví, but it always conveys the feel of the high mountains: of sparse, open spaces, few trees, thin air, and cool sunshine.
Like other Andean countries, however, Peru includes also a hot, humid part to the East, in the Amazon basin, and coastlands to the West, where port cities became centers of trade and the point of entry for Africans who were brought to work in the Spanish colonies. The descendants of the Africans still form a significant part of the population, and, not surprisingly, have left the imprint of their traditions on the music and dance of Peru.

The term “Afro-Peruvian music” refers to a variety of styles, some of which represent a more-or-less direct line of descent from the original African music, and some of which have emerged in more recent years as both reconstruction and projection, echoing social changes in the country and the world. Incorporating Spanish and Native American influences, Afro-Peruvian music has become broadly popular in the country, and particularly in the coastal areas.

Africans began to arrive in Peru in the 16th century. By the 1540’s, they were encouraged by the Catholic Church to organize in cofradías, or religious associations, which served to preserve both specific national cultures and African culture more generally. Christmas celebrations provided another opportunity for the Africans to maintain aspects of their culture in a way that was acceptable to the dominant society, and to mix at the same time with indigenous people. In addition, many black Peruvians who learned to play European instruments and music during colonial times did so with their own interpretation, furthering the emergence of new, local, musical genres.

Thus, beginning in the 1700’s, the penalivio (easing the pain) developed as a satire on the conditions of slavery. As in other countries colonized by the Spanish, there were pregones (street-vendor calls), and songs related to work and to feast days. The more notable of the traditional forms is the festejo, or celebration, characterized by short phrases with sudden pauses and call-and response combinations. The festejo can be the basis for dance competitions for men, who show off their abilities in the zapateado criollo. The musical accompaniment is usually simple, with a guitar and hand clapping, and in modern times the cajón, which replaces earlier bass instruments such as the botijas and hollow-log drums.

The landó has come to be much better known outside Peru, thanks to performers such as Susana Baca and Eva Ayllón. The landó is slower and gentler than Caribbean rhythms such as those from Cuba, Domini-can Republic, and Haití, but no less danceable, due no doubt to its complex syncopation, polyrhythms, and cross-accents. Play-ed on guitar and cajón, as well as bass and percussion, and with choruses that respond to and alternate with the singer, the landó is a unique, irresistible Peruvian creation.

Also well known, the marinera is often the subject of dance competitions for all ages, to be performed by couples in typical costume that becomes a sort of patriotic uniform. It is not unusual to see such competitions even on late-night TV in the U.S., as part of shows filmed in Peru or even produced within the U.S. In some ways it resembles the Chilean cueca, and indeed it is descended from the earlier zamacueca, the Chilean version of which was widely popular in nineteenth-century Peru, prior to the War of the Pacific. With Chile having taken Peruvian territory, however, the zamacueca changed its name to marinera, in honor of the sailors who had fought in the war, and distanced itself from the original. It is played with two guitars and cajón, accompanied by hand clapping.

The vals criollo derives, of course, from the Viennese waltz, but feels quite different. The lush, romantic character of the Viennese waltz is absent in the vals criollo, notwithstanding the themes of love frequently found in the latter. The vals criollo has a drier, more restrained, sound, and keeps a certain distance from its subject. Songs such as What Does One More Failure Matter (Un fracaso más, que importa)¸ with lyrics like “yet another failure is but a drop of water in the ocean for me,” would not likely find a counterpart accompanying a Viennese waltz. Good vals criollo musicians know how to phrase lyrics and play the songs with slightly off-beat accents, as if pulling back and pushing on the regular meter. While the vals criollo is not by origin an Afro-Peruvian music, musicians like singer Lucha Reyes and the ensemble Los Morochucos placed black performers among the leading interpreters of the genre. The addition of the cajón to the traditional instrumentation of two guitars served also to give the vals an Afro-Peruvian dimension.

Various other styles, at times parallel to those found in other former Spanish colonies, at times more uniquely Peruvian, from polkas to tonderos, are part of or have served to define Afro-Peruvian music.