Folklore and Music of Peru

Hundreds of years of ethnic and cultural mixing has created a rich musical landscape across Peru. Typical instruments include the Andean flute and pan-pipes (Quena and Zampona), the Cajon drum used in Afro Peruvian music, and the traditional Spanish guitar. Peru is home to thousands of dances of pre Inca, Andean and mestizo origin. The southern Andean region is famous for the Huayno.

Arequipa is the proud creator of the famous Yaravi, a melancholy style of a capella singing that evokes the solitude of the mountains. Probably the most well known song of this style is “El Condor Pasa”, a traditional Peruvian song popularized in the United States by the folk duo Simon and Garfunkel and featured in the movie “The Graduate”. The original composition consists of a Yaravi, followed by an inca “pasacalle” and a Huayno fugue, three traditional inca rhythms. The Huaylas, by contrast, is a cheery, rhythmic style from the central Andes.

The coast has a different feel to its music than its Andean counterpart. Primarily Spanish in origin, coastal culture combines traditional European rhythms such as the flamenco and the waltz with Creole, African and Gypsy influences to create the wide range of styles we hear today. Lima’s most well known musical style is the Vals Peruano (Peruvian Waltz), popularized by the great Chabuca Granda. She is widely considered the most important composer of Coastal Creole music, with such songs as La Flor de La Canela, Fina Estampa, and Jose Antonio. Other commonly known Vals Peruano tunes are: Alma Corazon y Vida, Odiame, Mi Propiedad Privada, El Plebeyo, and Devuelveme El Rosario de Mi Madre, some of which are sung by Caribbean artists in the Bolero or Salsa version.

Afro Peruvian music is most commonly performed by duos of Creole guitars, the Cajon and spoon rhythms. African derived rhythms like the Festejo or Lando are common in the black communities of the southern coast. Susana Baca is a renowned singer and composer of Afro Peruvian music. She won a Grammy award in 2002 for her album Lamento Negro.

The Marinera is the National Dance of Peru, named in honor of the marines who fought against the Chilean military in the War of the Pacific. Among Peruvians of the coast, it is considered as traditional and representative as the Tango is to Argentina. Many people take classes and look forward to the annual Marinera Festival held in the city of Trujillo every July, with thousands in attendance. Lambayeque and Piura are also known for their marineras and tonderos.

Lima is famous for the [[Se?or de los Milagros Procession]] and Bullfighting, which takes place in Plaza de Toros Acho (the oldest bullfighting venue of the Americas). Considered the largest procession in South America, congregating devotees from all over the country, the Se?or de los Milagros or Lord of Miracles Procession takes place during October. During the whole month, known as the mes morado -or purple month-, minor observations in honour of the patron (whose colour is purple) are celebrated. The main event occurs the 18th: dressed in purple habits, hundreds of thousands of devotees sing and pray while accompanying the image on its 24-hour route from the Nazarenas temple to La Merced church in the Barrios Altos district.

Peruvian cuisine, for years unnoticed abroad, has recently exploded onto the world gastronomic scene. The Economist magazine, for example, reported in a January 2004 article that Peru could “lay claim to enormous biodiversity. Peru’s many climate zones make it possible to grow a wide range of crops. Potatoes and hot peppers from the Andes, fish and seafood from the Pacific Ocean, mangoes and limes from the coastal valleys, bananas and manioc from the Amazon jungle: a chef’s only problem is abundance of choice. In addition, Peruvian cuisine’s Incan and Spanish roots have been influenced by sizable immigrant populations such as African, Cantonese, Italian, Japanese, who have added their own ingredients and traditions to the mix.

No visitor should leave Lima without trying one of the many wonderful restaurants. The best are mainly located in the neighborhoods of Miraflores, San Isidro or Chacarilla. Peru is mainly known for its cebiche (fish cooked with lemon and red chili pepper) and its excellent seafood, but other typical food include creole (called “criolla”), chinese-peruvian (called “chifa”) which are also first-class.