Living in Peru » Features : Sonidos Vivos: A Magical Concert in the Center of Lima

Lima, Peru  |  Monday, March 22, 2010 03:38 am  |  |  | 


« back to home
FREE !
Make Livinginperu.com your Homepage

Being a resident of Peru, how many times per year do you travel abroad?
 
1
2
3
4 or more?

Features / Archive

30 September, 2009 12:36:26 | in art, culture, lifestyle

Sonidos Vivos: A Magical Concert in the Center of Lima

By Katrina Heimark
Photos Courtesy of Sonidos Vivos

Sonidos Vivos: A Magical Concert in the Center of LimaThis past Saturday I had the pleasure of attending one of the most fantastic concerts I have ever seen. Sonidos Vivos, a group of 8 different international musicians, came to Lima to perform Peruvian music, but fusion style.

The free concert surprised visitors to the Plaza de Armas in the center of Lima. A stage was erected along one side of the Plaza, and both those who were casual passers-by, and those who intended to see the concert could mingle and enjoy the music. With the yellow buildings, the palace and the church illuminated at night, and with the traffic noise almost non-existent (police had blocked traffic for a two block radius around the center); it was most definitely a magical moment for me.

Sonidos Vivos: A Magical Concert in the Center of LimaThere are times when my Minnesota background comes out strongly here in Lima, and my surprise at seeing the beautiful, illuminated palm trees that night (wait, but I see palm trees every day here!) made the evening one I will never forget. I kept turning around to see the beautiful plaza, and my attention was torn between that of the music, and that of Lima’s architectural wonders. I was slightly distracted by the faint smell of urine that came drifting along on the wind, but I kept my eyes on the plaza and either the smell disappeared, or I became willingly distracted by the beauty that surrounded me.

But not for long. Once the musicians and their highly skilled camera crew took the stage, my attention was seduced by the melodic tones of the queña. I could not take my eyes of the spectacle that was Sonidos Vivos. Eight musicians, one of them the Peruvian Lucho Quequezana, came together to offer the best of Peruvian music, but in “estilo fusion.” The group is comprised of musicians from China, Vietnam, Venezuela, Colombia, Turkey, and two Canadian drummers as well. Each musician was not only skilled in traditional Peruvian instruments, such as the cajón, zamponia, and the charango to name a few, but also played instruments from their own countries as well.

Sonidos Vivos: A Magical Concert in the Center of LimaThe band was also accompanied by very skilled Peruvian musicians. One of the highlights of the show was the appearance of five cajón players, who played a perfectly syncronized choreography. The group played music elaborated and composed by leader Lucho, who of course collaborated with the band members. One of my favorite songs was called “Combi.” Lucho explained the inspiration behind the song, and stated that “a song that stops when it wants to, that doesn’t follow any rules, and certainly breaks hundreds in the process, a song that has no order and is completely chaotic, has to have the name ‘Combi.’”

Throughout the night, the band members voiced praises for Peru, singing the famous line “Yo también me llamo Perú,” showing their banners of support for Alianza Lima (this was met by some discontent by a few members in the crowd), and by saying many, many times, “Viva el Peru!”

Sonidos Vivos: A Magical Concert in the Center of LimaThroughout the concert, I was distracted by the presence of cameramen all across the stage. When the music was drawing to a close, Lucho explained that we had all just partaken in the last chapter of the documentary that he is producing on Sonidos Vivos. The crowd let up a cheer (what is it about being featured in a movie that so many people love?). I think this applause stemmed more from the fact of the ability to hear more music by Sonidos Vivos, as well as their ability to continue to bring the magic of Peru to many more places throughout the world. Or, at least that is why I was cheering.

It was a beautiful celebration of Peru, and made me feel so proud of my connections to this country. I realized the magical power of Peruvian music, the “encanto” of a crowd filling a historic space, and the joy of partaking in an event that perfectly captured the Peruvian spirit.

If you want to learn more about Sonidos Vivos, check out their website.


tags :

Add to del.icio.us | digg it! |

1 Comments

# Elva Estrada says :
30 September, 2009 [ 03:16 ]
 I like it

Add Comment

Full Name

E-mail

Notify me via e-mail of new comments to this entry.


Code :


Comments

  • Comments are the property of their respective authors, and LivinginPeru.com is not responsible for the content of these comments
  • Only comments in English will be published
  • Por ahora solo se permiten comentarios en ingles.
  • Any offensive, injurious, profane or disrespectful comments will not be published
  • You must include a real email address (this WILL be verified) for your comments to be published
  • Repeat comments, or comments of a similar nature written by the same person will not be published
  • All comments are sent to a moderator before publication
  • Referring to the topic indicated in the article will increase your chances of publication
  • Repeat offenses of the above guidelines will result in the removal of your ability to comment

Categories

  1. art, culture, lifestyle (276)
  2. cuisine (21)
  3. entertainment (43)
  4. environment (20)
  5. General (140)
  6. health, medicine (16)
  7. history (8)
  8. photography (4)
  9. politics (23)
  10. society (73)
  11. sports (16)

Last 5 posts

Last comments

See all comments

Features web syndication [RSS]
what is "web syndication" ?