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Features / Archive
10 October, 2009 12:10:39 | in entertainment
Peru Negro: Spectacle in the Center of Lima
Photos and Essay by Nathan Paluck
If you've ever listened to Afro-Peruvian music, clear your schedule tonight and go to Parque la Exposición in Central Lima. And if you've never heard of Afro-Peruvian music: Go to Parque la Exposición tonight.
The first of two concerts was Friday night; tonight at 8 p.m. is the second and final performance (tickets cost between S/. 27 and S/.60 and can be purchased at the gate or by calling 618-3838).
The concert is a unique gathering of artists who've performed with Perú Negro since it was formed in 1969.
“I'm really excited, not just for the concert but for the reunion that it is,” said Rony Campos, director and son of Perú Negro's founder, as the musicians and dancers excitedly prepared below the stage.
The reunion includes singers José De La Cruz, known as “Guajaja”; Pepe Vásquez; José Francisco and Felix “Los Hermanos” Valdelomar; and Cecilia Bracamonte. They performed during the first part of the concert, introduced to an appreciative audience by La Chola Chabuca, the tall, cross-dressing TV host with pigtails.
Pepe Vásquez was the highlight. With a proud air (but not too proud for hip thrusts) he added his unique, high-pitched scat to a powerful voice.
Vasquéz stayed on stage to perform with Bracamonte and Los Hermanos Valdelomar; their harmonies and passion raised goosebumps, even for a spectator who didn't recognize the famous ballads they interpreted. And it was playful throughout, like when Bracamonte couldn't resist to peck one of Los Hermanos on the lips.
“Perú Negro is an institution by now,” Vásquez said after his performance. But also, “it's family; it's musical communication” he explained. Many of the founding members of Perú Negro are related; those families and their children keep Perú Negro going.
Since the group's first major performance in Argentina in '69, the group has toured extensively throughout Europe and the Americas. Their story is very similar to, and precedes, the success obtained by the Afro-Cuban group Buena Vista Social Club.
The Music
Afro Peruvian music has commonalities with Afro-Cuban – strong African rhythms, the use of call-and-response, festive lyrics that mention a heritage of hard work – but one instrument sets Peru apart from other styles of the African Diaspora: the cajón.
The cajón, just a hollow wooden box, produces surprisingly diverse sounds of bass and snare. It's most commonly known for its use in Spanish flamenco music, but there's disagreement about the cajón's true origins.
“We Peruvians believe that the cajón was definitely created here, in the village of Chincha,” said Isaac Sanchez Aguilar, a security guard working at the concert. (Peruvians of African descent have a large population in Chincha, a southern coastal city – although Afro-Peruvians total a very small percentage of the population nationwide.)
“Within Afro-Peruvian music the most important thing is the cajón,” says Eduardo Izquierdo, a choreographer for Perú Negro. He says the cajones are getting used less and less replaced by congas and other percussion.
“But [tonight] we're going to hear cajones. Cajones, cajones,” Izquierdo says.
He was right. The second part of the concert showcased several long and precisely choreographed dances, one which started with a back-and-forth competition between 21 men sitting on cajones.
Central to the traditional choreographies were fantastic hip and shoulder movements. The dances brought the audience through different episodes of Afro-Peruvian history. First was an athletic performance representing slavery, with men dancing shirtless and with chains attached to their necks. Next was a playful boy-girl duet, in servant wear. Finally some social mobility was present when women danced in fine dresses and hats, twirling bright umbrellas.
Talented young adults and teenagers gave life to the dances, which bodes well for the continuation of Afro-Peruvian musical culture.
“We don't want to keep living in the past,” the choreographer Izquierdo said. “We only try to conserve our tradition.”
But he then added: “The tradition, we can't vary. It's already established.”
“I'm really excited, not just for the concert but for the reunion that it is,” said Rony Campos, director and son of Perú Negro's founder, as the musicians and dancers excitedly prepared below the stage.The reunion includes singers José De La Cruz, known as “Guajaja”; Pepe Vásquez; José Francisco and Felix “Los Hermanos” Valdelomar; and Cecilia Bracamonte. They performed during the first part of the concert, introduced to an appreciative audience by La Chola Chabuca, the tall, cross-dressing TV host with pigtails.
Pepe Vásquez was the highlight. With a proud air (but not too proud for hip thrusts) he added his unique, high-pitched scat to a powerful voice.
Vasquéz stayed on stage to perform with Bracamonte and Los Hermanos Valdelomar; their harmonies and passion raised goosebumps, even for a spectator who didn't recognize the famous ballads they interpreted. And it was playful throughout, like when Bracamonte couldn't resist to peck one of Los Hermanos on the lips.
“Perú Negro is an institution by now,” Vásquez said after his performance. But also, “it's family; it's musical communication” he explained. Many of the founding members of Perú Negro are related; those families and their children keep Perú Negro going.
Since the group's first major performance in Argentina in '69, the group has toured extensively throughout Europe and the Americas. Their story is very similar to, and precedes, the success obtained by the Afro-Cuban group Buena Vista Social Club.
The Music
Afro Peruvian music has commonalities with Afro-Cuban – strong African rhythms, the use of call-and-response, festive lyrics that mention a heritage of hard work – but one instrument sets Peru apart from other styles of the African Diaspora: the cajón.The cajón, just a hollow wooden box, produces surprisingly diverse sounds of bass and snare. It's most commonly known for its use in Spanish flamenco music, but there's disagreement about the cajón's true origins.
“We Peruvians believe that the cajón was definitely created here, in the village of Chincha,” said Isaac Sanchez Aguilar, a security guard working at the concert. (Peruvians of African descent have a large population in Chincha, a southern coastal city – although Afro-Peruvians total a very small percentage of the population nationwide.)
“Within Afro-Peruvian music the most important thing is the cajón,” says Eduardo Izquierdo, a choreographer for Perú Negro. He says the cajones are getting used less and less replaced by congas and other percussion.
“But [tonight] we're going to hear cajones. Cajones, cajones,” Izquierdo says.
He was right. The second part of the concert showcased several long and precisely choreographed dances, one which started with a back-and-forth competition between 21 men sitting on cajones.Central to the traditional choreographies were fantastic hip and shoulder movements. The dances brought the audience through different episodes of Afro-Peruvian history. First was an athletic performance representing slavery, with men dancing shirtless and with chains attached to their necks. Next was a playful boy-girl duet, in servant wear. Finally some social mobility was present when women danced in fine dresses and hats, twirling bright umbrellas.
Talented young adults and teenagers gave life to the dances, which bodes well for the continuation of Afro-Peruvian musical culture.
“We don't want to keep living in the past,” the choreographer Izquierdo said. “We only try to conserve our tradition.”
But he then added: “The tradition, we can't vary. It's already established.”
tags : Peru Negro Spectacle Lima Valdelomar music cajon flamenco
1 Comments
# Cosmo Cocchiaro says :
11 October, 2009 [ 09:33 ]
# Cosmo Cocchiaro says :
11 October, 2009 [ 09:33 ]
PLEASE KEEP THIS TRADITION ALIVE !!!!!!!! WE HAVE LOST ENOUGH.......
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