Andean fusion music: Milena Wharton, Wendy Sulka and Renata Flores share experiences and interests

Milena Wharton’s triumph Vineyard of the Sea 2023 drew the attention of Latin America to a trend that has been gaining new followers in Peru for several years now: the merger andean music with a more urban aesthetic such as pop, rap, electronica and more. It’s not that this is a groundbreaking bet, as experts like Raul R. Romero or Fiorella Montero Diaz have already warned about the changing nature of sounds coming from the Andes. Even so, the Warmisitay exhibition at Quinta Vergara has generated controversy.

On the one hand, there was no shortage of apocalyptics on social media who saw the end of traditional Andean rhythms in their song, and on the other, voices that advocated the integration of the original movement with a more modern one. However, Wharton herself is clearer than her critics. “We live in a time where gender is becoming increasingly ambiguous,” he told RPP News. “In fact, what we visualize as traditional Andean music is music that has already fused instruments or elements,” he added.

The 22-year-old singer cited as an example William Luna, whose singles are “made with keyboards, basses and drums, instruments that are not Andean”. “My music is more than something that renews, it tells and shows the world my vision of how I celebrate my culture in accordance with my reality,” the author of “La nena” and “Maravilloso” also said. “In ten years, reality will probably be different and music will sound different. It’s not about bringing something new to Andean music, the culture is dynamic, everything changes with time.”

Wendy Sulka: “We all win”

If there is a pioneer in the fusion of urban music with Andean sounds in the last generation, it is definitely Wendy Sulka. She may have been the first to take advantage of the music platforms – remember how “La tetita”, “Cerveza, cerveza” and “Papito” went viral on YouTube – and also one of the bravest voices to save her origins in the music scene. . more and more is changing.

For her, the fact that Andean music’s dialogues with more commercial rhythms allows it to “prevail today with greater force, that our roots are not lost, and that more generations are proud of what is ours.” “You are not lost [nada]we are all winning so that more people here and abroad know about Peru and its beautiful culture,” said the singer of songs such as “If you want to have me” and “I want to be”.

“For my part, I feel like I did my bit by being one of the first to combine modern rhythms like urban, ballad, pop with Andean sounds. Finding your sound was not easy, but the idea is that more people can identify with our music, our ancestors and spread it around the world, ”says Wendy Sulka. His appearance in Times Square in New York (USA) as a cover playlist Equal Andes by Spotify speaks for itself.

Renata Flores: “Our roots are momentum”

A new generation of artists with Andean roots is not only ignoring their past, but also striving to make their place in the world visible without ignoring the influence that comes from outside. “We belong to this generation where we want to become stronger, and our roots, our culture is the momentum that we have,” said rapper Renata Flores, whose proposal was soon appreciated internationally. In 2022, for example, the magazine Forbes placed her among the 50 most powerful women in Peru.

Unlike other exponents who have taken the lead in fusing Andean sounds with genres such as pop or reggaeton, Flores, Wendy Sulka or Milena Wharton they come from natural families in the Peruvian Andes, allowing them to drop the “cultural appropriation” label. “You can merge, sing in different genres, but I believe that in order to feel whole, yes or yes, our roots must be there,” said the 21-year-old singer from Huamanga.

“There are a lot of people who don’t like to merge, that there is only native Andean music, and yes, this is the foundation, it cannot be lost, but I feel that in time there will be many more young people from future generations. who will see it from a different point of view, without leaving what our ancestors passed on to us, ”said Renata Flores. It was his generation that began to follow the path where huayno or carnival are equally valued as a theme bts And Harry Styles.

EER 5×01 HARRY AND MEGAN: ‘Real’ gossip gives us life

We have returned! And we dedicate the first episode of season 5 to the controversy surrounding the Netflix documentary in which Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tell their love story. Yes, it took us a while to release the chapter, but it was worth it. Who was behind the media bullying? Is the royal family racist? Laura Amasifuen and Lucia Barja analyze salsa about this soap opera love story. Come and listen.