With the conquest and the subsequent colonial era, the sound expression in Peru was marked not only by traditional Peruvian music or music of peasant origin, but also by a significant interest in popular music in the cities because of the great European influence of the time.
According to Miguel Oblitas Bustamante, composer, musicologist and orchestra director, in the Andean region, the integration of hunting and countryside was used as a criterion, while in the Spanish vision, where Peru and Latin America are inserted, the city becomes a unit separated from the field. .
In this sense, the challenge popular musicwhich industrialized in the 20th century became known as “popular urban dance musicHowever, the colonial era was also dominated by military music, religious music, and academic or concert music.
“It can be said that the most educated and experienced musicians in an academic context were in the service of the church and the governors. The Cathedral of Lima, the Cathedral of Cusco, the Cathedral of Trujillo and all the cathedrals that were part of the Viceroyalty of Peru were considered musical centers of that time”, said RPP Noticias, also a researcher.
FUSION, ZAMAKUECA AND MARINERA
According to Oblitas Bustamante, local rhythms have always been in force and developed from the time of the governorship to the entry into the Republic, so much so that “Spanish romances of the renaissance”, played on the vihuela, the ancestor of the guitar, merged with haravimusical expression or love song of the Inca era.
This merger led to the birth Yaravi, a musical genre that still survives in many places in the mountains (yaraví with huayno fugue) and on the coast (triste with tondero fugue). “It’s not that the tradition was adopted only after independence, here the mixing of traditional music continued long before that,” explains also the artistic director of ACMUSIQ (Ikenya Musical and Cultural Association).
With vicegerency came other genres such as spanish paso doble, waltz of Austro-German origin and minuet of French origin, which was later replaced mazurka and gallop. Thanks to this musical diversity in Peru Mozzarella and zamacuecawhich later gave rise to the traditional sailor.
“A traditional song or folklore will change over time. Anything not strictly registered will undergo changes; besides the name, there is also a change in rhythm as a result of the participation of other ensembles or choreographers. , in the case of dance”.
“Traditional music written by an amateur author will be subject to change because it is not written from a score. This does not happen with concert music, because there is an obligation to play with the score as the composer wrote it. , a An example is Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, written almost from the time of Independence.
Therefore, according to the expert, zamacueca and other popular expressions of the time may have been limited to a marginal area because they were not assimilated into the customs of the Peruvian Creole aristocracy, especially Lima.
MUSIC AS STRENGTHENING IDENTITY
In addition to the research done by Oblitas Bustamante, much of the information about musical expressions during Independenceregistered in costume work Felipe Pardo y Aliagahighlighting the habits or social trends of Peru in the 19th century, mainly in Lima.
This is pointed out by the researcher and director of The Only Lima, David Pino Bazalar, who highlights “party spirit“Societies of Lima of Past Years. “Since the colonial era, any piece of news or a positive event has been the occasion for a party for two or three days,” he explains to RPP Noticias.
People not only celebrated with music and dance, gastronomy and bullfighting, they were also part of these festivities, even many processions were adorned with this type of celebration.
“Processions that are religious in nature have been criticized because they were previously accompanied by compars of dancers, primarily people of African descent, who actually turned the religious holiday into something unholy,” says Pino Bazalar.
Some time later, there will be official celebrations in Republican Peru. The first to settlecountry christmas eve’, in 1899. Other activities are also gaining momentum, such as the popular ‘Amancaes Festival’, in the El Rimac area.
According to the director of “Lima la unica”, rhythms of African origin such as zamacueca, have always been considered the plebs or the populace, away from the upper classes of Lima, who were influenced by European fashion. However, it is curious that in the 19th century both groups united.
“These popular rhythms will find a place where they will be perfected. For example, the zamacueca will eventually lead to the marinera, a more stylized dance that draws its fashion from the gallantry of the waltz.” explains the historian.
In conclusion, David Pino believes that knowledge of this theme and the fusion of musical expressions of the past also allows us to know the social thought of the time in order to understand and strengthen our identity built on these stories.
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Source: RPP
I’m Liza Grey, an experienced news writer and author at the Buna Times. I specialize in writing about economic issues, with a focus on uncovering stories that have a positive impact on society. With over seven years of experience in the news industry, I am highly knowledgeable about current events and the ways in which they affect our daily lives.