Peru Arts & Recreation
While recreational activities vary widely among the people of different regions, ethnicities and socio-economic classes, virtually all Peruvians share two pastimes. The first is watching football (soccer), Peru’s most popular spectator sport with the vast majority of the country following their national team’s soccer matches on television. The second is fiestas – elaborate celebrations of religious and secular events involving large meals, song and dance, and lots of social interaction. Other spectator sports, enjoyed primarily in Peru’s large coastal cities, include bullfighting, basketball, horseracing and cockfighting. Movies are also a popular form of entertainment in Peru’s urban areas. With less going on in the rural areas, people mostly enjoy drinking and dancing.
Music & Dance There are many different styles of music and dance in Peru, representing the myriad of diverse cultures making up the country’s population. At a basic level, these various styles can be classified into three broad categories: Andean, Spanish, and Mestizo (styles with Spanish and Andean influences). The most common instrument used in performing music in Peru is the charango, a 10-stringed instrument resembling a miniature guitar that is technically part of the mandolin family of instruments. Before the arrival of European and African instruments accompanying the Spaniards, the natives used a myriad of flutes, pan flutes and other wind instruments, as well as several types of drums of various sizes. The Spaniards introduced Peru to a number of small to medium-sized string instruments including guitars, lutes, harps and violins, from which the natives of the Andes fashioned their own string instruments, such as the charango mentioned above. The most authentic forms of Andean music can be found in the rural highland areas of Peru. While these styles of music would have originally been confined to native wind instruments and drums, nowadays it may also be performed on charangos, accordions or other post-conquest instruments. In the larger towns such as Cusco, Puno and Apurimac, Andean music may even be accompanied by violins. Native Andean dance styles accompanying Andean music are typically tied to agricultural work, hunting, war, and specific rituals. The llamerada, for instance imitates the llama’s walk, while the chatripuli imitates Spanish soldiers. Mestizo music comes in hundreds of different forms, some more strongly influenced by Spanish styles than others. Mestizo bands, usually comprised of 4-6 musicians playing various pan flutes, guitars, lutes, mandolins, and Andean drums, often play in markets, town centers and other open areas frequented by large crowds throughout most of Peru. The most popular form of mestizo music is the huayno style, also one of the most popular forms of music in all of Peru. Huayno music is typically performed on flutes, harp, panpipes, accordion, charangos, lutes, violins and guitars. It is danced in couples. This style has been popularized outside of Peru by Simon & Garfunkel’s version of the nostalgic Huayno song “El Condor Pasa”. Another popular style of mestizo music in peru is the Chicha style (named after the fermented maize beer described in the food section below). Chicha music would be best described as huayno style music fused with cumbia (Peruvian servions of the Columbian dance) and rock music. It is typically performed on electric guitars, bass, congo drums, timbales and one or two singers. Other mestizo styles include the melancholic yaraví style of the Arequipa region and uplifting huaylas style of the central Andes. The spanish styles of music and dance performed in Peru, are those with a predominantly Spanish or Latin influence. Salsa and Merengue, for instance, are popular in Lima and Callao. But most styles blend Spanish music and dance with Gypsy and African influences, collectively referred to as musica criolla, the most popular form of music in coastal Peru. One type of musica criolla is landó, a form of Peruvian-style blues. Another would be festejo, a highly festive style often performed with a large chorus of men playing cajón drums. The most representative dance in peru is the Marinera Nortaña. It is danced in couples and beautifully represents the love and courtship between a man and woman. An even wider variety of music and dance is available in Lima and other coastal cities. Most young urban Peruvians listen to reggaeton, a form of dance music that blends Jamaican reggae and dancehall with Latin American bomba and plena and North American hip hop. European and North American pop music can also be heard on radio stations in Lima and Arequipa. Finally, music from the north coast of Peru has its own distinct form of musica creolla meet mestizo styles such as the cumanana and tondero styles of music and dance. Last edited Oct 11, 07 12:28 PM. |
Travel Tips for Peru Arts & Recreation
Lima, Lima & Surrounding Region, Peru
After enjoying luke warm asparagus soup and homemade bread stay for the festivities. Just after sundown a fountain is lit up to the sound of the police band. They play nearly every night and feel free to dance to the music it is absolutely wonderful.
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Lima, Lima & Surrounding Region, Peru
The best address in Miraflores for Salsa is "El Son de Cuba" in the Street of Pizza aka La Calle de las Pizzas. On weekends, you can listen to live music - if you can sit still and if you find a place to sit.
Have an eye an your belongings, as always. You will find some foreigners here and many friendly Peruvians!
Have fun!
Have an eye an your belongings, as always. You will find some foreigners here and many friendly Peruvians!
Have fun!
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Manu, Amazon Basin, Peru
In 2004, I wanted to go into the Amazon, but how to get there. The obvious route is to fly into Manaus, Brazil. The problem is that, although it sits on the center of the Amazon, it has a population of a million, and you have to travel nearly a week from there to get into wilderness.
A faster way into the Jungle is to go down the back-side of the Andes through Peru. There are two likely ways – to fly into Iquitos, Peru or go over from Cuzco, down to the River called “The Mother of God” (Madre de Dios). The advantage of going down the Andes at Cuzco is that the Inca ruins are also in this area, and I was able to visit both in one visit.
While I was up in the highlands I visited a number of Inca ruins. At one location I tried to buy something and was told the bill was counterfeit. Now I couldn’t tell a bad bill from the real thing, and paid using a different bill. I had changed my money at the first hotel I stayed at, in Lima, Hotel San AXXXX. So I knew where I got the bill and I had a receipt. The hotel I was at in Cuzco was its sister, Hotel San AXXXX, Cuzco. I went to the desk at my hotel and asked to get change. I was told the bill was counterfeit, and they asked where I got it. I said Hotel San AXXX – LIMA. The person operating the desk acted as though Hotel San AXXX, Lima routinely passed bad paper, and promptly accepted the bad bill and gave me good money.
Along the Madre de Dios is the national park called Manu. Manu was featured in the nature video series called “The Living Edens.” In the park, I stayed with an Amazon tribe – the Machiguenga. There are two basic ways to Manu – air and ground. Peru’s military runs bush plan flights in and out of the area, near the provincial capital called Puerto Maldonado. This wasn’t always a military airstrip. There is a small airplane that crashed in the jungle near the end of the strip. It was being used for drug trafficking. The problem with the flying in or out by air is that there is a restriction of 25 lbs on the weight of your luggage. I had about twice that weight – mostly camera equipment.
So, I decided to go in by ground, but out by air. I figured I could always leave behind my excess baggage. In talking with my tour group I discovered this wasn’t really necessary. I just had to let them know how much excess luggage I had, and the pay $1 extra per pound – NO PROBLEM.
The tour company taking me into Manu was itself interesting – it was founded by a British bird watcher. My guide was also interesting. She was German, and had no background in any sort of wildlife. She was an orphan, about four foot something tall, and left Germany as soon as she could. She followed a Peruvian folk music artist back to Peru, where she need a job, and discovered the British birder, who was giving tours to Germans, and need an interpreter. She not only did a fine job as interpreter, but quickly picked up the information on the local wildlife.
But the point of this blog is to tell you about the overland trip down the back of the Andes. That trip turned out to be especially memorable.
At first you are on the high, dry plains. Then you start dropping in altitude rapidly. The curious thing was the bus. It was designed to be on the streets of Lima, and occasionally the wheels dropped into holes big enough to damage the (apparently) brand new bus. The dirt road is one lane, changing direction every other day, but both ways on Sunday – which would cause significant coordination problems. Any error could put you over the side of the road, leading to a thousand foot drop. As we drove down the one lane, I looked back a couple of times where we had been. The road was, in many places, being undercut by rainwater. I imagine that in the rainy season this road collapses routinely.
On the way down the back of the Andes, we stopped at a small town, and the guide invited us to partake of some Chicha – local beer made of corn (Maize). I was ready for this conversation and declined saying I’d wait for the Ayahuasca. Ayahuasca is made from the juice of the vine by the same name. Many vines are good sources of pure water, but this vine’s liquid is used by witch doctors for divination. Think of it as LSD. I think the guide was impressed that I knew about it. She told me she had tried it and later showed me the vine. (She was apparently a wild woman.) As we talked, I asked her about Boca Colorado. Boca Colorado is on the river, near Manu, but populated by gold miners, thieves, rebels, and such. According to my reading, you needed to go in strength and plan on shooting your way out. My guide had been there too. (She was really a wild woman.)
The trip down the Andes, going through the cloud forest, was wonderful. The vegetation, the waterfalls, and the birds were fantastic. I will never forget it -- and, I'll not forget my guide.
A faster way into the Jungle is to go down the back-side of the Andes through Peru. There are two likely ways – to fly into Iquitos, Peru or go over from Cuzco, down to the River called “The Mother of God” (Madre de Dios). The advantage of going down the Andes at Cuzco is that the Inca ruins are also in this area, and I was able to visit both in one visit.
While I was up in the highlands I visited a number of Inca ruins. At one location I tried to buy something and was told the bill was counterfeit. Now I couldn’t tell a bad bill from the real thing, and paid using a different bill. I had changed my money at the first hotel I stayed at, in Lima, Hotel San AXXXX. So I knew where I got the bill and I had a receipt. The hotel I was at in Cuzco was its sister, Hotel San AXXXX, Cuzco. I went to the desk at my hotel and asked to get change. I was told the bill was counterfeit, and they asked where I got it. I said Hotel San AXXX – LIMA. The person operating the desk acted as though Hotel San AXXX, Lima routinely passed bad paper, and promptly accepted the bad bill and gave me good money.
Along the Madre de Dios is the national park called Manu. Manu was featured in the nature video series called “The Living Edens.” In the park, I stayed with an Amazon tribe – the Machiguenga. There are two basic ways to Manu – air and ground. Peru’s military runs bush plan flights in and out of the area, near the provincial capital called Puerto Maldonado. This wasn’t always a military airstrip. There is a small airplane that crashed in the jungle near the end of the strip. It was being used for drug trafficking. The problem with the flying in or out by air is that there is a restriction of 25 lbs on the weight of your luggage. I had about twice that weight – mostly camera equipment.
So, I decided to go in by ground, but out by air. I figured I could always leave behind my excess baggage. In talking with my tour group I discovered this wasn’t really necessary. I just had to let them know how much excess luggage I had, and the pay $1 extra per pound – NO PROBLEM.
The tour company taking me into Manu was itself interesting – it was founded by a British bird watcher. My guide was also interesting. She was German, and had no background in any sort of wildlife. She was an orphan, about four foot something tall, and left Germany as soon as she could. She followed a Peruvian folk music artist back to Peru, where she need a job, and discovered the British birder, who was giving tours to Germans, and need an interpreter. She not only did a fine job as interpreter, but quickly picked up the information on the local wildlife.
But the point of this blog is to tell you about the overland trip down the back of the Andes. That trip turned out to be especially memorable.
At first you are on the high, dry plains. Then you start dropping in altitude rapidly. The curious thing was the bus. It was designed to be on the streets of Lima, and occasionally the wheels dropped into holes big enough to damage the (apparently) brand new bus. The dirt road is one lane, changing direction every other day, but both ways on Sunday – which would cause significant coordination problems. Any error could put you over the side of the road, leading to a thousand foot drop. As we drove down the one lane, I looked back a couple of times where we had been. The road was, in many places, being undercut by rainwater. I imagine that in the rainy season this road collapses routinely.
On the way down the back of the Andes, we stopped at a small town, and the guide invited us to partake of some Chicha – local beer made of corn (Maize). I was ready for this conversation and declined saying I’d wait for the Ayahuasca. Ayahuasca is made from the juice of the vine by the same name. Many vines are good sources of pure water, but this vine’s liquid is used by witch doctors for divination. Think of it as LSD. I think the guide was impressed that I knew about it. She told me she had tried it and later showed me the vine. (She was apparently a wild woman.) As we talked, I asked her about Boca Colorado. Boca Colorado is on the river, near Manu, but populated by gold miners, thieves, rebels, and such. According to my reading, you needed to go in strength and plan on shooting your way out. My guide had been there too. (She was really a wild woman.)
The trip down the Andes, going through the cloud forest, was wonderful. The vegetation, the waterfalls, and the birds were fantastic. I will never forget it -- and, I'll not forget my guide.
Good tip?
(0)
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