Afro-Peruvian Beats: El Ritmo Sigue
Having already captured some awesome images during the Festival Internacional del Cajón in May, I was once again welcomed into the home of Rafael Santa Cruz, one of Peru’s renowned cajón players. I had met Rafael in December, only three months after arriving in Peru, and it was great to be able to interview him one more time.
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Al Ritmo del Cajón
The sound of more than 500 pairs of hands filled the sky as they played a cajón during a Peruvian fall. The chaos that normally lingers and defines Lima could not compete with the sound waves of one of the most elemental instruments of Afro-Peruvian music, and for one afternoon the noise of traffic did not reign supreme.
When I first arrived in Peru one of the events I found out about almost immediately was the weeklong festival, held each fall, to celebrate the cajón, a percussion instrument widely associated with Afro-Peruvian music. I had the opportunity to speak with several musicians about this event and finally, eight months into my grant, I was getting the opportunity to attend (and document) this festival. For the last four years the Festival Internacional de Cajón Peruano has been celebrated at the Centro Cultural de España in Lima, and this year was no different. The event kicked off with several musical workshops taught by musicians from all over the world. Musicians from other Latin American countries and Europe each had an opportunity to share their specific talents with anyone who wanted to learn more about percussion instruments, not just the cajón, from all over the world. The picture below demonstrates one instructor as he teaches the opening workshop at the outset of the festival:
Ritmos Viajeros
Every year all of the Fulbright participants of South America’s Andean region come together for a week. During this week we all get to share our experiences and research with one another, as well as enjoy the beauty of the country where the regional seminar is hosted. I wasn’t really aware of this opportunity until I first arrived in Lima, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this year we’d be going to Ecuador. Seeing as I’d never travelled outside of the United States before coming to Peru, I was pretty excited, but I soon forgot about it as soon as I delved into my research.
It wasn’t until the end of March that an email reminded me of this event. I was already pretty excited to travel outside of Peru, but I was even more excited once I found out that instead of going to Ecuador the conference would actually be in Colombia! After arriving from another filming trip in Northern Peru, I packed my bags and got ready to board an early flight out to Bogota.
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Checos y Cuy
Since my arrival in Peru I have had the good fortune of being in contact with a family from Villa El Salvador, one of Lima’s most populated districts. In several of my blog posts I’ve mentioned Jaime Zevallos and his family’s dedication to keeping the Afro-Peruvian musical tradition alive from generation to generation. While I’ve hung out with the family and learned about Afro-Peruvian musical culture quite a bit as a result, it wasn’t until March that I realized what a big role this family was beginning to play within the production of the documentary I’m working on.
Although I’ve interviewed several musicians and dance groups within Lima, the Zevallos family has provided a different perspective on Afro-Peruvian music and the significance it plays in the family’s everyday lives. Having been in contact with the family since September I have now had the opportunity to meet most of the family living in Lima, and their accounts of the importance of Afro-Peruvian music in their daily lives has helped give me a broader sense of the role which music can play in the lives of people who do not practice Afro-Peruvian music for a living. Not only did I get to experience the impact of this music within the family’s lives, during the month of March I was able to film how the family’s passion for the music transcends the boundaries of their living room.
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“Production, Launched!”
Oftentimes when a spurt of creativity begins, you’re really not sure how long it’ll last. The insecurity posed by such moments of hardcore awesomeness makes you work intensely. Savoring every moment of hard work, while at the same time experiencing wavering moments of doubt, you launch into a phase of uncontrolled productivity. This is what I experienced as 2011 finally came around.
I started the year off right in Peru by beginning to film in Lima. I had the opportunity to film several musicians and families, so when February rolled around I loaded my filming equipment onto a bus and began the month by taking a 14 hour bus-ride to Northern Peru. I had previously traveled to Northern Peru in December, but I hadn’t had the opportunity to film in this part of the country. Two communities in particular, Zaña and Yapatera, left me in awe by the dedication of its community members to keep the town’s Afro-Peruvian heritage alive, and I intended to use my camera to capture their efforts.
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Up to four awards will be available to pursue projects around an aspect of international contemporary or popular music as a cultural force for expression. Preference will be given to creative projects that are conveyed in a dynamic fashion and are accompanied by a feasible plan. In addition to presenting unique projects on music as a global force for mutual understanding. Deadline to apply is March 1, 2012.