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PhD project explores how Afro-Peruvian women shaped Lima through music and performance

The research spotlights criollo music, which emerged in Afro-Peruvian spaces and eventually made its way to the rest of Lima
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Roxana Escobar 脩a帽ez traveled to Lima to interview Afro-Peruvian singers and performers as part of her dissertation (supplied image)

Growing up in an Afro-Peruvian family in Peru鈥檚 capital Lima, was always surrounded by music.

A PhD student in the  in the University of Toronto鈥檚 Faculty of Arts & Science, Escobar 脩a帽ez says Lima鈥檚 cultural identity owes much to the songs and performances of Afro-Peruvian women since the early 1900s 鈥 but their contribution is often overlooked or reduced to showbusiness.

鈥淢usic as a staple of Afro-Peruvian identity, particularly in Lima, is something that I believe has been reduced to a stereotypical characteristic of the Black population of Peru,鈥 says Escobar 脩a帽ez, whose research explores the centrality of Afro-Peruvian women鈥檚 music and performance in Lima鈥檚 cultural identity.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not something that is seen as a way that we have constructed the nation and the development of urban life.鈥

Escobar 脩a帽ez鈥檚 PhD dissertation spotlights criollo music, which is traditional to working-class neighbourhoods populated by people of Black, Indigenous, Japanese and European heritage.  

As part of her research, she travelled to Lima to interview performers and document the role of Afro-Peruvian women singers and performers in shaping the city. Her project is supported by the  and the , which support doctoral students across Canada in pursuing international field work.

So far, Escobar 脩a帽ez has interviewed 25 singers, the oldest being an 85-year-old performer still active in the circuit. She found that older performers act as gatekeepers of traditional criollo music, while the younger generation also taps into other genres like jazz, blues and salsa.

鈥淭he younger generation sing and dance differently鈥 and turn to digital methods to make new sounds, whereas the older generation are very specific about what they sing and how,鈥 says Escobar 脩a帽ez, who is supervised by Associate Professors Tamara Walker of the department of history and Matthew Farrish of the department of geography & planning.

While criollo music was born in domestic spaces that characterized Afro-Peruvian life, it eventually made its way to the rest of Lima, says Escobar 脩a帽ez, with immersive spaces to listen to criollo music 鈥 and some of the city鈥檚 world-renowned performers 鈥 remaining a core element in Lima鈥檚 tourism sector.

As she visited venues and house parties to study criollo music, Escobar 脩a帽ez documented cultural experiences as well as conversations between musicians with memories and knowledge that dated back to the early 1900s.

While interviewees shared stories of encountering racism and misogyny, there was also widespread expression of pride in their work. 鈥淎s Afro-Peruvian women, they carry the pride of the music,鈥 Escobar 脩a帽ez says.

Escobar 脩a帽ez鈥檚 interviewees included performers like Marina Retto, the Lopez sisters and Rosita Guzman. Many consistently highlighted the importance of honouring the beauty and the complexity of seminal criollo performers like Felipe Pinglo Alva and Manuel Acosta Ojeda.

As part of her PhD research, Escobar 脩a帽ez is producing a podcast using her interview material. The goal of the podcast 鈥 which is supported by the 鈥 is to preserve and celebrate Lima鈥檚 history by merging traditional practices like oral history with digital methods.

In addition to the contributions of Black women to the popularity of criollo music, Escobar 脩a帽ez鈥檚 research also delves into where Black life is present in Lima and the role of Blackness in constructing the city.

She points out the Afro-Peruvian community shaped the city鈥檚 infrastructure through everyday activities as far back as the 1700s. 鈥淟ima relied on the urban infrastructure of Black bodies, which became time and space 鈥 from the Afro-Peruvian women walking through neighbourhoods in the morning and singing that they had bread and coffee to the last song at night saying it was time for bed,鈥 Escobar 脩a帽ez says.

鈥淚f you take away these activities, you wouldn鈥檛 have the urban life that we have now.鈥

Escobar 脩a帽ez is now working on a paper about how to conduct field work involving Black women in Latin America 鈥 and the role that sound can play in the process.

鈥淲hen we study populations that clearly demonstrate different ways of existing, including sounds and conversations is one way of research that I want to continue developing.鈥

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