25433774

Center for Black Music Research - Columbia College Chicago
Mass Culture, Commodification, and the Consolidation of the Afro-Peruvian "Festejo"

Author(s): Javier F. Len
Source: Black Music Research Journal, Vol. 26, No. 2 (Fall, 2006), pp. 213-247
Published by: Center for Black Music Research - Columbia College Chicago and University
of Illinois Press
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mass Culture, Commodification, and the

consolidation of the afro-peruvian festejo
JAVIER E LE?N
There are two souls that exist in the contemporary world, those
of revolution and decadence. . . . [T]he consciousness of the

artist is the agonizing circus of struggle between the two spir
its. An understanding of this struggle sometimes, most of the
time, escapes the very artist. But ultimately one of the two spir
its prevails. The other ends strangled in the sand.
?Jos? Carlos Mari?tegui (1981)
There is a familiar pattern characteristic of some discussions about

popular music in Latin America. Initially, musical practices associated
with one particular group or local community undergo a process of "dis
covery" and subsequent canonization as part of the symbolic imagery of
one or more emerging group identity projects. The relative success of this
endeavor is often predicated on the ability to promote this music among
wider audiences, thus leading to its entanglement with the mass media
and mass-market interests, as well as with institutions or groups of indi
viduals who seek to impose particular stylistic, aesthetic, and performa
tive standards in order to maintain a monopoly over its means of pro
duction. Such a process has led to two contrasting yet consistently
iterated assessments. More often than not, practitioners, audiences, crit

ics, and musicologists conclude that such commodification and institu
tionalization leads to creative stagnation and that, as social, political, and
economic circumstances change, this genre loses its ability to engage with
JAVIER F. LE?N received his master's degree and doctorate in ethnomusicology from the
University of Texas at Austin. He is currently an assistant professor of ethnomusicology at
Tulane University, where he teaches in the Newcomb Department of Music and The Stone
Center for Latin American Studies. His research focuses on contemporary Afro-Peruvian
music making and on criollo popular music and nationalism in the early and mid-twenti
eth century Lima. Leon's work has been published in Ethnomusicology Forum, Latin American
Music Review, and Selected Reports in Ethnomusicology.
213
214
BMR Journal
audiences in meaningful ways, thus bringing about its untimely demise

or a nostalgic longing for a former golden age. See, for example, discus
sions regarding the commodification of salsa (Katz 2005), the national

ization of local musical genres such as the merengue (Austerlitz 1997)
Afro-Cuban traditions (Moore 1997), and Colombian m?sica tropical
(Wade 2000) or the mainstreaming of popular genres such as bachata
(Pacini Hern?ndez 1995) or the Brazilian choro (Livingston-Isenhour and
Caracas Garcia 2005), among many others. Other scholars, practitioners,
and listeners suggest that mass distribution is not necessarily bad. Some
even suggest that an embrace of consumer culture, particularly of the
transnational kind, can provide individuals with new sources for identi
ty formation that resist the local dominant hegemony. Such is the case
with discussions concerning salsa as a source of pan-Latino or transna

tional identity (Aparicio 1995; Arias Satiz?bal 2002; Berr?os-Miranda
2003; Hosokawa 2002), or the resistive and transgressive power of rock
(Pacini Hern?ndez, Fern?ndez L'Hoeste, and Zolov 2004; Zolov 1999),
rap (Giovannetti 2003), tropicalia (Dunn 2001), and various types of
Caribbean and Caribbean-influenced popular genres (Lipsitz 1994).
This is not to suggest that these authors, or others who have undertak
en similar topics in Latin America and elsewhere, have simply endorsed
particular ways of envisioning the relationship between music and mass
culture. In most cases, these studies seek to problematize various aspects
of this relationship and bring to Ught those counter-hegemonic tenden
cies that at times can, at least temporarily, upset the status quo. Frances
Aparicio (1995, 244), for example, wrestles with the polarizing ideas of
the hegemonic and the resistive, providing pointed critiques regarding
various distortions and appropriations of salsa by different social, ethnic,
and gendered groups, in the end suggesting that "women, as consumers
of popular music, are active subjects in their role as Usteners, rather than
the passive consumers that industries perhaps expect them to be.
Consumption then, cannot be seen exclusively as a unidirectional process

of subordination but rather as a cultural practice in which individuals,
groups and institutions negotiate cultural identity and social, class, and
racial meanings, as well as naturalizing or contesting gendered rela
tions." This dialectic between homogenizing or attenuating tendencies of

mass culture and the possibiUty of countering those tendencies by active
ly embracing consumerism has been a hallmark of popular music studies
for a number of decades. The various positions and proposed alternatives
concerning this issue can generaUy be traced back to an unresolved

debate between ideas regarding the generally negative influences that
mass culture can have on music as a meaningful art form as introduced
by Frankfurt scholars like Theodor Adorno (1995a, 1995b, 1997, 1998a,
Le?n Mass Culture and Festejo
215
1998b) and Herbert Marcuse (1998) and the counterargument proposed

by Walter Benjamin (1969,1986) that suggests that artistic production in
a mass culture context, while not necessarily aspiring to the type of artis
tic autonomy that Adorno considers essential, can have its own type of
resistive or critical character precisely because it is accessible to the mass
es. Regrettably, the polarization of these positions has often meant that
discussions about musical style focus on confirming or contesting a par
ticular position rather than problematize them.
In Peru, especially, one sees this pattern in discussions about the dif
ferent types of popular music found in Lima and their relationship to the
mass media. In the case of popular musics connected to the experiences
of Andean migrants in Lima and their children, mass media's role has
been considered generally beneficial, often aiding the diffusion of popu
lar genres and helping to bolster identity among those who, until recent
ly, have been seen as marginal despite their large numbers and socioeco
nomic influence (Alfaro 1990; Hurtado Su?rez 1995; Llor?ns 1983, 1991;
Romero 1992,2001,2002; Turino 1988,1990). In contrast, musics that have
been historically perceived as belonging to Lima's locality or surround
ing coastal region are generally regarded by their practitioners and critics
as having entered into a bargain with the mass culture devil, having trad
ed away, in classic Adornian fashion, their autonomy, individuality, and
originality (in short, their "authenticity") for the promise of financial suc
cess and recognition (Feldman 2001; Le?n 1997; Llor?ns 1983; Romero
1994; C. Santa Cruz 1989; Tompkins 1981; V?zquez 1982).1
The bifurcation between the fates of coastal and Andean popular

musics in Lima is perhaps most pronounced in Jos? Antonio Llor?ns's
(1983) two-part study on Peruvian popular music. In the section devoted
to criollo music, he concludes that the diffusion of criollo popular music2
through the mass media led to the homogenization of individual neigh
1. This is not to say that all of these writers agree with this particular assessment. In some
cases, for example, Llor?ns, Santa Cruz, Tompkins, and Vasquez, the authors' positions sug
gest that they consider the commodification of these musical practices far from a positive
step. In others, as with Feldman, Le?n, and Romero, the issue is less about taking a defini
tive stance in favor or against the role of the mass media and more centered around the way
in which that process of commodification is perceived by its practitioners, many of whom
would agree with Llor?ns, Santa Cruz, Tompkins, and V?squez.
2. The term criollo is generally used to denote Lime?os who are primarily of European
descent. In a musical setting, it also refers to musical practices that first originated in Lima's
working-class communities at the turn of the twentieth century. While these communities
were somewhat ethnically heterogeneous and included a sizable Afro-Peruvian minority

that greatly contributed to the development of this type of popular music, criollo music
exhibits a strong connection to European popular forms such as waltzes, mazurkas, and
polkas. The term is also used somewhat disparagingly by members of the upper classes in
reference to the so-called bohemian spirit and behavior that is stereotypically associated
with the lower classes.
216
BMR Journal
borhood styles, as well as the appropriation of this music for nationalist
purposes by the middle and upper sectors of Lime?o society, a process

that markedly altered its working-class spirit and its context of perfor
mance. Conversely, Llor?ns's discussion of Andean music suggests that,
while radio broadcasts and the local recording industry may have con
tributed to some homogenization along regional lines, the mass media?
through regional folklore radio programs, fan clubs of particular artists,
and migrant regional associations?helped Andean musicians create a

space on the airwaves that allowed Andean migrants in urban environ
ments such as Lima to connect with their regional identities. More recent
studies on urban popular music of Andean origin, for example, chicha

(Hurtado Su?rez 1995; Romero 2002), mention musical style as a means
of providing examples of, and by extension, vaUdating the presence of,
non-Andean musical elements (e.g., Colombian, Caribbean, rock) as

markers of creativity and ingenuity rather than as agents of global
homogenization or cultural dilution. Other studies echo similar posi
tions, most often legitimizing the notion that for local musics, such as the
vals criollo, the mass media have been instruments of the upper-middle
class capitalist and nationalist hegemony, whereas for migrant and sec
ond-generation Andean popular musics, like the huayno, chicha, or techno
cumbia, they have been a counter-hegemonic force that helped open up an
informal socioeconomic space that challenged the capitalist and national
ist hegemony.
These approaches have been useful in understanding how different
social groups in the twentieth century belonged to different historical and
cultural backgrounds and occupied different positions with the Lime?o

social hierarchy. At the same time, however, they have tended to natural
ize the role of the mass media, making it difficult to deviate from what
seems like an increasingly familiar script. Recently, however, Ra?l
Romero (2002) has indirectly brought this trope into question when
addressing the mainstream appeal of techno-cumbia, the most recent incar
nation of the popular music associated with recent ?migr?s to Lima.

Romero's discussion regarding techno-cumbia's popularity among various
sectors of Peruvian society, not just the historically marginalized commu
nity of "new Lime?os," reveals an unresolved tension between commod
ifying and counter-hegemonic tendencies so that techno-cumbia can be
seen both as the triumph of the subaltern and as the homogenization of
the same by transnational musical trends. This kind of ambivalence has
recently been associated with changes brought about by the "globaliza

tion era" and the degree to which different schools of thought continue to
debate "the celebration of global currents, on the one hand, and the criti
cism of its homogenizing trends" (Romero 2002, 218). These dual con
217
cerns can also be extended to other forms of popular music in Peru, some
thing that has the potential to provide a more nuanced and detailed
examination of the relationship between these musics and the mass
media.
I seek here to go beyond the continued affirmation of the above-men

tioned patterns by focusing on the relationship between the increased
mass mediation of Afro-Peruvian music during the second part of the
twentieth century and perceived changes regarding its musical style.
Rather than assuming that style is a by-product or reflection of what hap
pens to a popular music genre, for better or worse, when it undergoes a
process of mass distribution and promotion, I suggest that musical style
is the symbolic battleground within which performers work out their
perceived relationships to the music that they perform, as well as to the
mass-mediated musical environment in which it is performed. In this

sense, I agree with Jos? Carlos Mari?tegui (1981) and posit that style is
one of the musical manifestations of that struggle between what he terms
the revolutionary (i.e., resistive) and the decadent (i.e., hegemonic). At

the same time, however, I challenge the notion that these two tendencies
are mutually exclusive and that musicians have little understanding of
the dynamics involved in this negotiation. This is a fluid and actively

contested space, rather than one in which assumptions made about the
nature of mass culture and its ability either to empower or to compromise

music-making leads to largely predetermined outcomes.
Afro-Peruvian music provides a particularly useful case study with
which to reevaluate some of the assumptions regarding the relationship

between popular music and the mass media in Peru since it does not eas
ily fit within the framework of the criollo-mestizo dichotomy. To most
practitioners, audiences, and researchers, Afro-Peruvian music has had a
similar relationship to the mass media as has criollo music. This is per
haps not surprising given the historical relationship between both musi
cal traditions and the fact that both are seen as being regionally, cultural
ly, and aesthetically in opposition to mestizo and indigenous practices

from the highlands. At the same time, however, Afro-Peruvian music has
had to carve a space for itself within the realm of coastal music; although
not as often acknowledged, its relationship with mass media has played
a key role in the consolidation, acceptance, dissemination, and endurance
of Afro-Peruvian musical practices. Recently, Afro-Peruvian musicians
have come to question whether their relationship to mass media has been
a positive or negative force in the contemporary development of Afro
Peruvian music. The debate most often references the stylistic trajectory
of one particular genre: the festejo. I discuss here how different approach
es toward the performance of the festejo over the last decade are tied to
218
BMR Journal
the ways in which musicians evaluated perceived positive and negative

developments in the genre over the second half of the twentieth century.
I first give some background on the popularization of Afro-Peruvian

music through the Lime?o mass media and the reasons the festejo has
assumed such a central place in debates regarding commodification. I
then focus on the stylistic transformations that led to the progressive
standardization of the genre in the 1970s. FinaUy, I turn to recent changes
in the festejo and how the lens through which different musicians inter
pret these past developments leads to different assessments regarding the
relationship the festejo and, by extension, all of Afro-Peruvian music, has
with mass media.
The Festejo and the Lime?o Popular Culture

To most Lime?os, the festejo is a music and dance genre characterized
by a brisk compound-duple rhythmic accompaniment, festive song

lyrics, displays of percussive virtuosity, and lively choreography. While
the roots of the genre date back at least to the nineteenth century, much
of its contemporary character and the general perception that the festejo
embodies the irrepressible joy of the Afro-Peruvian community even in
times of hardship, is related to its development during the second part of
the twentieth century. As one of the two main genre complexes or fami
lies that emerged out of the reconstruction and revival of Afro-Peruvian
music and dance in the late 1950s and early 1960s?the other one being
the lando ?zamacueca complex?the festejo's stylistic makeover paralleled
social, ideological, and economic changes that affected the context of

Afro-Peruvian performance as it moved from a family- or community
based environment to the professional stage. Early in the 1970s, aided by
governmental populist cultural policies that were friendly to local per
formers, the support of prominent individuals in Lima's financial and
musical community, and subsidies by public and private performing arts
organizations, some of the more prominent performers began to set the
standard for those musical practices that would from that point be iden
tified as Afro-Peruvian folklore.
The popularity of Afro-Peruvian music on the professional stage led to
recording contracts that in turn helped introduce and disseminate this
sound to appreciative non-Afro-Peruvian audiences. What began as a
success story, however, appears to have quickly careened out of control.
In retrospect, many professional musicians and critics have concluded

that an overenthusiastic and unreflexive embrace of both mass media
capitalism and institutionalized teaching and performance led to the
commodification of this genre and other forms of Afro-Peruvian music.

219
Performance opportunities, recording contracts, and teaching possibili

ties waned as the 1980s wore on, largely a result of deregulation of the
cultural policies and broadcast quotas that had protected local perform
ers in the previous decade, a severe economic crisis, and the rising vio
lence at the hands of terrorist and guerilla groups, as well as the military.
Nonetheless, Afro-Peruvian music's mass-media presence and expo
sure did not vanish altogether. In the 1990s, increased political and eco
nomic stability in Peru once again opened up opportunities for Afro

Peruvian musicians, and some individuals began to ponder how to best
recapture the glory of the 1970s, a time when many performers could
make a living solely by playing, teaching, and recording music. The

results so far have been mixed. While the last few years have seen an
increase in performing opportunities, interest in Afro-Peruvian music has
not returned to previous levels. Some musicians attribute this to a lack of
current institutional support to subsidize the performance of their music.
Others argue that young people are not taught to value the richness and
diversity of Peruvian folk and popular music traditions. Still others feel
that the institutionalization of Afro-Peruvian music and its reduction to
commercially successful formulaic arrangements have left the Afro

Peruvian sound "stuck in the 1970s," irrelevant to younger generations of
listeners. Nevertheless, Afro-Peruvian musicians have maintained a

loyal, albeit smaller, audience within and without the Afro-Peruvian
community in Peru. Most recently, the international recognition achieved

by singer Susana Baca has opened the door for a renewed appreciation of
Afro-Peruvian music both in Peru and abroad. It has also paved the way
for other prominent artists such as singer Eva Ayll?n and the celebrated
dance troupe Per? Negro, who, despite years performing for the
Peruvian expatriate community, are only now being "discovered" by
mainstream audiences in Europe and the United States.
In this climate, performers have reevaluated the perceived successes
and failures of Afro-Peruvian music during the 1970s. Based on their
interpretation of the stylistic changes that took place during that time,
they have developed different strategies to cultivate its continued perfor
mance. This is not only the case with the festejo; other Afro-Peruvian gen
res are undergoing their own processes of reinterpretation by different
artists. Nevertheless, the festejo merits special attention, making up the
bulk of the "classic" Afro-Peruvian repertoire widely popularized in the
1970s.3 The genre's lively tempos, percussive accompaniment, and gener
ally uninhibited festive character makes it a favorite among musicians
3. While today, many Afro-Peruvian musicians and music enthusiasts would also point
toward another Afro-Peruvian genre, the lando, as forming a large part of the current reper
toire, it was not as widely disseminated as the festejo during the 1970s.
220
BMR Journal
and dancers, who oftentimes perform mstrurnental versions to create

extended dance and improvisation sessions that involve the audience.
Among criollo music groups, who historicaUy have included a few Afro
Peruvian songs in their repertoire, the festejo is also a favorite, usually
allowing some band members an opportunity to display their percussion
and dancing skills.4
Because of its popularization and dissemination through the mass
media in the 1970s, the festejo, more than any other genre, has come to
define to most Peruvians what is deemed as the essence of the Afro
Peruvian sound. It remains a part of Lime?o popular culture, often fea
tured in television commercials to sell coffee, condiments, alcoholic bev
erages, and office supplies, in promotional spots for the telephone
company, and to rally soccer and volleyball fans during international
tournaments. Since the 1990s, it has also become customary for some of
the more exclusive discotheques in Lima to signal closing time by switch
ing from its usual diet of rock, Latin American pop, and techno to a feste
jo, usually selected from the most recent Eva AyU?n album. For a short
time, the festejo was even the object of a number of health and fitness
trends, most notably among them ofror?bicos, which, in the wake of the
success of acuarobicos (aerobics in a swimming pool) and karat?bicos (aer
obics combined with karate), was designed as an aerobic workout in
which modified steps loosely inspired by Afro-Peruvian dances were per

formed to salsified or otherwise "modernized" versions of well-known
festejos.
The festejo's endurance in Lime?o pop culture has been a source of both
concern and inspiration to contemporary performers.5 On the one hand,
many performers feel that its commodification has led to a lack of cre
ativity in terms of both musical style and composition. To them, it signi
4. Although most ethnomusicological studies on Afro-Peruvian music have focused on
performing groups that specialize in the performance of Afro-Peruvian music and dance
genres (Feldman 2001; Le?n 2003a; Romero 1994; Tompkins 1981; R. V?squez 1982), Afro
Peruvian professional musicians also participate in criollo music groups, moonlighting as
backup musicians for noted criollo singers. The more elaborate and successful criollo acts
also occasionally contract Afro-Peruvian dancers to appear as guest performers for a few
numbers. Historically, a number of noted Afro-Peruvian artists, such as singers Esther
Granados and Lucha Reyes, guitarist C?sar Santa Cruz, and composers Pablo Casas and
Samuel Joya, have devoted themselves almost exclusively to the criollo repertoire.
Furthermore, a number of noted performers of today, including Arturo "Zambo" Cavero,
Lucila Campos, Bartola, and Eva Ayll?n, include music from both criollo and Afro-Peruvian
repertoires in their performances.
5. These dual concerns over ?xefestejo's fate are not entirely new. Nicomedes Santa Cruz,
one of the leaders of the Afro-Peruvian revival movement, as early as 1970 complained that
Afro-Peruvian genres, including the festejo, had degenerated into a commercial spectacle
(Feldman 2001,244; N. Santa Cruz 1970,11). At the time, his critique fell largely on deaf ears.
221
fies the stagnation and continued banalility of the genre, taking away
from its potential to be a positive symbol of Afro-Peruvian identity. To
others, the festejo's former commercial success within Peru holds the
potential for future triumphs both in local and transnational arenas, pro
vided that musicians can update its musical style. In both cases, and
regardless of whether contemporary performers feel that their predeces

sors took a wrong direction in the 1970s or did not go far enough to cap
italize on the festejo's popularity, the "classic" sound of Afro-Peruvian
music as embodied in the festejo during that time remains the departure
point for reinterpretations of the genre. Consequently, contemporary

views regarding the festejo, both in terms of discourse and musical exe
cution, should be understood in reference to the musical changes that
took place as the genre transformed from a loose collection of songs hav
ing a generally festive character into a clearly defined genre that has
served as one of the main musical archetypes of Afro-Peruvian musical
style and identity since the second part of the twentieth century.
Consolidating the Ambiguous

Little is known about the festejo before the twentieth century.
Ethnomusicologist William Tompkins (1981, 250-253) points out that
many of the song fragments that survived into the twentieth century and
came to be identified as part of the festejo repertoire had melodies that
could be in a variety of different meters (generally I, \, ?, or I) that were
usually played against a fairly consistent rhythmic accompaniment in ?.
He suggests that this juxtaposition of meters likely had its "origins in the
more complex polymeters known by the first African slaves [in Peru]"
(252) and that these may have been characteristic slaves songs from as
early as the eighteenth century (241-242). The recurring references to
slavery in these fragments suggest that many of them date at least as
early as the nineteenth century. Yet, the lack of information concerning
this genre in the historical records leads Tompkins to conclude that the
label festejo was adopted more recently, perhaps no earlier than the late
nineteenth or early twentieth century6
Some of the song fragments that survived into the twentieth century
were transmitted orally within families of musicians in Lima, but in

many cases, these songs were no longer actively performed because of
6. Folklorist Guillermo Durand supports this hypothesis based on his conversations with
the celebrated musician Augusto Ascuez (1892-1985). According to Durand (2000), Ascuez
remembered that during his childhood, most adults used the term as a generic label applied
to any type of song that was either festive in character or generally performed during cele
bratory events.
222
BMR Journal
the social stigma imposed by the dominant classes. Consequently, many

musicians turned their attention to other genres, such as the marinera,
vals, and polka, that were not exclusively associated with the Afro
Peruvian community. Additional songs were added to the repertoire after
being collected from rural communities in the northern and southern

coast by some of the musicians and intellectuals associated with the
revival of Afro-Peruvian music and dance in the 1950s (Feldman 2001;
Romero 1994; Tompkins 1981).
Although these songs survived into the twentieth century, their frag
mented character, the fact that these songs ceased to be actively per
formed within the Afro-Peruvian community, and a lack of recorded
examples from the early part of the twentieth century make it difficult to
ascertain if the type of festejo that began to take shape in the second part
of the twentieth century bears any stylistic resemblance to those of previ
ous centuries. Furthermore, between the 1950s and early 1970s, the feste
jo underwent a process of consolidation and standardization that eventu
ally gave the genre a clearly defined stylistic identity, which included
specific guitar and percussion accompaniment patterns, instrumentation,
and a complex of related dance genres. Some of these changes can be
attributed to the process of gathering and consoUdating musical frag
ments from diverse regions of the Peruvian coast and sorting them into a
meaningful set of clearly delineated musical practices. As Ra?l Romero
(1994, 318) points out regarding Nicomedes Santa Cruz, one of the key
figures of the revival movement: "[B]y producing the first records of
Afro-Peruvian music in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Nicomedes estab
lished the genres which would be considered by the general public as
black in origin and character." In many cases, this process of consolida
tion was taken a step further by the generation that foUowed, particular
ly the large folkloric dance troupes, Uke the seminal Per? Negro, which
in many ways provided the model for other groups to follow and which
were largely responsible for the popularization and institutionalization of
Afro-Peruvian music as folklore.
The basis for mid-twentieth-century renditions of the festejo can be
traced back to Samuel M?rquez, whose musical revue in the 1930s fea
tured some of the "old songs" from the late nineteenth century, including
some Afro-Peruvian/este/os that were no longer actively played (Feldman
2001,57-58; Tompkins 1981,244-245). The first attempts at consolidating
the festejo into a genre appear to have taken place two decades later, when
criollo folklorist Jos? Durand, in collaboration with a number of Afro
Peruvian musicians, began to reconstruct portions of the Afro-Peruvian
repertoire. Porfirio V?squez, one of Durand's principal sources of infor
mation for surviving Afro-Peruvian performance practice in Lima and
223
Example 1. Oscar Villa, "Arroz con concol?n," excerpt from the final chorus, as
performed by La Cuadrilla Morena and Juan Criado (1998)
turfitu rr [ft f ' i' vr>m??

? u? ;~ v~ u u. i,?_ i,_ i,. ;? ?a u. u? u? ;? v;
Chorus
Guitar 1
*i?i? ? i t 1 ? t i ? i ? t i ? i ? * 1 t 1 t
Guitar 2
Quijada
Caj?n
* * tl? ,>!-! >ii ,> ?^ , ? a ? , ? tit
0 H PEf'l?J ?J 'QjP* l*f ?* 'I P LJ

fl 8 LLfP^ T P' 'lXJP * 'p' P^ 'LlTP'
the nearby communities on the northern coast, is credited with develop

ing what became the basis for the choreography of the contemporary fes
tejo (Feldman 2001, 194-195; N. Santa Cruz 1970, 61; Tompkins 1981,
247-248). It is unclear whether a single individual was responsible for the
musical arrangements, but singer Juan Criado likely provided a stylistic
link between the festejos performed by Durand's Pancho Fierro Company
and M?rquez's earlier renditions. When Criado teamed up with Durand

to form the Pancho Fierro Company, he brought with him a large reper
toire of festejos, many of which he had originally learned during his

tenure with M?rquez. A number of these festejos became a part of the
repertoire of the new company and its various spin-off groups.
These earlier interpretations featured two different levels of the 3:2
rhythmic relationships that gave the festejo its distinctive character (see
Ex. 1)7 First is the juxtaposition of a melody primarily sung in simple
duple meter against an accompaniment featuring a compound duple
7. Example 1 was transcribed from a reissued performance of Juan Criado that dates from
sometime in the late 1960s or early 1970s. Although this recording is relatively late, it
exhibits a marked consistency with some of the festejos performed by the Pancho Fierro
group in the early 1960s (see, e.g., Roel y Pineda 1964). This recording also features per?us
224
BMR Journal
subdivision of the beat.8 The result is a strong duple feel with an internal
rhythmic ambiguity stemming from the possibility of subdividing the
space in between these strong beats into two or three equal parts. This
ambivalence aUows for parts to switch smoothly from one metric subdi
vision of the beat to another without affecting the festejo1's overall duple
feel. The clearest iUustration of this in Example 1 is the solo vocal part,
which starts by providing a harmony to the chorus with some rhythmic
variation in a simple duple meter. The soloist then begins to improvise by
singing nonsense syUables, at which point he introduces triplets either on
the first or second beat of each measure, thus taking advantage of two dif
ferent ways of subdividing the beat (mm. 1 and 5). Similarly, although
less frequently, the accompanying mstruments also transition from one
way of subdividing the beat to another. For example, the quijada de burro
(mm. 2-3) features occasional duplets.
The second 3:2 relationship, which also occurs in a number of other

Peruvian coastal genres, stems from the possibility of grouping the com
pound duple subdivision of the beat into three groups of two (as in the
bass line) rather than two groups of three (as in the guitar 2 part or the
caj?n9). This gives rise to a juxtaposition of a simple triple meter against
the compound duple subdivision of the beat, which is best exemplified
by the bass line, as well as by the melodic improvisations of the lead
vocalist (m. 3) and the lead guitar (mm. 1-3).

These earlier festejos also lacked an exclusive association of particular
accompaniment patterns. Tompkins's assertion that the festejo always fea
sion parts similar to those festejos documented by William Tompkins (1981), which were
expressly selected because of their stylistic relationship to renditions of the festejo that pre
dated the stylistic innovation that took place during the 1970s by large folkloric dance
troupes like Per? Negro.
8. There are a number of different ways to represent these rhythmic juxtapositions
through conventional Western notation. In this article, I represent melodies and rhythmic
patterns that primarily use simple duple subdivisions of the beat in f and compound duple
subdivision of the beat in S. It is also possible to n?tate these in I and % respectively, a con
vention that is sometimes advocated so as to fit most of the rhythmic and melodic ostinatos
that characterize the accompaniment of the festejo within a single measure. Nevertheless, the
t and $ convention is the way in which most contemporary musicians explain the festejo. It
also allows one to better visualize harmonic progressions (usually one chord per measure),
melodic and textual phrase construction (usually four-measure phrases), and the correla
tion of certain festejo accompaniment patterns with other genres, both in Peru and abroad,
that tend to be conceptualized in similar ways.
9. Literally meaning "large box," the caj?n is the most widely used Afro-Peruvian per
cussion instrument. It consists of a wooden box with two sides, top, and bottom made of
mahogany or another hard wood and front and rear faces made of plywood, the rear one
featuring a round hole near the center to amplify the sound. The performer sits with open
legs and leans over to hit the front plywood face with bare hands to produce a combination
of low tones, high tones, and "rim" shots.
225
Example 2. Eduardo M?rquez Talledo, "Pancha remolino," as performed by

Arturo "Zambo" Cavero and Oscar Aviles; example of a festejo in simple duple
meter
Vocal
1 A-no-chcjuca
r-T'LTCflCLfC-r
ILT LCflfj' <W
ja-ra-ncar don - de Pan-cha Re-mo-li-no,
Guitar 1
Guitar 2
Bass
Caj?n
g^
a???
Am
D7
?u^r?'?'?f
-r?^ i# IF
T p car 'Lru
>
m U LtT'?ULI
C_J
Example 3. Example of quijada and cajita patterns used in the son de los dia
blos
Quijada
?IH
?i ? l ?
t?
Ti ? i ?
t?+HI
tfli ,UJ U'UU IUJ Li
Cajita
tures a consistent accompaniment in ? ignores the existence of a few, but

nevertheless important, festejos such as "Pancha remolino" (Ex. 2) whose
rhythmic foundation is primarily in \ and that feature different accompa
niment patterns than the ones shown in Example 1. These patterns,

instead, bear resemblance to the quijada and cajita parts traditionally asso
ciated with son de los diablos,10 a genre that is generally identified as a
cousin of the festejo (see Ex. 3).11 Another notable example, although
seemingly an isolated incident, is Tompkins's 1976 field recording of a
10. The son de los diablos, a masked street dance associated with Carnival season, was pop
ular in Afro-Peruvian communities in Lima during the nineteenth and early twentieth cen
turies. Watercolors by nineteenth-century painter Pancho Fierro indicate that the instru
mentation for the son de los diablos included harp, quijada, and cajita; only the harp and
quijada appear to have remained in use in the twentieth century.
11. The connection between these festejos in \ and the son de los diablos may be regional. In
226
BMR Journal
lando performed in the rural community of El Guayabo (Tompkins 2004).

It features a caj?n part that bears close similarity to those of the festejo and
little resemblance to contemporary renditions of the lando. This example
suggests that, like the melodies, the basis for the caj?n accompaniment of
the festejo may have been a generic pattern used for different types of
musical occasions of festive character. Similarly, guitar parts do not have
a specific accompaniment pattern and most often provide semi-impro

vised rhythmic struinming that doubles whichever caj?n part is being
used. While the quijada and cajita parts, which were borrowed from the
son de los diablos, tend to be among the most consistent accompaniment
patterns, they still exhibit a certain amount of ambivalence, as some feste
jos feature a direct transposition of the \ son de los diablos part, while oth
ers use variants in 8 (see Ex. 4).
This relative fluidity in accompaniment and rhythmic approaches to
the festejo began to change as innovations introduced by a subsequent
generation of performers helped further standardize it. These changes
were largely the result of the emerging folkloric dance troupes, specializ
ing exclusively in Afro-Peruvian music and dance, that prospered under
the support of the military regime of the time (1968-1980). As these
groups rose in popularity, so did their particular ways of interpreting the

festejo, something that was greatly aided not just by the dissemination of
their music through the mass media and the record industry but by the
legitimization of their endeavors as folklore by various government
sponsored institutions such as the Instituto Nacional de Cultura and the
Escuela Nacional de Folklore. In their new capacity as official culture

bearers and keepers of Afro-Peruvian tradition, many of these perform
ers went on to become mentors to new generations of performers and
Afro-Peruvian music aficionados. Perhaps most notable among these was
Per? Negro, who for the last thirty-five years has trained countless pro
fessional musicians both within its own ranks and through more formal
ized instruction in folklore schools.
The more notable stylistic changes surrounding the emergence of

contrast with most other festejos, the themes of most of these festejos are decidedly urban and
reference everyday life in Lima. "Pancha remolino" for example, tells of a man whose entire
body is sore from having danced all night at a jarana (a neighborhood party with live music
and dance) held in a black neighborhood in Lima. Some of these festejos are still performed
occasionally, mostly by performers, such as Arturo "Zambo" Cavero, who grew up in these
neighborhoods and who continue to participate in these jaranas. This suggests that the con
nections between both genres may be tied to a particular Lime?o style of playing music that
was generally festive in character, whether in parades, like the son de los diablos, or within
the context of a jarana. This possibility is partly supported by the observation made by a
number of musicians today that the cajita was used in the son de los diablos because a per
former could not carry and play a caj?n while dancing through the streets.
227
Example 4. Examples of quijada and cajita patterns as used in different festejos
a. "Manonga la tamalera," as performed by Juan Criado (2000), on Victoria

Santa Cruz,. .. con Victoria Santa Cruz y Gente Morena, quijada pattern
?i? ?l? ?l?
101 ll^l?j^yl|jtMI
b. "Arroz com concol?n," as performed by Roberto Rivas (n.d.), quijada pattern
U? ?l? ?i?
c. "No me cumb?n," as performed by Nicomedes Santa Cruz (1994), cajita pattern
OtiflL?fJJJJfJ?I
mm'uu'uiui'EJ?i
d. "El congorito," as performed by Los V?squez (1998), cajita pattern
m y
WM
?uor'ttiaiiiJ ?u
dance troupes that specialized exclusively in Afro-Peruvian genres
involved the development of new guitar, bass, and caj?n accompaniment
patterns. The guitar pattern transformed from a primarily strummed
rhythmic accompaniment to more complex melodic and rhythmic osti
natos that exploit the polyrhythmic relationship between I and 8. Similar
forms of accompaniment were known in previous decades but were not
necessarily associated with the festejo. In fact, the seminal Cumanana and
Canto Negro recordings by Nicomedes Santa Cruz do not feature such
guitar parts in their festejo arrangements, but they do feature Vicente
V?squez playing similar accompaniments for the zapateo and alcatraz, two
genres that, like the son de los diablos, are considered to be related to the
festejo (see Ex. 5). However, it seems that the adaptation of such patterns
to fit the festejo became commonplace among these folkloric dance
troupes and eventually led to the emergence of one of the more charac
BMR Journal
Example 5. Examples of guitar accompaniments for the zapateo and alcatraz
a. Excerpt from a zapateo as performed by Vicente V?squez (on N. Santa Cruz,
Socab?n)
b. "Al son de la tambora," excerpt, as performed by Roberto Rivaz and Gente
Morena; alcatraz
E A B13 E A B13 E A B13
teristic and easily identified features of the festejo: an ascending bass line
moving through the first, third, fourth, and fifth degrees of a major scale,
which provides a simple triple pattern, juxtaposed against a set of arpeg
gios in the guitar that implies a compound duple subdivision of the mea
sure and helps flesh out the underlying harmonic progression (see Ex.
6).12
The percussion parts show a similar process of standardization. Unlike
earlier versions of the festejo that could feature both simple and com
pound duple subdivisions of the beat or an alternation between the two,
percussion parts associated with these dance troupes exhibit an explicit 8
feel that is largely emphasized by a seemingly infinite variety of stan
dardized caj?n patterns that percussionists generally refer to as "bases"
(see Ex. 7). A performer would elaborate variations, improvise solos on
these bases, or truncate them by means of percussion breaks.13 The over
all result has been a festejo with a far more explicit ? feel. As with many
12. While this way of accompanying the festejo would become standard in later years, in
the 1970s, many renditions by performers other than these folkloric dance troupes featured
different approaches to the festejo. Most notable are the performances by Juan Criado, who
continued to perform in the early 1970s, as well as the collaborations between cajonero and
singer Arturo "Zambo" Cavero and noted guitarist Oscar Aviles.
13. Although it is difficult to determine exactly how this process took place, many indi
viduals, particularly those affiliated directly or indirectly with the Per? Negro musical lin
eage, credit these innovations to founding member Ronaldo Campos (Feldman 2001,
283-284).
229
Example 6. Examples of guitar and bass festejo accompaniments derived from
the zapateo and alcatraz
B7
B7
A B7
^'l'iiir r r \if h ir r ? i?f Pr ir r r i^f^

Example 7. Examples of different caj?n tees as demonstrated by percussionist
Juan Medrano Cotito (1996a, 2000)
41
U P L?T IP r
m
mu- r u.m
U U F-?133 LU-H-?
DUN PPF IP F
?~x
^>
o mi' "T etp* i^ Efp> Tf eHTIim p* ii
DflU'j pF î^î^îL[j>rn=ii
other genres in South America, the festejo continues to exploit the
polyrhythmic relationship between 8 and % but the additional layering of
a simple duple meter is uncommon and can only be heard occasionally in
the improvisations of the more skilled singers.
Between Consolidation and Commodification

Although the process of stylistic consolidation allowed the festejo to
become firmly established as an important musical symbol of a recovered
Afro-Peruvian identity, other changes during the 1970s, when the festejo
was at the height of its popularity, have led many contemporary musi
cians to conclude that this period also marked the beginning of the
genre's commodification. Most such critiques reference attempts at "re

Africanizing" the reconstructed Afro-Peruvian repertoire, often by many
of the same individuals who were instrumental in its consolidation. In
230
BMR Journal
retrospect, critics feel that this project quickly degenerated into a desire to
exoticize Afro-Peruvian music to make it more marketable. To those in

the more traditionalist camp, this also signaled the potential dilution of
local traditions, as foreign musical instruments and accompaniment pat
terns began to find their way into the festejo. Other critics have focused on
what they feel is the mass production o? festejos for commercial purposes,
which, in turn, they argue, has led some performers to disregard the
types of images that they are promoting about the Afro-Peruvian com
munity. This view overlaps with the perception that commodification has
led to a stylistic mechanization and stagnation, which some contempo

rary performers are attempting to undo in a variety of different ways.
Despite these critiques, it is difficult for contemporary musicians to

simply dismiss all the musical changes that took place during the 1970s,
given that many of these changes also set precedents for the types of
innovations that they have pursued in more recent years. Evaluating

what exactly happened to the festejo during this decade involves a careful
interpretation of both changes in musical style and the ascribed inten
tionality behind these changes in an attempt to determine the moment in
which musical innovation gave way to an unreflexive fetishization of the
festejo.
One of the more readily visible markers of this "re-Africanization" was
the incorporation of instruments that were, and to some still are, consid
ered to be outside the Afro-Peruvian tradition. Percussion instruments
such as the tumbadoras (conga drums), bongos, cencerro (cowbell), and

guiro (gourd scraper), although foreign to Peru, became commonplace in
Afro-Peruvian music. The first recorded instances of this usage come

from two tracks in Nicomedes Santa Cruz's influential 1964 recording
Cumanana, in which tumbadoras are used in a lando ("Samba malat?") and
to accompany what is identified as a "characteristic piece" titled

"Cumanana," basically a round with a festejo accompaniment. Later, Per?
Negro featured tumbadoras and other Latin percussion more prominently
and systematically in its arrangements, a practice that became quite com
mon among later folkloric dance troupes. Traditionalist voices, which

most often come from outside the Afro-Peruvian musical community,
find the use of these instruments to be little more than an attempt at mak
ing the festejo more marketable to mainstream audiences that at the time
were avid consumers of salsa and cumbia. Nicomedes Santa Cruz (1970,
11) himself criticized subsequent generations of performers for engaging
in this practice, viewing their use of these instruments as part of an

attempt to cash in on the popularity of cumbia and salsa or to satisfy the
exoticist cravings of Lime?o audiences who only recently "discovered"

that there were people of African descent in Peru.
231
While some of the sentiment is certainly valid, these views generally

ignore the importance that instruments held as symbols of the recovery
of a musical past that connected Afro-Peruvian traditions back to Africa
through the present-day musical practices of places like Cuba, where

such diasporic connections remained vital and strong. Although these
specific drums were not a part of twentieth-century Afro-Peruvian musi
cal experience, references to similar instruments, such as hollow log

drums, are found from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century, while the
tambor de botija, a large earthenware drum that was popular in a number
of areas on the Peruvian coast, survived into the early part of the twenti
eth century before being displaced by the caj?n (Tompkins 1981,147-151).
Furthermore, in the decades before the revival of Afro-Peruvian music
and dance, most performing opportunities for Afro-Peruvian musicians,
particularly percussionists, were with groups speciahzing in various

Caribbean musics that were popular in Lima (Casaverde 1996a; Medrano
Cotito 1996a; A. V?squez 1995), suggesting that these instruments and the
genres with which they were associated played an important role in the
experience and identity of many Afro-Peruvian musicians. Most Afro
Peruvian musicians today, like their predecessors, have an intimate con

nection with many of these Caribbean genres, often playing with local
salsa bands, as well as with Afro-Peruvian and criollo music groups, and
using these experiences to shape their identity.
Traditionalist critics have generally ignored this aspect of an Afro

Peruvian musician's identity, having dichotomized the relationship
between traditional practices and the mass media in such a way that an
"authentic" performer is conceived as someone who has no experiences
or knowledge outside of what is perceived to be the discretely bounded
sphere of his or her culture. However, it is in part the familiarity that
musicians already had with these musics that allowed Afro-Peruvian

musicians to "fill in the gaps" while reconstructing the Afro-Peruvian
musical repertoire. Revival singer and percussionist Abelardo V?squez
(1995), for example, recalls having performed in a "tropical music" (son,

mambo, boleros, b?guines, etc.) band when he was young, a practice that
remained commonplace with musicians of subsequent generations, such
as percussionist Juan Medrano Cotito (1996b), as well as guitarists F?lix
Casaverde (1996a) and Roberto Arguedas (2000), all of whom also
became familiar with Cuban musical genres during their formative musi
cal years. In fact, the practice appears to have been quite commonplace
throughout the better part of the twentieth century. As musicologist Juan
Pablo Gonz?lez (2004) points out, the skill of Afro-Peruvian musicians in
this area was so well known that throughout the first part of the twenti
232
BMR Journal
eth century, Chilean bandleaders often traveled to Lima to hire Afro

Peruvians musicians to perform with their bands in Santiago.
The use of a tumbadora accompaniment pattern for the festejo that is
both a variation of the caj?n base (with high and low pitches inverted)
and a 8 adaptation of the pattern used in Cuban rumba also illustrates the
connection of Afro-Peruvian musicians to other musics (see Ex. 8). This
particular development is often credited to the collaboration between

members of Per? Negro and Guillermo Nicasio Regeira, "El Ni?o," a
Cuban expatriate who helped develop this group's sound and stage pre
sentations (Feldman 2001, 312-318).
The adoption of this expanded instrumentation into the festejo nonethe
less had what some see as a negative effect on the genre. As these instru
ments became more commonplace, and as caj?n bases became more for
malized, the underlying 8 rhythmic feel of the festejo was emphasized
more, to the point that a faster and more "normalized" rhythmic feel pri
marily in compound duple time largely replaced the juxtaposition of

duple and triple subdivisions of the beat so characteristic of earlier feste
jo arrangements. Ironically, features associated with the older festejo style
may have in fact constituted a survival of African polyrhythm in the

Peruvian coast and were now being downplayed in favor of largely more
visually and timbrally symbolic attempts at invoking that African her
itage. Perhaps in this sense, his own experimentation with these musical
instruments notwithstanding, Nicomedes Santa Cruz was not entirely

wrong. Whether aware of Santa Cruz's initial criticism on this matter,
many musicians today agree. In particular, they criticize more main
stream commercial recordings in which the percussion overwhelms the
guitar parts and vocals or, alternately, speed up the tempo so much that
the guitar players had difficulty keeping up with the rest of the ensemble.
Faster tempos and a more regularized rhythmic structure coupled with
the emergence of many festejos that were little more than musical para
phrases of each other were indicative of a more mechanical, mass-pro

duced, and unreflexive approach toward the genre.
Actor, dancer, and percussionist Luis Sandoval notes that the prolifer
ation of such festejos gave rise to the performance and consumption of
Afro-Peruvian music primarily for entertainment purposes, overshadow
ing the success and awareness of earlier groups. In Sandoval's mind, this
affected members of the Afro-Peruvian community who, like himself,
had not grown up in a family that cultivated the performance of Afro
Peruvian music and whose knowledge regarding these musical practices
was largely based on what was available through the mass media. "There
are two types [of Afro-Peruvian music]. There was the other camp, the
black music that was more commercial?'El negrito chinchiv?/ this and
233

Example 8. Tumbadora part used to accompany the festejo
tumbadoras
(rumba guaguanc?)
tumbadoras
(festejo adaptation)
caj?n
{festejo base)
n* i ii'hpt jiM??r jir^t j u*pr i 41
-P5
08 Jll?r F J K 'JJ1F PPJ l?r PJ 'II
08 J1IN PPF IPF ??\? PLLflPF ?1141
that. What was played on the radio, the 45 [rpm] singles that people
bought. Nicomedes Santa Cruz, Victoria Santa Cruz were a bit more intel
lectual, let's say, but they did make an impact-The issue is that it was
not enough of an impact" (Sandoval 2000). To many musicians, festejos
such as "El negrito chinchiv?,"14 whose lyrics?"Chinchivi makes you

laugh, chinchivi makes you rejoice / The black man gets very drunk
when he drinks chinchivi"?glorify ethnic stereotypes both within and
without the Afro-Peruvian community. Indeed, it is fair to say that one of
the reasons festejos have become so popular with non-Afro-Peruvian

audiences is because of such lyrics, which continue to reinforce colonial
stereotypes that romanticize Afro-Peruvians as good natured, fun-loving,
and mischievous, and whose only way to cope with life's hardships is to
drink, dance, and engage in adulterous behavior.
Unfortunately, these stereotypes persist in updated form, particularly
by groups that continue to approach the festejo as an "uninhibited" and
sexually liberating dance form with potential for international crossover.
In the late 1970s, the festejo was largely tied to a particular style of danc
ing that Heidi Feldman (2001, 326-327, 366) traces to musical gatherings
that took place at the locale Pe?a Valentina. Since then, many musicians
and dancers have criticized the proliferation of this dance style, which
features young women wearing short, flared skirts and small halter tops,
vigorously shaking their hips and shoulders in what amounts to little

more than the objectification of the black female body. References to this
kind of frenzied and, some would argue, mechanized form of dancing are
even found occasionally in some recordings. For example, in the festejo
"Pr?ndeme la vela" ("Light My Candle"), recorded by Abelardo V?squez

and his ensemble Cumana in 1971, the background vocals, presumably
14. Chinchivi is a homemade corn brew spiced with nutmeg and cloves that was com
mon in Lima's Afro-Peruvian neighborhoods at the turn of the twentieth century. The
approximate translation of the title of this festejo is "Black Boy Chinchivi."
234
BMR Journal
referring to dancing taking place during this performance, proclaim: "Esa

morena parece licuadora" (That brown girl moves like a blender).
The dance trend never completely faded, although that type of cos
tuming is now more generally associated with young girls rather than
women and is mainly relegated to the amateur festejo dancing competi
tions that take place in the summer months and the occasional end-of
year performances at some Lime?o private schools. The aerobics and dis
cotheque fads represent a more recent incarnation of this phenomenon.
For example, criollo singer Julie Freundt in the mid-1990s tried to put a
fresh (and somewhat cleaned up) face on the festejo by combining it with
elements of modern dance and using what was essentially a pop rock
band. To promote her reinterpretation of the dance, Freundt appeared at
a number of school fund-raisers and other family-oriented events around
Lima, often accompanied by girls from local schools dressed in a combi
nation of miniskirts and gymnastics leotards. She eventually released
Afrodance (Ex. 9), a collection of pop covers of various festejos, with the
intent of "bringing Afroperuvian music to the discotheques in order to
dance it to the fullness of its expression [and to] search day by day for
those missing elements that will allow for our Peruvian music to enter the
Latin music market" (Freundt 1998).
In the early 1980s, as performance opportunities began to dry up and
the new regime began to relax cultural policies that favored local per
formers, the popularity of Afro-Peruvian music in the mass market began

to wane. Eventually, local labels stopped recording new albums in favor
of rereleasing "classic" recordings of the 1970s to which most artists had
sold their rights. In this new climate, many performers were forced into
partial or full retirement, some teaching in folklore schools and private
academies. Exceptions were those few groups that managed to keep

themselves in the media's spotlight. Most notable among these was Eva
Ayll?n, who in the 1980s and 1990s became the most recognized name in
both Afro-Peruvian and criollo music. Starting as a singer of criollo reper
toire in the late 1970s, Ayll?n in the 1980s began receiving recognition as
Example 9. Example of the bass line used by F?lix Casaverde to accompany the
festejo and its relationship to the bass tumbao
bass tumbao
r%mrrr1
E
F%in B7
E F?7' B7
E
E A/F}
B/F* B7
B
adapted festejo
bass line
235
a solo artist largely from her collaboration with the group Los Hijos Del
Sol (The Children of the Sun). The Los Hijos Del Sol project was based in
Los Angeles but included a number of young and prominent criollo,

Afro-Peruvian, and jazz musicians from Lima. At a time when most
Lime?o audiences had turned away from local music, the group sought
to infuse a primarily criollo and Afro-Peruvian repertoire with a combi
nation of rock, jazz fusion, and salsa to develop a less provincial sound
that could better compete with other musics both in Peru and in the inter
national market. In Lima, the project was well received by a small but
loyal audience who saw in the jazz component of the group's arrange
ments a means to transform Peruvian coastal music into a contemporary

and sophisticated form of musical expression that would receive interna
tional recognition. Although the project was short-lived,15 it greatly

affected the careers of some of its members, most notably percussionist
Alex Acu?a, who, already a well-known jazz and Latin percussionist,
used this opportunity to familiarize hirnself with Afro-Peruvian music;

guitarist Lucho Gonz?lez, who continues to perform jazz-influenced ren
ditions of the vals criollo both in Lima and Buenos Aires; and Eva Ayll?n.
At a time when most Afro-Peruvian and criollo performers had great
difficulty finding performing opportunities, Ayll?n was a commercial
success, often filling large concert halls and stadiums, even in provinces
outside of Lima. Her performances were (and still are) exciting and
dynamic; they included a broad range of repertoire from the Peruvian
coast, supplementing the standard repertoire with new compositions and
introducing audiences to new generations of performers (many of them
children of musicians from decades past). Ay lion's treatment of Afro
Peruvian music, much of it the result of her collaboration with arranger
and guitarist Walter Velasquez, set the stylistic standard emulated by
many performers of subsequent generations. In terms of the festejo,
Velasquez generally expanded upon many strategies of performers in the
1970s; guitar parts continued to feature melodic and rhythmic ostinatos,
although he now emphasized virtuosity and improvisation, and he
added more percussion to the musical texture, including, in a few

instances, Afro-Cuban bata drums and a salsa horn section.
Ironically, although these festejos exhibit large percussion sections with
rhythmically dense accompaniments and add other nontraditional
instruments, such electric or electro-acoustic guitars and piano or syn

thesizers, Ayll?n's music has eluded much of the criticism received by
15. Los Hijos Del Sol attempted a revival by recording a second album and setting up a
U.S. tour in 2002. However, this reunion had little effect on musical activity in Lima. For the
purposes of this article, Los Hijos Del Sol's importance lies in the influence the group had
on singer Eva Ayll?n.
236
BMR Journal
earlier generations. There are a number of reasons for this. First, the criol
lo music circuit has historically featured a number of lead singers of

African descent, as well as Afro-Peruvian instrumentalists and dancers
who moonlight as backup musicians within this circuit. Ayll?n, who is
Afro-Peruvian, got her start in this musical realm, rather than with a
group that specialized exclusively in Afro-Peruvian music and dance.
While there certainly is a criollo traditionalist discourse that looks unfa
vorably on certain types of musical experimentation (Le?n 1997, 2003b),
musicians associated with this realm appear to have a bit more flexibility
in incorporating, from time to time, such stylistic elements. Second,
Ayll?n is afforded a certain amount of authority in reinterpreting Afro
Peruvian genres because of her ethnicity (at least in the eyes of non-Afro
Peruvian audiences) and because she tends to collaborate with well

known criollo and Afro-Peruvian musicians whose work is respected
within the musical community. Finally, she is an excellent musician with

a nuanced sense of rhythmic interplay and a facility for ornamentation
prominently framed by lively and dynamic arrangements that also dis
play the virtuosic talents of her band.
Unlike many of the commercially successful groups from previous
decades, most performers today, although not necessarily agreeing with

all of Ayll?n's stylistic choices, regard her as having had a positive effect
on the development of Afro-Peruvian music. Most agree that her success
in festejos stems from her ability (and that of her arrangers) to modify fes
tejos from the surviving repertoire and more recent compositions with
stylistic elements from previous decades in such a way that her music
remains closely linked to musical practices of the past while also reflect
ing contemporary experience. Rather than emulating trends (as most

people feel is the case with Julie Freundt), Ayll?n is seen as someone who
has set trends of her own. To an extent, unsuccessful attempts by other
artists to emulate her particular style of innovating the festejo have given
her further legitimacy as an artist who, although commercially success
ful, has managed to stay close to what most musicians identify as "the
roots of tradition." Clearly, this involves more than just reproducing a
tried-and-true formula. For many Afro-Peruvian musicians today, style is
part of a dynamic creative process rather than a static category used to
determine whether a musical structure is authentic. Critiques regarding
the stylistic path taken by the festejo often deal with those moments at
which style became fixed and endlessly reproduced, something that is

linked to the genre's process of commodification. From this perspective,
staying close to the roots of tradition means continuing to pursue strate
gies of stylistic innovation that are deemed to reflect the creative force
behind the stylistic changes of previous decades. To this end, musicians
237
continue to critically reinterpret the festejo's> trajectory, often emphasizing

some stylistic features of the genre as a means of downplaying others that
they find symptomatic of the genre's commodification.
New Generations Reinterpreting the Festejo

The increased political and economic stability in Peru during the 1990s
led to better opportunities for Afro-Peruvian musicians and a renewed,
although more limited, interest by Lime?o audiences in Afro-Peruvian
music. While many older musicians remain nostalgic for the 1970s, the
subsequent changes allowed a variety of groups with different aims to
reemerge. After a long period of little or no recording activity, a number
of the more influential figures of the earlier decades?including Lucia

Campos, Arturo "Zambo" Cavero, Caitro Soto, Victoria Santa Cruz, and
Abelardo V?squez?recorded new albums. Some were retrospective,

aimed at acknowledging their role in the development of Afro-Peruvian
music; others illustrate that, although not as visible, they had continued
to remain active performers. Now in her thirty-fifth year as a performer,
Eva Ayll?n also continues to be a prominent figure in the mass media. In
addition, folklore schools and dance academies have continued to pro
vide new members for professional dance troupes that perform the "clas
sic" repertoire. The progeny of many of these performers, most notably
among them Los Hermanos Santa Cruz (nephews of Victoria and
Nicomedes) and the most recent incarnations of Per? Negro (most of
them children and grandchildren of the original members), have started

to come into their own and continue to promote updated versions of their
forebears' repertoire.16 Other performers have also emerged who contin
ue to see in the festejo the potential for international crossover. A particu
larly notable case was the collaboration between rocker Miki Gonz?lez
and the Ballumbrosio family (Akund?n), whose dance-hall reggae and
African pop-influenced festejos were quite popular in the mid-to-late
1990s. A more recent attempt has been that of Jos? de la Cruz "Guajaja"
(Sacarroncha), who in 2000 styled his particular reinterpretations of the fes
tejo after Panamanian rapper El General.
In this climate, the issue of keeping an appropriate balance between

innovation and tradition has become the central point of debate, particu
larly regarding who has the authority to introduce such changes.

16. In some cases, the passing of some of the more prominent musicians has put some of
their descendants in positions of authority as experts on Afro-Peruvian matters. That is par
ticularly the case with Rafael Santa Cruz in regard to his uncle Nicomedes and Juan Carlos
"Juanchi" V?squez and Ronny Campos in regard to their respective fathers, Abelardo and
Ronaldo.
238
BMR Journal
Crossover projects like those of Gonz?lez and the Ballumbrosio (e.g., Ven
a gozar) or those of Guajaja have been criticized, particularly by members
of the older generation, for trivializing or diluting Afro-Peruvian tradi
tion and because their potential commercial success could easily over
shadow the efforts of those performers who refuse to use these types of
fusions as a means of attracting a bigger audience. The late Abelardo

V?squez (1995), for example, felt that the rise in popularity of such indi
viduals often led to their canonization as authorities of Afro-Peruvian
matters by a largely lay and non-Afro-Peruvian public, while culture

bearers such as himself were dismissed as old-fashioned. Younger musi
cians are more liberal in their assessment, viewing continued innovations
as a way to keep Afro-Peruvian musical practices current and relevant to
younger generations. They do not see the attempts as necessarily threat
ening the integrity of the Afro-Peruvian repertoire because its proponents
are not claiming that such cross-over experiments constitute a part of "the
tradition" but that may over time have an influence on how Afro
Peruvian music is reinterpreted (M. Gonz?lez 1995).

In contrast, there is much more criticism of those more self-conscious
attempts by performers who do pretend to single-handedly revamp Afro
Peruvian music, particularly when these individuals are perceived to be
outsiders to the Afro-Peruvian community. This is the case with Julie
Freundt (1996), who relabeled her interpretation of the festejo as the
saramb? and promoted it as a new and modern Afro-Peruvian genre that
rendered the festejo obsolete. Another notable example was that of criollo
composer Mario Cavagnaro (1996), whose own invented Afro-Peruvian

genre, the cajumba?also a festejo derivative, which highlighted the cajita
accompaniment more than that of the other instruments?was briefly
promoted by Peruvian Rock en Espa?ol heartthrob Julio Andrade (on his

album Algo m?s de mi). The criticisms of these performers vary widely,
ranging from those who dismiss them as well-meaning but ultimately
uninformed outsiders to the Afro-Peruvian musical tradition, to those
who resent them because of the paternalism that underscores the desire
to create something new not only for profit but to seemingly rescue Afro
Peruvian music from Afro-Peruvian musicians.
The emergence of these varied voices, as well as a spirit of criticism

aimed at questioning the perceived musical status quo, has benefited
those performers who, although active since the 1970s, remained over
shadowed by more commercially successful groups. Such is the case with
guitarist F?lix Casaverde, who became better appreciated in the 1990s as
an accomplished composer and soloist and not just as an accompanist for
prominent criollo singers Chabuca Granda, Tarda Libertad, and Julie

Freundt. Similarly, Susana Baca, despite having defined the standard of
239
the Afro-Peruvian sound to international audiences thanks to the success
of recordings on David Byrne's record label Luaka Bop (Susana Baca and
Eco de sombras), has only recently received recognition by local perform
ers and audiences; for nearly two decades, her music was deemed by
most to be too experimental to be considered a part of the repertoire.
Casaverde's and Baca's approaches to the festejo have much in com

mon, stemming from past collaborations as well as their relationship
early in their careers with criollo composer Chabuca Granda. A member
of Lima's liberal bohemian intelligentsia, Granda had been an important
figure on the criollo music scene since the 1950s. In the 1970s and early
1980s, she became an active supporter and mentor to a number of young
criollo and Afro-Peruvian performers, including Susana Baca and the

original members of Per? Negro. Later in her career, interested in moving
beyond the confines and conventions of the various genres that were
popular at the time, Granda collaborated with young and promising per
formers to explore new compositional possibilities partly inspired by the
Afro-Peruvian genres that had started to become popular in the main

stream media. F?lix Casaverde was among these performers, and this
experience went on to influence his own stylistic interpretations of the fes
tejo.
Over the last decade, individuals such as Casaverde and Baca have
helped redefine the festejo in a fashion that seeks to move away from
those stylistic elements that have become associated with the genre's
commodification. Tempos are decidedly slower, and a more Umited
instrumentation creates a more intimate sound. For Casaverde (1996a),
this constitutes a return to an older festejo feel, before a large battery of
percussion and increasingly fast tempos did away with the genre's rhyth
mic subtleties. His music recenters the listener's attention to the interplay
between the guitar, the caj?n, and the accompanying bass or second gui
tar. A slower tempo allows Casaverde to explore the rhythmic and har
monic possibilities of the genre by infusing it with elements from the
blues, bossa nova, and Latin jazz. A particularly salient feature of this
fusion is how Casaverde and other performers have begun to shift
emphasis away from the downbeat in the bass line by developing what
Casaverde calls a new way of playing the festejo that is inspired by bass
tumbao rhythm in Cuban son and salsa (see Ex. 9). Despite the negative
associations that the "Cubanization" of Afro-Peruvian music might have
with some musicians because of a perceived overuse of percussion instru
ments, Casaverde recognizes the importance that such appropriations

had in the 1970s. Even though he feels that perhaps they went too far, he
finds it appropriate to continue to look at these diasporic connections as
source of further inspiration. Example 9 also shows the substitution of the
240
BMR Journal
second scale degree for the fourth in the bass line, which gives the gui
tarist alternative ways of harmonizing the accompaniment. At the same
time, transforming this bass line into a second guitar part, as Casaverde
advocates, leads to the juxtaposition of a more traditional use of triads
and dominant chords in the second part with the expanded and altered
chords of the lead, as well as a return of the iambic rhythmic figure (see
Ex. 1) that was prevalent in earlier festejos (see Ex. 10).
In recent years, Susana Baca, in collaboration with her musical director
and arranger David Pinto, has favored similar interpretations of the feste
jo. In her case, she supplements the slower tempos with a more minimal
ist accompaniment that can highlight the relationship between the voice
and the percussion, with substantially less elaborate harmonic support
provided by a bass and guitar (Baca and Pereira 1996). Like Casaverde,
Baca wants to explore the harmonic and rhythmic possibilities of the fes
tejo. There are in fact some commonalities between the two approaches,
particularly in the way they reharmonize the genre's standard I-IV-V

chord progression. This similarity stems from their collaboration in earli
er projects as well as their common partnership with bass player and

arranger F?lix Vilchez. In Baca's case, it is a bit more difficult to pinpoint
a single way in which she achieves this rhythmic and harmonic explo
ration since her arrangements change continually. Nevertheless, her more
recent interpretations of the festejo show an interest in maintaining a
strong and regular rhythmic feel in the musical texture, while at the same
time shifting the emphasis away from an easily discernible downbeat. In
"Molino molero" (The Grinding Mill), a festejo dating from the earlier part
of the nineteenth century (Tompkins 1981, 243), Baca and Pinto do away
with the guitars altogether in favor of an arrangement that relies primar
ily on bass, caj?n, and cajita for the accompaniment (see Ex. 11). In this
case, the bass uses the type of bass line advocated by Casaverde, one that
persuades untrained listeners to hear the downbeat on the third quarter
note of the measure. The cajita and caj?n contribute to the listener's dis
orientation by omitting the first downbeat in their patterns. The result is
particularly effective in the caj?n because, throughout the piece, percus
sionist Juan Medrano avoids playing the low tone that is characteristic of
most caj?n bases (see Ex. 7). The overall effect is a complex rhythmic feel
that is further reinforced by the omission of other accompaniment parts
that could provide the listener with a clearer frame of reference.
At first glance, innovations by Casaverde and Baca may seem like a

radical departure from earlier interpretations of the festejo. And in fact,
they do sound significantly different compared to interpretations of the
genre by other contemporary groups; until recently, Peruvian audiences
have agreed that their sound departs too far from the "classic" sound to
241
Example 10. Festejo accompaniment with two guitars as demonstrated by F?lix
Casaverde (1996b)
guitar 1
r r? r * r ; r r-r * r ^ r r-r * r
E B7
B7
B7
.J4v?iifPiWiimiWii?Pt'ia?
or bass) t? ? ? ? ? pr? ? ? ? ? w ? ? ? ? ? ?~z:

Example 11. "Molino molero," introduction, as performed by Susana Baca
?ho 8j p,rri
Caj?n
0 %U\ J IPF ?mrNJTllpr m\U\ J

F?^ B7
fir ?P B7
which they have become accustomed. At the same time, however, both
Casaverde and Baca are strong advocates of innovating Afro-Peruvian
genres like the festejo while maintaining a strong connection to the past.
A closer examination of their techniques shows how their reinterpreta

tions of the genre have developed as part of a dialogue with that "classic"
sound and that they reflect choices consciously made to emphasize those
aspects of the festejo that they feel have been forgotten or homogenized
during the perceived commodification of the genre in the 1970s. In recent
years, these views have begun to change, largely as the styles of Baca and
Casaverde have received the validation of audiences abroad. Ironically, to
those audiences, Baca's arrangements have come to define their sense of
the "classic" Afro-Peruvian sound, and performers like Eva Ayll?n and
Per? Negro are now finding the need to contend with those expectations
when trying to launch their careers abroad. At this point, it is unlikely
that other Afro-Peruvian musicians will come to perceive Baca's arrange
ments as indicative of a new process of commodification of the festejo
among international audiences. This is not only because Afro-Peruvian
music represents a tiny portion of the world music market and is unlike
242
BMR Journal
ly to receive the mass dissemination that has characterized reggae or

salsa, but also because other Afro-Peruvian artists who are starting to
enter the international arena are proposing their own alternative inter
pretations of the genre.
Conclusion
The relationship between popular music and the mass media in Lima
is more complex than suggested by the discourses and theoretical
approaches that are generally concerned with assessing the overall
benevolent or malevolent impact of the latter on the former. By approach
ing style as part of a constitutive process and analyzing the context in
which stylistic transformation takes place, this article offers the following
conclusions.
First, the stylistic trajectory of the festejo reveals a more complex

process of negotiation between Afro-Peruvian music and the mass media.
The criticisms regarding the commodification of the festejo in the late
1970s are certainly not off the mark. While the dissemination of Afro
Peruvian music and dance through the Lime?o mass media and record
ing industry did bring attention to a community whose cultural contri
butions to the development of Peruvian coastal culture had been
generally ignored, it also contributed to the development of an exoticized

image of the Afro-Peruvian community that perpetuated particular racial
and sexual stereotypes. At the same time, one needs also to acknowledge
that the consolidation?some could argue homogenization?of the festejo
into a clearly defined genre during the early days of the revival, some
thing that was essential in order for this music and dance to become one
of the predominant symbols of a reclaimed Afro-Peruvian cultural her
itage, was partly the result of the entrance of the genre into the profes
sional stage and a mass-mediated environment that contributed to the
privileging of particular stylistic practices.
Second, while engagement with the mass media has been riddled with
problems regarding issues of appropriation, co-optation, and trivializa
tion of the Afro-Peruvian musical repertoire, it has not invariably led to

the inevitable demise of a formerly vital genre. While some contempo
rary performers continue to seek the contemporary version of the formu
la that turned the festejo into a mass-media marketing success in the
1970s, there are also those who, critical of some of the turns that the feste
jo took in decades past, have developed alternative reinterpretations of

the genre that could be characterized as exhibiting a "lessons-learned"
approach. The point here is not to arrive at a final analysis whereby
opposing tendencies are tallied in order to determine whether the overall
243
trajectory of the festejo has been one that leads to a positive or negative
outcome. Ultimately, this is about acknowledging that at any given time
and place, one individual's act of resistance is someone else's act of con
formity. Both the hegemonic and resistive aspects of mass culture are rel
ative, and what oftentimes remains underexamined is the process by

which musicians and audiences musically and discursively construct
both of these outcomes as they reevaluate the historical and stylistic lega
cy of a particular genre.
Third, the tension that exits between potentially positive and negative
outcomes of the mass-mediation of Afro-Peruvian music and the perfor
mative negotiations that it tends to produce opens up a space for other
ethnomusicologists to begin to reexamine whether similar complex rela
tionships exist in other types of Peruvian popular music previously
thought to simply conform to a fairly static model of development. For

example, such an approach could offer a far more detailed understanding
of the role that the recording industry, record producers, promoters, and
market interests have had in shaping the musical style and aesthetics of
mestizo musics such as the chicha and huayno. As it stands, these social
forces remain largely invisible, giving the impression that musicians from
these groups have been able to "put their music out there" without any
mediation. Conversely, characterizations of criollo popular music as a

musical genre that simple sold out to mass media and nationalist inter
ests in earlier decades largely ignore those marginal spaces beyond the
reaches of the commercial music market, where working-class musicians
continue to perform criollo well after the waning of its supposed golden
age.
Finally, I would like to suggest that focusing on the types of ongoing

negotiations that take place at the level of musical style can contribute to
a better critique of what have become two enduring tropes in the study
of popular music, whether one speaks of salsa, cumbia, merengue, nueva
canci?n, reggae, samba, son, or tango, among many others.
I would like to thank Michael O'Brien, Peter Garcia, and the late Gerard B?hague for
comments made to an earlier draft of this article. Molly Burke was also of great help with
the proofreading of the final draft. I am also indebted to the insightful comments provided
by Heidi Feldman and the anonymous reviewers. Finally, I am also thankful to Bill
Tompkins for providing me with a copy of some of his field recordings. Without these, por
tions of my analysis of the festejo would have been lacking.
244 BMR Journal
DISCOGRAPHY
Acu?a, Alex, and Eva Ally?n. Los Hijos del Sol: To my country. NIDO Entertainment (2002).
Compact disc.
Al son de la tambora. Lo mejor del ritmo negro peruano. Roberto Rivas and Gente Morena. El
Virrey VIR1355. Compact disc.

Andrade, Julio. Algo m?s de mi. OHM/El Virrey 00001472 (1996). Compact disc.
Arroz con concol?n. Lo mejor del ritmo negro peruano. Roberto Rivas. El Virrey VIR1355.
Compact disc.
Baca, Susana. Eco de sombras. Luaka Bop 724338 (2000). Compact disc.
-. Molino molero. Susana Baca. Luaka Bop 9 46627-2 (1997). Compact disc.
-. Susana Baca. Luaka Bop 9 46627-2 (1997). Compact disc.
Ballumbrosio, Los Hermanos. Ven a gozar. SONY Music 119.689 (1997). Compact disc.
de la Cruz, Jos?. Sacarroncha (2000). Compact dise.
El congorito. M?sica negra ... grandes ?xitos. Los V?squez. Divensa CD-DIS 00026044 (1998).
Compact dise.
Freundt, Julie. Afrodance. IEMPSA 0337 (1998). Compact dise.

Gonz?lez, Miki. Akund?n. POLYDOR 314 519 539-2 (1993). Compact dise.
M?rquez Talledo, Eduardo. Pancha remolino. Y siguen festejando juntos. Oscar Aviles, Lucila
Campos, and Arturo "Zambo" Cavero. IEMPSA 0003-2. Compact disc.

M?sica negra ... grandes ?xitos. Divensa CD-DIS 00026044 (1998). Compact disc.
Pr?ndeme la vela. Lo mejor del ritmo negro pervano. Abelardo V?squez and Cumanana. El
Virrey VIR 1355. Compact disc.
Santa Cruz Gamarra, Nicomedes. Canto negro. FTA Cl-1027 (2000). Compact disc.
-. Cumanana. El Virrey VIR 1438 (1994). Compact disc.
-. No me cumb?n. Cumanana. El Virrey VIR 1438 (1994). Compact disc.
-. Socab?n. IEMPSA 1574-2 (2001). Compact disc.
-. Santa Cruz Gamarra, Victoria. Manonga la tamalera. . . . con Victoria Santa Cruz y
Gente Morena. Juan Criado, vocalist. IEMPSA: 0414-2 (2000). Compact disc.
Villa, Oscar. Arroz con concol?n. M?sica negra ... grandes ?xitos. La Cuadrilla Morena and Juan
Criado. Divensa: CD-DIS 00026044 (1998). Compact disc.
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Center for Black Music Research - Columbia College Chicago

Mass Culture, Commodification, and the Consolidation of the Afro-Peruvian "Festejo"

mass Culture, Commodification, and the

of revolution and decadence. . . . [T]he consciousness of the

?Jos? Carlos Mari?tegui (1981)

There is a familiar pattern characteristic of some discussions about

duction. Such a process has led to two contrasting yet consistently

iterated assessments. More often than not, practitioners, audiences, crit

audiences in meaningful ways, thus bringing about its untimely demise

sions regarding the commodification of salsa (Katz 2005), the national

with discussions concerning salsa as a source of pan-Latino or transna

the passive consumers that industries perhaps expect them to be.

Consumption then, cannot be seen exclusively as a unidirectional process

racial meanings, as well as naturalizing or contesting gendered rela

tions." This dialectic between homogenizing or attenuating tendencies of

concerning this issue can generaUy be traced back to an unresolved

Le?n Mass Culture and Festejo

1998b) and Herbert Marcuse (1998) and the counterargument proposed

The bifurcation between the fates of coastal and Andean popular

were somewhat ethnically heterogeneous and included a sizable Afro-Peruvian minority

borhood styles, as well as the appropriation of this music for nationalist

purposes by the middle and upper sectors of Lime?o society, a process

and migrant regional associations?helped Andean musicians create a

studies on urban popular music of Andean origin, for example, chicha

non-Andean musical elements (e.g., Colombian, Caribbean, rock) as

These approaches have been useful in understanding how different

social groups in the twentieth century belonged to different historical and

cultural backgrounds and occupied different positions with the Lime?o

nation of the popular music associated with recent ?migr?s to Lima.

recently been associated with changes brought about by the "globaliza

Le?n Mass Culture and Festejo

I seek here to go beyond the continued affirmation of the above-men

mass-mediated musical environment in which it is performed. In this

the revolutionary (i.e., resistive) and the decadent (i.e., hegemonic). At

the dynamics involved in this negotiation. This is a fluid and actively

nature of mass culture and its ability either to empower or to compromise

Afro-Peruvian music provides a particularly useful case study with

which to reevaluate some of the assumptions regarding the relationship

ly, and aesthetically in opposition to mestizo and indigenous practices

the ways in which musicians evaluated perceived positive and negative

I first give some background on the popularization of Afro-Peruvian

with mass media.

The Festejo and the Lime?o Popular Culture

by a brisk compound-duple rhythmic accompaniment, festive song

social, ideological, and economic changes that affected the context of

sound to appreciative non-Afro-Peruvian audiences. What began as a

success story, however, appears to have quickly careened out of control.

In retrospect, many professional musicians and critics have concluded

capitalism and institutionalized teaching and performance led to the

commodification of this genre and other forms of Afro-Peruvian music.

Le?n Mass Culture and Festejo

Performance opportunities, recording contracts, and teaching possibili

Nonetheless, Afro-Peruvian music's mass-media presence and expo

nomic stability in Peru once again opened up opportunities for Afro

make a living solely by playing, teaching, and recording music. The

commercially successful formulaic arrangements have left the Afro

listeners. Nevertheless, Afro-Peruvian musicians have maintained a

community in Peru. Most recently, the international recognition achieved

and dancers, who oftentimes perform mstrurnental versions to create

obics combined with karate), was designed as an aerobic workout in

which modified steps loosely inspired by Afro-Peruvian dances were per

Le?n Mass Culture and Festejo

regardless of whether contemporary performers feel that their predeces

point for reinterpretations of the genre. Consequently, contemporary

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