Negrura Peruana in Washington, DC
Date2005
Mediumborn digital photography
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineConnecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program collections
CopyrightIn Copyright
Object number2015.196.444.47-.53
DescriptionPhotographs of musicians and dancers from the Peruvian folk group Negrura Peruana in Washington, DC, where they performed at the Library of Congress and the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage.
NotesBiographical Note: Negrura Peruana performs the music and dance of Peru’s African and criollo population, originally living in the coastal area around Chincha south of the capital and later transplanted to the urban center of Lima. Enslaved Africans brought to Peru to work plantations eventually intermarried with Spanish settlers and native Indians, blending families, traditions, and music. African rhythms forbidden on drums could be played surreptitiously on packing boxes, giving rise to the signature instrument in the music of black Peru, the cajón. This music, a form of resistance to social and racial domination, always existed among those of African descent (currently numbering about two million, or one-twelfth the population), but did not become well known or popular in Peru until the 1990s.The music played by Negrura Peruana uses a small number of percussion instruments, including the cajón, the quijada de burro - the jaw of a mule, the campana - a cowbell, the cajita – a little box played by flipping its lid, conga drums, and bongos. Recently the group has added a guitar player. Songs often take a call and response form, with texts featuring storytelling, satire, and social commentary. The song Toro Mata, one of the most popular in the repertoire (recorded also by Celia Cruz), compares a black man to a bull trapped in a bullfight.
Negrura Peruana features four dancers in addition to the seven musicians. Dances representative of Afro-Peruvian culture include the festejo, a dance of celebration and sometimes competition between men; the landó, with a slower tempo possibly derived from a matrimonial dance with Angolan roots; the zamacueca as a more Spanish-influenced version of landó; and the alcatraz, which tells a humorous story with two dancers trying to light a piece of cloth on their back ends – or avoid being lit. Growing up in Lima, members of the group heard and played these styles all their lives, with music as a central part of community celebrations, gatherings, and informal competitions. Although they are not professionally trained musicians, their performances show a deep love for the music and a spontaneous but highly skilled mastery of the complex rhythms, accents, and phrasings especially when accompanying the dancers.
Members of Negrura Peruana immigrated from Lima to the Hartford area of Connecticut in the late 1980s and early 1990s, seeking work. The first performance by Gustavo Chavez and Carlos Navarro took place in 2002 at Central Connecticut State University, when they were invited to demonstrate Afro-Peruvian music during the performance of a local Andean-Peruvian group. Since then the full group has appeared at a number of high-profile venues, such as the concert by Afro-Peruvian music icon Eva Ayllón (nominated for a Grammy in 2002), and also at local events such as Hartford’s Latino Expo, Samba Fest at the Riverfront, and the opening of the new Africana Center and the Peru Club for students at Central Connecticut State University. They have participated in workshops in New York City with African-Peruvian musicians including some from the internationally known group Perú Negro, under the auspices of the Center for Traditional Music and Dance. They gave performances at the Ritmos Di Mi Tierra Peru celebration at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Hartford, and for several years as part of the World of Sounds Outdoor Concert Series of the Hartford Public Library. The Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program presented Negrura Peruana at the American Folklife Center and Kennedy Center Homegrown Concert Series in Washington DC in 2005, and those concerts can be seen online. Based in the Greater Hartford area, Negrura Peruana has been a popular band for festivals, special activities, and house parties throughout the large Peruvian community in Connecticut. The group was selected for the performing artists roster of the Connecticut Office of the Arts, and they performed at CCHAP’s Outdoor Concert in July 2017.
Additional materials exist in the CCHAP archive for these artists.
Cataloging Note: This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-245929-OMS-20.
Status
Not on view
John Monteiro
2005 June 19
Graciela Quiñones-Rodriguez
2004 February 21
