Eloy Antonio Neira de la Cadena (University of California, Riverside)
Mestizaje is a subject being addressed by pop music composers in Peru recently, like in the song “Yanaruna” by Afro-Andean musician Miguel Ballumbrosio (MB). In this song, the lyrics tell a shared history of Afro and Indigenous Peruvians, their roots, and their current political struggles, while the music braids Afro and Andean instrumentation, rhythmic patterns, and singing styles, among other features that celebrate diversity and encounter. This paper addresses MB’s treatment of mestizaje in dialogue with Bolivian scholar Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui’s category “ch’ixi,” paying attention to the convergence of aesthetics and politics and its revival in Peruvian folklore.
Part of 04-05 Roots and Routes: Political and Cultural Borders in Latin American Music-Making, Friday, November 03, 8:30 am–10:00 am