I have recently gained a particular interest in African descendants in the various countries of Latin America. I recently learned that there is a small percentage of Afro-Peruvians who generally reside in the coastal areas of Peru and can trace their roots way back to the 1500s when their ancestors were taken to Peru as slaves.Afro-Peruvian dance is really amazing to watch. It is the perfect nexus Latin and African music and dance bringing in a lot of traditional Western African dance moves.
The San Francisco based group De Rompe y Raja does an amazing job of not only preserving this heritage but showcasing it to the rest of us sitting in the dark. If I lived in S.F. I would definitely be taking dance! In fact, according to Peruanista, there is a similar group in my own neck of the woods...now I just need to find a class!
Click here to see a great video of De Rompe y Raja performance and here to learn more about Afro-Peruvian music and dance.
*All pics from Flickr
2 comments:
Love this post! The African element of Latin American cultures is what's always drawn me to the region. If you like what you see in Peru, you'll love places where the culture is much more thoroughly ingrained, like Cuba, Venezuela, the DR, and Brazil.
Very interesting! I knew nothing of Afro-Peruvian culture. Since I live in SF, I am going to have to find this group. Thanks so much for the post!
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