Monday, July 30, 2007

Viva Peru!


In honor of the Peruvian Independence day, which was this past Saturday, I wanted to post some videos showing a little of the Peruvian culture, namely of the music and traditional dance.

This video is a showcase of a dance called "huayno." I love this kind of music. As I was growing up, my mom would throw her tapes on and clean house to them, all the while singing along. So I have some fond memories that go along with this video. Especially of this particular song, because it was a favorite in the family. My dad would always whistle this song and make up his own lyrics about us!







This next video is of a rendition of "El Condor Pasa," an old Peruvian song. I also grew up hearing this song, and to me, it represents Peruvian music. It is by far my favorite Peruvian song--beautiful and sad in the beginning, then happy and upbeat in the end. I didn't know Simon and Garfunkel had their own version. The instrumentation in their song sounds more like the original than the video below, but not so sure about their lyrics!




Another one (kinda cheesy) showing the traditional garb:





Here is a video of Quichua Mashis. They can always be seen at NW Folk Life in Seattle. In fact, I think this video is shot at Folk Life! Although they are not Peruvian (they are Ecuadorian) they play traditional Andean music that is also prevalent in Peru.




All these memories make me crave Peruvian food. I could use some of my mom's home cooking right about now. Peruvian food in Seattle can be enjoyed at El Chalan.

1 comment:

Rae said...

I always liked that Simon & Garfunkel song, but I never knew it was a rip-off! I enjoyed listening to that one...altho I'm sure the better quality recordings would be astounding. Viva Peru! was quite an informative post for this former hick-town white girl. =)