After the Opening Ceremony of the 2015 Folklife Festival, 100 Cajoneros—an ensemble of Peruvians living in the United States—welcomed the Perú: Pachamama program to the National Mall.
One of the origin theories behind Marinera dance is the story of a soldier who, when riding through a village in coastal Peru, noticed a beautiful young woman.
Heavy rain shortened our Independence Day programming at the Folklife Festival, but visitors who braved the weather were able to see music, dance, and crafts traditions from across Peru.
The Ballumbrosio family and other members of the Afro-Peruvian group Tutuma invite visitors to join in this celebration as they provide the soundtrack: guitars, various percussion, a rattling quijada donkey jawbone, and infectious group vocals.
During the first Festival Community Day at the 2015 Festival, Peruvian dancer Steve Cotaquispe, who was born in Ayacucho, came from New York to present the danza de las tijeras—the scissors dance.
The Folklife Festival grounds filled to the brim on this federal holiday, as thousands of tourists and D.C. residents got an intimate view of some of Peru’s cultural heritage and continued a nonstop schedule of artisan workshops and lively performances.
Of the many animals significant to Peruvian traditional culture, one is especially celebrated in the Andes: the alpaca. Smaller than their llama cousins, alpacas are too small to use as pack animals
The members of Afro-Peruvian dance group Tutuma use their feet as percussion instruments with tap-like zapateo steps that have evolved from the historical dance traditions of enslaved Africans in Peru.
The Festival’s seventh day brought many important guests. The new Secretary of the Smithsonian , David Skorton, spent his second day on the job exploring the Perú: Pachamama program.
Most Americans think of “constellations” as linear figures drawn by connecting individual stars. We often associate them with Greek or Roman myths, but many other cultures attach their own stories to shapes they see in the night sky.