Centro Cultural Peru: Peruvian Cultural Heritage Night
Performance Series: Braddock Nights
Date: Thursday, August 07, 2008
Time: 7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Location: Ossian Hall Park
7900 Heritage Drive, Annandale, VA 22003
Peruvian Cultural Heritage Night

Description:
Celebrate Peru's cultural heritage with dancing, poetry reading, music, crafts and food.

Bio:
Thanks to the recent archaeological discoveries of musical instruments, experts now know that in Peru, music has been played at least as far back as 10,000 years ago. This ancient tradition created quenas, zampo�as, pututos (trumpets made from sea shells) and a wide variety of other wind instruments crafted from a range of materials such as cane, mud, bone, horns and precious metals, as well as various percussion instruments.

Contact with the other cultures introduced more instruments, which have been creatively adapted to the rhythmic and tonal needs of each region of the country. The clearest evidence is the many transformations that the harp, violin and guitar have undergone in the Peruvian highlands.

The encounter between the Andes and the Western World gave rise to 1,300 musical genres in Peru. Two have crossed the country's borders to become symbols of Peru's identity: the huayno and marinera.

THE MARINERA - This dance is a spin-off from the zamacueca and the mozamala. In 1893, Abelardo Gamarra dubbed the dance the "marinera" in homage to Peru's naval hero, Admiral Miguel Grau. The marinera has steadily gained a foothold in the country's culture. In 1938, the genre was presented at the Independence Day concert at Lima's Teatro Municipal. Today, there are marinera festivals held all over the country, although the best-known is held in January in Trujillo. The dance is performed in several styles, depending on its place of origin: marinera coste�a (the south coast), marinera serrana (the highlands) and marinera norte�a (the north). The dance is energetic, with elegant movements and a highly complex choreography of coordinated and synchronized sequences. Instruments used to perform the marinera lime�a include the guitar and caj�n, a box-shaped drum, while a full-blown marching band accompanies the marinera norte�a.

THE HUAYNO - The huayno is the most representative dance of the Andes, and its pre-colombian origins blended early on with Western influences, spreading into dozens of regional variations. The dance is done by couples who perform turns and movements featuring hops and a tap-like zapateo to mark time. Instruments used to accompany the huayno include the quena, charango, harp and violin. Some variations of the huayno involve marching bands, which have added trumpets, saxophones and accordions.

Today, Peru continues to assimilate new instruments such as synthesizers, electric guitars, drums and harmonicas. Local musicians are also creating new genres like chicha or Peruvian cumbia, which is enabling Peru's music to open up to new influences to expand both at home and abroad, beyond native folk music.

Rain Cancellations: For last minute performance cancellations due to inclement weather, call 703-324-SHOW (7469) one hour prior to the program start time.