The Soul of Black Peru

Music Artists: Afro-Peruvian Classics

This is secret music a collection of beautiful songs and infectious grooves that's been hidden for years in the coastal towns and barrios of Peru. It's not the guys with flutes and drums in wooly hats, it's music of the black Peruvian communities. African Peruvians? Yes, Peru was, involved in the slave trade too and this wonderful, funky music is part of that legacy.

This Music survived (barely) within the black communities, and was not accepted outside of those communities, (very much like rock and roll was not accepted in the early 1950's in the United States, it was called jungle or devil music) until the spark of black pride, ignited in the 1960's, caught fire in the 70's and 80's. Now, in the 90's, this music is the pride of Peru, cassettes of it are sold on the street alongside techno, Megadeath and Andean folk groups. And while it maintains its funky roots, it has attracted the creative talents of the best contemporary, musicians, writers and poets who have furthered the evolution, growth and spread of this music.

Cassette Only