TRAVEL DIARY: Peru 2020
by Alex Pertout
This summer I was blessed with the remarkable opportunity of travelling to Peru and immersing myself in this country’s rich cultural offerings. Musically is an amalgamation of styles and instruments drawing on Peruvian Andean, Spanish and African roots. My specific focus was to be on the Afro-Peruvian musical landscape. It was in this setting that I met cultural bearers, creative practitioners, instrument makers and attended wide-ranging folkloric performances.
I also visited noteworthy museums, galleries, as well as landmark wonders connected with the remarkable Inca civilisation of this vast and diverse country. I spent time fervently researching all I could on a Peruvian percussion instrument which is arguably the most adaptable percussion instrument on the planet; the cajon. An instrument capable to engage in any music setting, a fact clearly illustrated by now with its evident and rock-solid participation in musical forms from world, folk, pop, rock, funk, jazz to orchestral. This is also evident by the enthusiastically endorsement of the cajon by drummers and percussionists as well as by drum manufacturers worldwide.
My base in Lima was the fascinating suburb of Miraflores, which neighbours Barranco. These are both historic seaside suburbs that offer a wide-ranging selection of first class gastronomic pleasures, architectural wonders, museums, galleries, bookshops, parks, bars and music venues, including ones that present traditional Peruvian music, known as peñas. In terms of food, Peru boasts an internationally award winning culinary reputation and the ceviche; raw fish cooked in lemon and leche de tigre (tiger's milk; a citrus-based marinade that cures the seafood) is a must-try, and we certainly did more then once, at the fabulous ‘Mi Barrunto’ in La Victoria. Yet another Peruvian offering apart from their special approach to Japanese cuisine is the local take on Chinese cuisine known as chifa.
Around Plaza De Mayo, in the historic centre of Lima is where you find all the music shops. The precinct is unbelievable, there are at list sixty music shops, one after the other, which sell anything you may desire, from guitars, harps, pianos, synths to amps, drum kits and of course, cajones. Thanks to my personal connections with local percussionist Julio Tirado and legendary drummer-percussionist Alex Acuña (himself a native Peruvian), I was able to connect with an array of outstanding practitioners. I attended as many performances as possible. Some were staged at noted jazz club Jazz Zone which once a week features a ‘musica criolla’night. This is essentially a creole night dedicated to authentic traditional Afro-Peruvian music.
This is where I was privileged to hear cajonero Pepe Santa Cruz and percussionist Luis Torres performing with vocalist Lessia Limas. In Barranco I attended the famed 'Peña Don Porfirio', which is exceptional. It presents a weekly show that supports the preservation of Afro Peruvian culture. A festive atmosphere welcomes its patrons, in a non-stop music night featuring two bands and dancers. On this particular night there was a trio led by Javier Hernandez on vocals and cajon and a band featuring energetic cajonero Pedro ‘Perico’ Diaz. Throughout the night a couple of dancers showcased an array of traditional genres including; marinera, zamacueca, vals, lando and festejo.
One of my other goals was also to record some new music in Lima. I spent some time with Ernesto Hermoza, a remarkable guitarist with an illustrious career, who possesses that innate profound touch Latin American musicians have for melody and rhythm. With Hermoza I had the utmost pleasure to record a new personal work prearranged for the occasion at his studio in Surco. Hermoza also organised for Monica Gastelumendi, an impressive and highly regarded vocalist with a stunning flawless gentle sound to come in and overdub the various vocal parts I had written, a delight.
Through Acuña I connected with Leonardo ‘Gigio’ Pardo, one of the finest Peruvian percussionists in the world. Parodi possesses an extremely refined approach to the instrument. His extremely delicate touch reveals not only his artistry and mastery, but also the potential of the cajon as a solo instrument. I also had a chance to spend valuable time with cajoneros Julio Tirado and Pepe Santa Cruz, delving into their insights on the rhythmic principles of Afro-Peruvian music culture. With Tirado I also had a chance to visit the A Tempo cajon factory. Situated in the outskirts of Lima, the building produces Peru’s top range of cajones, as well as a selection of percussion instruments. Yet another highlight was a visit to the Museo Nacional Afro Peruano where on display were the various local percussion instruments; cajon, cajita, cencerro and quijada, as well as artworks depicting the Peruvian African slave trade era.
From Lima I travelled to Cusco. Peru offers an array of interesting destinations. One of the most fascinating of course is the site of the ancient Inca remains of Machu Picchu. This is a UNESCO World Heritage site, secluded at an elevation of 2,340 meters in the Andes Mountains. To arrive there we travelled by air from Lima to the charming historical city of Cusco. From there it took a bus and train combination to reach Aguas Calientes, the town that lies at the foot of the site. An early morning bus zigzagging up the mountain then takes you directly to the site. As soon as you enter you feel overwhelmed, it is surreal. Stunning views of the Andean mountain range and of the Urubamba River down below are just extraordinary. This along with the serene ambiance of the place amplified somewhat by the peaceful llamas that stroll gently around, make it a sublime experience.
Back in Lima and through the assistance of guitarist Hermoza I was able to meet and spend some time with one the most celebrated Afro-Peruvian artists Susana Baca. Baca is a two-time Latin Grammy Award winning singer, arranger, producer, educator, ethnomusicologist an ex-Minister of Culture and one of the principal exponents of Afro-Peruvian music. On her invitation I spent a morning in her home in Chorrillos, gaining invaluable first-hand insights into this fascinating musical world.
According to Baca the cajon was not what you observe today, as she recalled during her youth her home environment consisted of regular music nights and when the music would start “I would run to see what was happening, who was making the music, and there were people playing guitars and singing, but the most curious thing I remember is that there was no cajon as a particular instrument. I asked my mother ‘when did you see the cajon?’ And she told me ‘no, the cajon didn't exist, you remember when you were a young girl, when friends came over, they use to just take the cutlery drawer out of the pantry and play on that.’ But my mother also told me that she remembers a man who worked as a fruit crate loader in the local market. That was in a black neighbourhood of Lima called Malambo. My mother would visit the market after work and would see this man that at the end of the day would sit and play on those empty fruits crates. In those days those wooden crates were solid all round, not the slate variety you see nowadays.” Baca recalls that much later, Radio Nacional used to present a morning show with live music and by then the cajon was complete, as we know it today. She also mentioned that during that time it was incorporated into the popular style known as vals criollo. As she explains “during this morning show, while the musicians rehearsed songs with the various singers, there was always a cajon player specifically there to play on the Afro-Peruvian numbers. It was during this period that the cajon was first used in a vals and entered into the vals repertoire. The old valses were played with just three guitars, there was no percussion.”
For those of you that may be captivated but at the same time somewhat perplexed by the seamless connection of the cajon in the Spanish flamenco ensemble, let me share with you that this is only a recent inclusion. As Baca recounted “I was present when they gave Paco de Lucia one as a gift.” World-renown flamenco guitarist, composer, producer Paco De Lucia - the artist responsible for its Spanish emergence - was touring Peru with his ensemble in 1977. As de Lucia later observed in an interview, he had been searching incessantly for a potential percussive sound source to incorporate into the Spanish flamenco ensemble, “as soon as I heard it, I thought that’s it,” he further explained that after exposing it to audiences back in Spain, “six months later, it was everywhere!” The Spanish have in time started to manufactured cajones by adding additional embellishments, such as adjustable strings, multiple playing surfaces and snare type mechanism. Some of these additions giving the instrument a brighter edge, in the high tonal areas. The Peruvian cajon has a somewhat drier sound. In the main the players I witnessed develop an extremely refined upper edge technique, using fingers on the edge of the drum, in order to extract an array of high tones, as exemplified in the output of players such as Leonardo ‘Gigio’ Parodi.
In conversations with Baca she observed that her preferred cajon player is “one that possesses a deep inner feeling, one that has a thorough understanding of the rhythmic styles, one that does not fill in so much,” as she further explains “there are lots of good cajon players that fill too much, I call them ‘monkeys with shotguns’, I can’t stand them. I much prefer those that possess an inner rhythm, a musician who has that feeling deep inside to express, be aware of the rhythms and travel in that consciousness, while supporting an experiment in creation. Some play very loud, they evoke a piercing sound, they break cajones, some even say ‘yesterday I broke like two cajones!’ I am against those, they are not musicians.”
Baca is also not in favour of sound additions to the traditional source, “the manufacturing has changed as well, some put screws that when the surface is struck makes it vibrate. I had a percussionist rehearsing at my house using my cajon. When we met for a soundcheck at the theatre he proudly walks in with his own. He starts playing and the cajon was making these ‘kue, kue’ sounds and I said ‘what is that?’ and I had to say ‘no, no, no, I don't like that,’ we need to find another cajon, with that one, no.” As she reminisces on past experiences she recounted her fascinating performance with one of the masters of the cajon Julio ‘Chocolate’ Algendones. “Chocolate had such a beautiful sense of rhythm and the cajon was a cajon. I was invited to sing in a small theater, it was a concert with three singers and I was to explore a lando piece, worldless, just vocal sounds and it was with Chocolate, it was a delight. What a beautiful experience.”
In closing Baca told me “the cajon is an instrument that allows you to accompany many things, it’s very versatile; it can be used in any style. Its so wonderful that nowadays so many musicians around the world are incorporating the cajon. Musicians today are expressing their soul with this instrument, how lovely it is that it serves so many souls. The cajon has to be played by a musician. It has to be played with the softness and strength the person possesses, those two elements have to be in sync. I like the expression a musician can bring to the cajon. The musician though has to be immersed in the moment, feeling and listening to the music as it evolves, then it can really execute what his heart feels in that music. At the end, the most important thing to achieve, is to make music.”
My special thanks to Alex Acuña, Susana Baca, Julio Tirado, Ernesto Hermoza, Leonardo ‘Gigio’ Parodi and Pepe Santa Cruz. Heartfelt thanks to my son Julian for the wonderful photographs which document this exceptional journey.
Photographs by Julian Alexander Pertout
© 2020 Alex Pertout. Published by Drumscene Magazine​.