WHO: Chico Performances presents
WHAT: the dancers, singers and musicians of Peru Negro, performing Afro-Peruvian music
WHEN: on Tuesday, March 25, 2008
TIME: at 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: in Laxson Auditorium at California State University, Chico
COST/TICKETS: Premium $23, Adult $18, Senior $16, Student/Child $14
For more information please visit www.chicoperformances.com
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
"A showcase of Afro-Peruvian cultural traditions…imbued with unadulterated fun….and theatrical flair!" –Boston Globe
Few musical groups are steeped in rich history like Peru Negro. The more than 20 member ensemble plays traditional music stemming from the slave trade in colonial Peru, with symbolic melodies that have been preserved over the years by being passed down orally through the generations. And what a tradition it is. Peru Negro utilizes bright costumes and unconventional instruments to tell the story of Peru's complex and enriching black cultural traditions, which have only recently become familiar to Western society.
The group's sound is reminiscent of Latin American music like flamenco and salsa, although the rhythms that push through each song are played out on traditional Peruvian percussion instruments like discarded vegetable crates and donkey jaws.
In fact, slaves in colonial Peru learned to tap beats on a variety of hollowed objects after slave masters banned drums in an attempt to kill black musical culture. Slaves found that striking empty wooden crates could create a wide range of sounds. And a donkey jaw, with its rattling teeth, could be used as a shaker. These two makeshift instruments eventually became formal percussion tools for the new music of black Peru that arose despite the dissent of the slave masters.
`
Peru Negro has been performing this rich cultural music and dance now for more than 30 years and has had the opportunity to travel around the world. What started as a 12-piece family group has now doubled, but the Lima-based ensemble still considers itself family. Between the nieces, nephews, in-laws, grandkids and offspring of current and former members, Peru Negro never comes up shorthanded. They have enough talented dancers and musicians that the music will last decades more.
These activities are supported, in part, with funds provided by the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), and the National Endowment for the Arts.
