More about "A Zest for Life," documentary about Afro-Peruvians

I've been thinking a lot recently about what I would say if someone asked me, "Why in the world would I be interested in watching a video about Afro-Peruvians?"

Well, because they are resourceful, resilient, and have a great sense of humor.  These are skills all of us could use.

Plus the music and dance are really cool:  great rhythms, music and dances that you've almost surely never seen before, and unique percussion instruments.  Then, there's the connection with the larger African diaspora, the parallels with African Americans, and the fact that this is a cross-over, a bridge if you will, between the Latino and the African American communities.

Some of those percussion instruments (and Lalo Izquierdo).

In other words, why WOULDN'T you be interested in watching a video about Afro-Peruvians.

To the best of my knowledge, my documentary film is the ONLY video about Afro-Peruvians to be found for an English-speaking public.  There are some good ones in Spanish, but they are not accessible to people who don't speak that language, which is one of the reasons I made mine.

So I hope you will forgive me for running on a bit about my documentary, A Zest for Life:  Afro-Peruvian Rhythms, a Source of Latin Jazz.  

On the DVD for Home Use, which is already available, we have the A Zest for Life documentary itself, plus a slide show.

For the Educational version (which will be out in late November or early December), we've added five Extras.  Three of these are interviews with Lalo Izquierdo, and he´s talking about Afro-Peruvian history.,  Lalo is a very charismatic man, and these interviews are great stuff!  Here is one of them.



One of the other two Extras is about the hatajo de negritos in el Carmen, Peru and the other, about Afro-Peruvian percussion instruments, especially the checo and the angara.  Here´s the one about the hatajo de negritos.


Due to time limitations on documentaries produced for television airing, in A Zest for Life I was only able to briefly mention the son de los diablos.  But just as the Centro Cultural Afroperuano San Daniel Carboni de el Carmen, Peru is doing wonderful work in keeping alive the tradition of the hatajos de negritos (SEE HERE), the Museo Afroperuano de Zaña is helping keep alive the son de los diablos, as THIS VIDEO makes clear.

And that´s it, about A Zest for Life.

OUR NEXT POST will be about Peru´s national museum dedicated to Afro-Peruvian history and culture.

Black Latinos' identity: black, Latino, or both?

On reading various articles and first-hand accounts, watching some relevant videos on YouTube, and otherwise investigating the topic, I’ve learned that black Latinos have as much and in fact probably greater problems in being accepted as do African Americans.  

According to people of African descent who come from Panama, Peru, Columbia and other countries of central and South America, in their native land they are not considered Latino, and are not felt to truly be a part of their homeland’s culture.  In the United States, they are asked to choose between being black and being Latino.

Jesús López dancing in the hatajo de negritos.  Photo:  Lidia López

In our documentary, A Zest for Life:  Afro-Peruvian Rhythms, a Source of Latin Jazz, I note that Afro-Peruvians have their own culture just as Peruvians from indigenous communities have theirs.  But although Peruvians from indigenous communities certainly have been discriminated against and marginalized in ways similar to the treatment accorded Afro-Peruvians, indigenous peoples are considered “Peruvian.”  Afro-Peruvians have sometimes had a problem convincing others that they, too, and “Peruvian.”

I want to distinguish here between the past and the present.  The current government in Peru is notable for its interest in providing equality to all Peruvians, and not only accepting but also celebrating the various different ethnic groups and their unique history, culture and contributions.  But this new government has only been in office for a very few years, and so there is still much left to be done before all Peruvians will receive equality of treatment and have equal opportunities.

And in many Latin American countries, the government is not so enlightened.  Furthermore, the ordinary man – or woman – in the street is often even less enlightened.  For many Latinos, skin color is considered pretty important, and the lighter the skin, the more acceptable the person.  This view is even held by many Latinos of African descent.

This kind of marginalization and lack of acceptance is something that many African Americans can relate to.  This is only one of the important parallels between black Latinos (including Afro-Peruvians) and African Americans.

OUR NEXT POST will be about the National Museum of Afro-Peruvian Culture in Lima, Peru.