South American music and culture magazine

In Latin America mass demonstrations are putting at risk huge energy, mining and infrastructure projects. Thousands of peasants occupied the Azul, Mamacocha, Chailhuagon and Perol lakes, in the Cajamarca region of Peru. The Conga mining project proposes to relocate them, but the people fear losing their access to water. Continue Reading

As the world continues to grow and expand at what seems like an unimaginable rate, so do our relationships. And it is these relationships, which we rely on heavily, that spawn our need to feel accepted and loved. Yet with the rapid expansion of our societies, it seems almost impossible to discover that kind of sublime euphoria of brotherhood — our responsibility to care for others, as well as be cared for, has inflated in the globalised world, and can seem like an overwhelming burden. Continue Reading

It seems like a while since we last featured chicha on the site, which is why we thought we’d bring you this little mix of tracks off The Roots of Chicha releases for this week’s mix. Continue Reading

The Inca Trail is one of the most popular tourist attractions for anyone visiting Peru. Here we take a look at some of the various routes that people can take to reach Machu Picchu, highlighting routes for all abilities and interest levels as well as for people looking to trek the more obscure paths. Continue Reading

In 2000, Ollanta Humala led an unsuccessful military rebellion against Peru’s then-President Alberto Fujimori. Six years later, the left-wing nationalist entered the political realm, losing to Alan Garcia in the presidential runoff. Continue Reading

I arrived in LAX [Los Angeles International Airport] from Jorge Chaves International in 1991. I brought with me my tapes of Eva Ayllon and some of Arturo Cabero. The music I was taking with me was a symbol for me to come back one day. I was told life in the north was promising and the opportunity of having a better education was open to everybody. I stayed in the US until 2005. On December of that year I arrived back in Lima after 14 years… Yeah! 14 years! Continue Reading

I once heard a Sociologist at UC Berkeley say that the left is always the right way. Latin America seems to be taking this seriously. The tendency to go left has become obvious in the choices the Latin American people have been making. Continue Reading

Three Amazon indigenous leaders have travelled to London to rally public, press and government support of their communities’ fight against socially and environmentally destructive mega-dams planned for the Amazon basin. Continue Reading

Crisálida Sónica is a record that came out of a nascent Peruvian avant-garde scene in 1997. It highlighted a new breed of Peruvian music, influenced by the woozy shoegaze of The Telescopes and Slowdive, the seminal krautrock of Can and Kluster and the exploits of bands such as Spacemen 3, My Bloody Valentine and other records released by labels such as 4AD and Creation Records. Noticeably, all of these bands combined a knowledge of pop music along with a policy of not adherring to it, preferring to create their own sonic collages. The notion of a verse/chorus/verse structure was obliterated, replaced by extended structures that prioritised texture and feel. It was from this template that Crisálida Sónica took its roots, and became the name for the movement its record showcased. Continue Reading

Coinciding on our extended article on the Crisálida Sónica movement in Peru we are very happy to also post this compilation. Crisálida Sónica is the name given to both a record/demo that came out in Peru in 1997 and the scene which that record represented. This scene, which emerged in Lima in the early 90s and continues to this day represents an alternative style of music, taking cues from krautrock, shoegaze, eletronica and indie-rock, at the same time as acknowledging avant-garde musicians such as John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen. It made for an invigorating, often challenging movement which continues to this day. Continue Reading

When grapes came to the New World in the 16th century, first to the Parras, Coahuila, Mexico and later to Peru, Chile and elsewhere in South America, it was with the fervent devotees of the True Cross and the conquistadores. Whilst one was exercised in proselytizing the indigenous population, the other was setting up encomiendas (tribute in the form of labour etc.) and trousering the glittering prizes. What wine there was to be had – was devotional rather than recreational.

The origins of pisco, linguistically at least, come from the Quechua word for little bird, pisqu. The Pisco Valley, 150 miles south of Lima, the port of Pisco and the Ica region in which they lie – are at the heart of the origin, production and exportation of pisco.
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As the guitarist to the left of me strummed the opening chords of the song we had been practising for weeks, the nerves suddenly struck me.

I was standing in the middle of a stage that I had helped to build that very day, in front of a few hundred Peruvians, preparing to sing in Spanish. If I remembered how to pronounce the words, that is.

Pisco Unido, a one day celebration of music, dance and all things Peruvian, was the brainchild of an Australian volunteer at Pisco Sin Fronteras (PSF), a Peruvian NGO set up to help reconstruct the town of Pisco after a devastating earthquake hit the region in August 2007. Continue Reading