Peru’s cultural history

Peruvian music may not be well-known internationally, but many Peruvian waltzes and other classic songs have played an important role in Peruvian culture. With thousands of festivals each year, Peruvians often enjoy their traditional music while celebrating historical figures and anniversaries. When it comes to the coastal music of Peru, one of the most beloved Peruvian singer/songwriters is Chabuca Granda. Her most famous song is “La Flor de la Canela,” which many consider to be the most popular Peruvian waltz of all time.

Peruvians celebrate many Christian holidays and festivals each year. In Peru, October is known as el mes morado, or “the purple month” because religious Christians wear purple as they take part in processions celebrating El Señor de los Milagros, the Lord of Miracles, a Peruvian image of Jesus Christ. It is said that in 1651, a newly converted African slave painted the image on the wall of a building in the Pachacamilla area of Peru. Other slaves started to flock to the painting, leaving gifts and praying in front of it. In 1655, an earthquake hit the area, destroying all of the walls of the building except the one with the image of Jesus Christ, but it went unnoticed by the general public. In 1670, a local man found the image and built a shrine around it, and was reportedly cured of a life-threatening tumor due to his devotion. At that point, the public began to worship the image, and church authorities began to worry it would negatively affect the order within the church. They ordered several painters to cover the image, but none of them could bring themselves to do it, so they eventually built a church at the site, which is now called the Las Nazarenas Church. Supposedly, another earthquake hit the area in 1687, and again the one wall with the image survived. A painting of the image was taken out for a procession for the first time in October of that year. “El Señor de los Milagros de Nazarenas” was named the patron saint of Lima in 1715, and is still celebrated each October. If you travel to Peru during this time, you may see the processions of Christians wearing purple, celebrating this miraculous image. 

Peruvians celebrate many festivals throughout the year. A particularly important one will be celebrated this week in Lima – the Feast Day of Saint Rose of Lima on August 30th. She is said to have been a very beautiful young woman who refused marriage and devoted herself to a life of solemn life of prayer and charitable work. She is the patron saint of Lima and of Peru, the Americas, the Philippines, India, anyone who is ridiculed for their piety, and gardeners and florists. She was the first Catholic saint of the Americas, often depicted wearing a crown of roses, with the Holy Infant at her side. This week, people throughout Peru and America will celebrate Saint Rose with special masses and gatherings.

The vast empire that the Incas established was nearly unprecedented. While the Incas certainly were capable of using violence when necessary to further their cause, they also used a sophisticated strategy, always attempting to absorb neighboring villages instead of destroying them. They did this by sending out emissaries to the next targeted province, including one or two princes from the royal families. The meeting of these two parties consisted of the newly arrived Incans offering two alternatives to the region’s inhabitants. One option was to arrange for these princes to marry two of the high ranking females in the society, as a sign of commitment that the incoming rulers would respect and care for the people of the town. In response to a rejection of that offer, an attack would ultimitely result in triumph through the death and destruction of their citizens.  Needless to say, many of the towns and villages saw the wisdom of merging into the growing Incan empire, allowing a great deal of its expansion to take place swiftly and peacefully. Today, a trip to Peru shows visitors that the Inca culture shaped the country that exists today.

There’s no doubt that Peruvians are a happy group of people. In fact a recent survey was taken in Peru and the results showed that over 63% of the people reported being happy or very happy. Over 93 % said that having family meals together was a significant factor in their happiness and eight out of ten Peruvians have family meals together.  As is true in most countries, meal time is the time that Peruvians express and share their thoughts and values, and most Peruvians have good emotional health, which means they feel good about who they are and what they do. They take responsibility for themselves and appreciate the life they experience.

The family unit is an extended one. It includes all family members as well as friends and neighbors. Peruvians share and express love easily and are in general, Peruvians are religious , giving thanks to God for everything in life. The connection between a Catholic God and his children is significant to the Peruvians. Listen to some typically folkloric Peruvian music to experience the motivator that gets Peruvians up and dancing at any family celebratiion, including baby showers and birthday parties.  Better yet, buy a plane ticket to Peru and let the people show you what happiness is.

There is more to learn about Peru than just what the Incas left behind, or how Spaniards affected the people. There is even more to know than just that Peru is the site of one of the most ancient civilizations in the world. From the time man first learned how, people have found a way to travel to Peru.

Beginning about 3000 BCE the Norte Chico built cities in Peru. While archeologists originally believed they were a fishing society, new discoveries have shown older cities inland from the sea. The Norte Chico or Caral were a pre-ceramic civilization and are considered to have been one of the seven cradles of civilization in the world. This early society left platform mounds and sunken circular plazas behind to remind us of their passing.

The Inca culture rose to prominence after the Caral and much of the Incan influence on the Peruvian society is still felt in their efforts to maintain their independence from other nations and their wonderful sense of the world. In fact, Peruvian artisans honor this influence in the fine jewelry they craft from native elements of their lands.

The first thing any child learns of Peru is of the Spanish conquest. This was a dark time for the Peruvian people as they were enslaved and forced to work in their own silver mines for someone else’s profit. Along with the Spanish came people travelled from Africa and Asia to settle and become part of life in Peru.

Peru has struggled since the late eighteen hundreds to secure and preserve their nation. Despite economic, financial, and political obstacles they’ve never lost sight of their dream. Today, as more of their artisans are exporting their work for profit, and more people strive to find a way to travel to Peru to experience this nation’s rich and diverse history, their dream is slowly being realized.