¿Todos somos mestizos?: the discourse of mestizaje among independent fusion musicians in Lima, Perú

• In Event: Música, Protestas y Mercado

Abstract

Peruvian marketing specialist Rolando Arellano predicted to Lima newspaper El Comercio that the 2017 census—the first since 1940 to include ethnicity as a variable—would show that Peruvians now see themselves as a nation of mestizos (León Almenara 2017). This reflects a popular discourse of inclusion in Peru often expressed as todos somos mestizos, which identifies all Peruvians as mixed race and therefore equal. However, here, the notion of mestizaje becomes a way of erasing differences and essentializing identities, similar to how it was used historically for nation building in Latin America. Many young independent musicians in Lima are using fusion music—a mix of autochthonous and global musical genres—as a way of sonically modelling a more inclusive society. Alongside these sonic appeals for inclusion, these musicians express a desire to “reclaim” the term mestizo from the way that it has been used historically. In this paper, I will analyze the discourses of mestizaje explored by Lima-based bands Crónica de Mendigos and Los Nómadas. My main material includes unpublished interviews with these bands from 2015, their Facebook fan pages, and selected songs. Although these bands’ discourse about mestizaje overlaps with the way this notion has been used for nation-building, I will argue that these young musicians are using this concept as a way of negotiating their own belonging as limeños with roots in other parts of Peru, legitimizing their musical projects, and celebrating cultural diversity.

Author

• Alissa Vik, NTNU