Interacting with the local environment of Cusco really is nothing short of a multi-sensory experience. Sounds are one of the key identifying factors of a place. Something I immediately noticed when coming to Peru was how different the car alarms are here compared to the US and also the frequency with which people honk. These are only two introductory examples but are interesting to me because they are ways that a sonic experience can be used to determine where in the world one is beyond just local music. In this blog, I’d like to share some interesting musical/sonic encounters I have had which I think are worth examining.
Late night music (often American?), fireworks, and celebration
Late night music is not an uncommon occurrence in Cusco. The apartment across from one hotel we stayed at had music every night in addition to various street performers and restaurant live music. What is curious is that most of this music is mainstream American pop music. This undoubtedly says something about the tourist culture and importance of Americans for the local economy. The sound of fireworks is also very frequent at night along with the sounds of firecrackers in the morning. These sounds are important to examine because they possibly tell us about the time of year (Corpus Christi) and how it is celebrated. Nights here are not quiet, so it is interesting to think about what causes the noise.
2. The terrible singer we encountered at a pizza place (apparently this isn't entirely unusual)
One night while getting dinner, we were approached by a panhandler with a boom box. He was singing along (quite terribly) to a karaoke version of a lyrical Spanish song. It was interesting to me to see how much this disrupted the ambience of the restaurant and that the owners allowed the man to do this. We learned after this dinner that this kind of “impromptu karaoke” is actually a common form of panhandling in Cusco. It was interesting to learn about the use of music for this purpose.
3. The strong influence of Caribbean music and the live drummer who performed it
While in restaurants and places that were actually playing Latin music, it became quickly apparent that most of the music they were playing was of globally popular Caribbean styles like Reggaeton and Bachata. One night on the walk home from dinner, I observed a man playing drums live at a restaurant with a track of a Salsa tune going on behind him. Additionally, our Peruvian bus driver for much of our first excursion listened to almost exclusively Salsa on the radio. What these observations illustrated to me is the idea of the “latin identity” and its transcendence into South America through music. Even though Peruvians do not come from the same area where this music is being produced, it is very possible that they are still able to identify with it.
4. Traditional music of the Andes and its portrayal in other contexts
The "campesino festival" we observed one day after class
A group of men I saw sitting at a cafe playing traditional stringed instruments (and foolishly forgot to photograph)
Traditional music in Peru consists of both lute and wind instruments. Both of these have been observable in traditional settings where music is played throughout Cusco.
Beyond the scope of Cusco, we also learned about the importance of sound with regards to Quechua religious practices. The use of Pututos before Sunday mass was a very interesting experience to observe, particularly since so many aspects of this culture are connected to spirituality. While music and sound may mean one thing in American culture, it may mean something else entirely in Andean culture. I think that “something” is not necessarily observable as an outsider.
Another thought I had was about noise pollution and nature. On our second excursion on the mountain in Pisac, we saw a group of tourists screaming into the wind for their own enjoyment because of the echo effect created by the mountains. What does noise created by tourists mean for the rest of the Andes landscape?
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