Sonidos del Pacífico Sur: cultura plebeya y transnacionalidad en la música criolla peruana

Abstract

The rhythmic core of the zamacueca, an enigmatic and fascinating genre, occupies a central place in the popular music of the South American Pacific and forms part of what is known today as Peruvian criolla music. In his article Between the Jewel and the Pearl of the Pacific. Zamacueca, Chilean cueca, and Lima marinera: plebeian culture and transnationality (1880–1920), Dr. Ignacio Ramos Rodillo examines the Lima–Callao–Valparaíso–Santiago circuit and argues that the concept of “plebeian culture,” although not always clearly defined, is nevertheless useful for understanding how popular culture has been historically shaped in a context in which modernization is an inevitable phenomenon.

Ramos Rodillo highlights the role of Lima as a center of cultural radiation from the Viceroyal period to the present, particularly through his analysis of the rhythmic core of the zamacueca. The notion of transnationality, linked to cultural circulation, does not represent a threat but rather a mechanism of continuity and revitalization of popular traditions. Peruvian criolla music, understood as a form of “high popular culture,” demonstrates how shared cultural elements between Peru and Chile do not divide but instead connect and strengthen sociocultural ties, acting as a favorable agent of integration.

This approach opens new perspectives for studies on the influence of Peruvian popular music on Chilean music, as well as on their shared origins and their projection toward a common present and future within the horizon of the South Pacific.