11 DANCES AND TYPICAL DANCES OF THE PERUVIAN COAST - ART - 2025

Many are the typical dances and dances of the Peruvian coast, among others the lando, the washerwomen, the zamacueca, the zapateo, the son of the devils, the alcatraz, the inga, the tondero or the Lima marinera.

With the arrival of the Spanish conquerors to America, in the 15th century, a process of miscegenation began that lasted three centuries and that developed a process of cultural exchange.

Tondero, one of the best known dances in Peru

Despite the oppressed position of the black slaves who served their masters during the Peruvian viceroyalty, their traditions not only remained, but were strengthened, largely thanks to the brotherhoods.

The brotherhoods were a type of brotherhood, devoted to a particular saint, in which they worked for the physical and cultural well-being of a community.

The Catholic Church created exclusive brotherhoods for slaves and, thanks to these, the songs and dances of the black race managed to stay alive.

These songs and dances, in addition to those that later originated on the Peruvian coast, used percussion instruments such as the tamborete, cajitas and donkey jaws.

Most popular dances of the Peruvian coast

1- Lando

It comes from Angola, a country located in Central Africa. The lando belongs to black folklore and came to America when the colonists introduced slaves, giving rise to African-American dances.

Men and women perform a dance with the contortion of their bodies, in which the movement of the belly is emphasized, to the rhythm of drums and other percussion instruments.

Men and women dance barefoot in a festive and joyful attitude, dressed in simple and colorful costumes. Usually men wear hats.

2- Washerwomen

The batea, a large wooden container, used to carry clothes to the laundry room, is essential in this type of dance.

The women wear it on their head as they move their hips and pretend to do their chores. The dance is accompanied by instruments such as robes, bells, boxes and donkey jaw.

3- Zamacueca

This dance comes from the lando and is characterized by accentuating the pelvic movements in a kind of erotic dance that takes place in the middle of a large party.

The cultural miscegenation in Lima between gypsies and mulattos in the mid-nineteenth century, originated this type of dance that in a love ritual highlights the obsession of a man with a woman. During it, a special game is made with handkerchiefs that decorate the procession.

4- Zapateo

This dance arrived in South America in the early seventeenth century from Spain. It was initially adopted by the gaucho inhabitants of Argentina and Chile and later reached Peru.

In synchrony with the sound of the guitar, the clapping and the wooden box, the dancers stomp, respecting the rules of the dance, in a style similar to Spanish flamenco.

It is danced in a group to the rhythm of soft chords, starring the dancers to demonstrate their ability to tap.

5- They are from the Devils

Accompanied by guitars, boxes and donkey jaws, the dancers make a representation that walks through the streets, being led by the Devil. They generally wear red suits and many wear the leader's mask.

Acrobatic movements, colorful costumes, and constant tapping to the beat of drums are the characteristics of this type of dance performed on the occasion of Corpus Christi.

6- Alcatraz

This type of dance belongs to the celebration (described below) and is performed in pairs. The man and the woman compete to set fire to the cornet, a kind of paper cone that their partner has attached to the back of his suit.

Accompanied by the guitar, the cajon, the donkey jaw and the palms, the dancers prevent the fire from igniting by using a quick movement of the hips.

7- Inga

It belongs to the genre of the celebration and takes place around the presence of a doll. The dancers and singers surround the person who carries the doll in his arms and he dances happily in the center of the group.

At a certain moment he passes it on to another dancer, and this is how this joyous dance takes place, which has an erotic cut due to the movement of the bodies.

The guitar and the wooden box are the most used instruments in this type of dance.

8- Tondero

This type of dance is performed in the north of the Peruvian coast. The purpose is to pay homage to nature and reproduce the mating and falling in love of birds.

The tondero is a very artistic dance due to the plasticity and harmony of the movements and conveys a festive and joyful atmosphere.

9- Celebration

It is known as "the dance of the waist", for the accelerated and erotic movements that women especially achieve.

It is one of the oldest genres to reach the Peruvian coast and seems to be the origin of dances mentioned above such as the alcatraz, the inga, lando and washerwomen.

10- Lima Marinera

It comes from the zamacueca and is executed in pairs. The man constantly expresses his coquetry, trying to show the woman his strength and intelligence while she responds with suggestive and mischievous movements.

To perform this type of dance a more formal wardrobe is used. The man wears a suit, a white shirt, a tie, black shoes and a handkerchief, while the woman wears an elegant dress with a round skirt.

As instruments he uses the guitar, the cajon and the palms, but in recent times he has incorporated horns that give him a touch of a popular band.

11- Northern Marinera

This type of dance comes from the zamacueca. It consists of a ritual that represents the mating of the rooster and the hen and is known as the black dance.

The man who dances in a suit and shoes chases the woman with his hands on her waist; the woman is barefoot and always has one hand on her back.

The woman's dress consists of a wide round skirt and in the midst of jumps and walks she follows the man's game of seduction.

References

1. Feldman, H. (2006). Black rhythms of Peru: reviving African musical heritage in the Black Pacific. Wesleyan University Press. pp: 45-47
2. Feldman, H. (2006). Black rhythms of Peru: reviving African musical heritage in the Black Pacific. Wesleyan University Press. pp: 3-10
3. Levine, LW (1978). Black culture and black consciousness: Afro-American folk thought from slavery to freedom (Vol. 530). Oxford University Press, USA. pp: 22-28
4. Thompson, KD (2012). "Some were wild, some were soft, some were tame, and some were fiery": Female Dancers, Male Explorers, and the Sexualization of Blackness, 1600-1900. Black Women, Gender & Families, 6 (2). pp: 23-45
5. Sanchez, S. (2005). 6. African Legacy in Peru. In Andean Studies: New Trends and Library Resources: Papers of the Forty-Fifth Annual Meeting of the Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials, University of California, Los Angeles… May 27-31, 2000 (p. 51). Salalm Secretariat.