October 31th: Criolla Song Day

19:05 A Guide to Living in Peru 0 Comments

Everyone knows that the 31st October is Halloween, the history of Halloween stretches way back and can be traced back to the Celtic people around 2000 year ago but is nowadays it is more related to the USA as they make all festivals big and bold and although not so popular in Peru the influence from the USA is here but mainly for young children who want to dress up and just another excuse to have large parties. 

Criollo was originally used as a term of class in the Spanish colonies of the Americas, those that were born locally with confirmed Spanish ancestry however, in the case of Criolla Song Day the day is more about celebrating a union of Spanish, African and indigenous elements present in many types of Peruvian music.  

(By the way the word is "Criollo", in the name "Criolla music day, the ending vowel changes from"o" to "a"  just for grammatical conjugation but means the same) 

It is also obvious to see that since the Spanish had more of an influence on the coast of Peru like in Lima the celebration of Criollo culture is more recognized than in the rest of the Peru like the highlands and the jungle. The day was officially created in 1944 and according to some sources the day was going to originally be the 18th October but this coincided with the celebration of Señor de los Milagros and so it was given the day of 31st October by the president Manuel Prado Ugarteche. 

On this day you will hear a lot of Criollo music especially that of Bartola, Eva Ayllon and Chabuca Granda and this accompanied with many live acts which can be seen in many places often people who like this tradition may go to “peñas” which are restaurants that have live music events. 

When you listen to Criolla music you will notice that must of the music has certain instruments, instruments that are very representative of this culture is the “caja” a wooden box which is played similar to a drum expect the person sits on top of it and it is hit with the hands and the acoustic guitar. Dances also accompany this day for example “El Festejo” is a well-known Afro-Peruvian dance which has a fast rhythm and especially with this dance the dancers must be flexible since this dance involves a lot of movement.

So for this day whether you are a Halloween fan or Criolla song fan have a great day, also you will see that the idea of Halloween has been mix in with the Criolla day so don’t be surprised to see someone dressed up as a skeleton playing the “caja” haahha...

of course I'll celebrate Dia de la Música Criolla :D eating some delicious criolla dishes uhmmm Aji de Gallina, Cau cau.... rico!!!