The fruit of the mixing of Spanish, African and Indigenous cultural influences, the zapateo is a musical and choreographic practice present all over Peru. In El Carmen, it has some particular stylistic features, especially due to the high concentration of the Afro-descendant population.

In El Carmen, it is performed primarily within the atajo de negritos (the “gang of little black guys”), where it is accompanied by singing and violin. There are 24 different dances, and the songs are stories of everyday life and work in the fields, as well as religious praises. Indeed, more than anywhere else, the zapateo in El Carmen – a mainly-Catholic village – is a form of devotion to the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus. The performances of the different atajos peak between December 24th (the celebration of the birth of the baby Jesus) and January 6th (Epiphany), and after several months of intensive rehearsals under the orders of the “first corporal”, the group leader, and the violinist.

There are several atajos in El Carmen and its surroundings, but the Ballumbrosio family’s one enjoys a special reputation. Created by Amador, it is the first mixed group – usually, the atajos de negritos are reserved exclusively for boys; the female equivalents are called the pallitas. After making their promesa (promise), the children who are able to zapatear (tap-dance), integrate the group and commit themselves to dancing for life as a sign of devotion.

Extract from the short film Es Amador, by César Calvo, Miki Gonzalez & Andrés Soto (1979)

The creole zapateo is practiced during the jaranas (popular parties) in the form of “contrapuntos of zapateo“ (tap-dancing counterpoint), a kind of competition between friends, accompanied by a guitar.

The following video shows Miguel Ballumbrosio, son of Amador, mastering the codes of the atajo de negritos, as well as the virtuosity of creole zapateo.

Paris, may 2013

Click here to watch another extract from the same concert with one of his group, Grupo Canela.