Artists

Casaverde, Félix

image of Casaverde, Félix Finest performers of Peruvian coastal music

Peru is a land of enormous geographic and ethnic diversity, whose chequered history is also reflected in a richly varied musical heritage that includes such contrasting sounds as a vals from the coastal region and a chimaycha from the Andes. While the indigenous music of the sparsely populated rainforest, the Mestizos of the Sierra (the Andean highlands) and the Costa (the Pacific coastal deserts) nurture a lively and vibrant musical culture. Ayacucho in the south of Peru boasts a particularly rich musical culture that has produced outstanding soloists as guitarists. Here we find many different variations on the huayno (dance song) throughout the Andean highlands, where it is used by people from all walks of life as a vehicle for expressing emotion. Besides the huayno the yaraví is popular either. He appeared during the colonial era and is a plaintive love song that tells of the pain of parting in poetic verses, a solo song in Spanish. Along the coast, a colorful and flourishing music culture has developed since the Spanish conquest. European and black African influences have merged in a fascinating way.

Félix Casaverde is in demand as an accompanist, solo guitarist and singer, and is widely regarded as one of the finest performers of Peruvian coastal music.