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Peru Negro, Bringing the Copa to the Kennedy Center
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The Washington Post, Peru Negro, Bringing the Copa to the Kennedy Center >>
Peru Negro began entertaining tourists at a Lima restaurant in 1969, and there are still elements of the nightclub floor show in the 20 member troupe's act. In the second of two sold-out performances Tuesday night at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, roughly half of the group's 10 dancers, who performed acrobatic, African-rooted routiners as well as parodies of colonial-era ballroom steps and one dance that the influence of modern ballet. More tiresome--but widely applauded--was a bit in which one on the percussionists impersonated a doddering, loudly flatulent tasp dancer.
Traditionally, Afro-Peruvian music features muted percussion,the legacy of an 18th century ban on slaves playing drums. But Peru Negro adds congas, bongos, and Cuban-style rhythms to its music, as well as African-style call-and-response vocals, yielding a dense, infectious sound. Although lead singer Monica Duenas performed one ballad that had a strong Iberian flavor, she usually led a chorus of voices--most notably during "Jolgorio-Guaranguito," an aggressive exersise in audience participation conducted by Duenas and two of the drummers.
As demostrated on the group's recent album, "Jolgorio," this music can dance on its own. In concert, the divide between the ddancers and musicians, most of whom stood on a riser at the back of the stage, seemed awkward. As the show progressed, however, the musicians became more mobile. By the climax, a rollicking version of "Taito Guaranguito," the line had blurred, and Peru Negro had become and exuberant whole. 02/19/04
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