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Afro-Peruvian sound finds voice in Ayllon
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Chicago Tribune, Afro-Peruvian sound finds voice in Ayllon >>
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Afro-Peruvian sound finds voice in Ayllon
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By Aaron Cohen
Special to the Tribune
September 16, 2004
For more than 30 years, singer Eva Ayllon has been a strong advocate for black Peruvian music.
So one would expect a detailed explanation of a national
song and dance rhythm, the lando, which features
call-and-response vocals and a box-shaped percussion
instrument called the cajon.
But Ayllon ignores the particulars to deliver a more vivid
response.
"The base of the music is very sensual," Ayllon says from her house in Lima. "If you add lyrics, you have to be careful of how you interpret the song -- there's a fine line between being sensual and being sexual in the way you move during the song."
Chicagoans will have the opportunity to see what Ayllon
means during her first major local appearances Tuesday and Wednesday for the city's World Music Festival, which begins Friday.
When Ayllon was growing up, she says her grandmother was constantly listening to Afro-Peruvian music and told her, "You need to be Peruvian, and you need to sing Peruvian music before you do anything else.'"
Even though Ayllon listened to this advice, she was
initially a dancer on a Peruvian television program. She
says she will always remember the day in 1970 when her
career abruptly shifted at age 15.
"In one of the dance rehearsals, I was singing and the
producer of the show happened to walk in," Ayllon says. "He heard me singing and pretty much made the decision for me. He said, `You're no longer a dancer; you're now the singer for the group.'"
At first, Ayllon's parents were not excited about their
daughter becoming a singer -- they feared she would turn
into a bohemian. But at that time, many Peruvian artists
were earnestly studying the country's African heritage.
Ayllon sought them out to bring their ideas into her music. Some of her guides included the sibling musicians Victoriaand Nicodemus Santa Cruz, as well as Ronaldo Campos from the group Peru Negro.
Slaves brought in
During the 17th Century, Spanish colonists imported slaves to work in Peru's silver mines and sugar plantations. Along with a vocal style that derived from African sources, the slaves and their descendants used crates instead of drums. Over time, those boxes became the cajon. While much of Peru's black population became assimilated, the music continued to be performed, especially on the Pacific coast. In the 1960s, Afro-Peruvian culture started reaching into the wider public consciousness. A creole sound emerged that also drew on the guitar (from Spain) and flute (possibly from Peru's indigenous population).
Along with Ayllon and Peru Negro, singer Susana Baca has made Peru's folklore prominent in her music. "The Rough Guide To Afro-Peru" (World Music Network), a compilation disc, features the work of all three.
While Ayllon studied her music's history, she also became the lead singer in the popular group, Los Kipus. She stayed with the trio until embarking on a successful solo career in the 1980s.
Transforming the vals
This year, Ayllon signed on with a North American label for the release of her disc "Eva! Leyenda Peruana" (Times Square). On the CD, her husky and assertive voice leads a small but intensely percussive group through a collection of Peruvian song forms, including the lando and more upbeat festejo. She also interprets other Latin American idioms, but Ayllon particularly transforms the Peruvian vals.
Ayllon describes the vals as the Peruvian rendition of the
Austrian waltz. She says that historically her country's
aristocrats danced to it at their parties, while the slaves
and their descendants had the lando and festejo. Gradually, it spread to all echelons of society. But Ayllon puts her own spin on the lyrics of the vals, which are typical of northern Peru.
"Those vals used to always have the man be a womanizer. I'm interpreting them the opposite way," Ayllon says. "I give attitude, like, `I don't need you anymore. Move on!'"
Ayllon recently married a Peruvian-American and is planning a move to his home in New Jersey this December. She hopes to open a music academy in New York where she will teach Peruvian music and dances.
"Now that I'm learning English, maybe I'll be able to launch a musical revolution."
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