A wooden crate, a tithing box, and the jawbone of a donkey. Not your typical musical instruments. But if it weren’t for a ban on drums and marimbas placed on slaves by Spanish colonizers, Black Peruvian music wouldn’t have developed its distinctive sound. Black Peruvians had to make do with what was at hand. The cajón—which evolved from crates used to collect fruit on farms—is a wooden box straddled by its player who bends down to beat the box by hand. The cajita is a small, lidded box in the shape of a trapezoid used for collections in Catholic churches. One hand claps the lid open and closed while the other beats the side of the box with a stick. And there is no mistaking the sound of the quijada de burro or donkey jaw. The side of this dried-out jawbone from a donkey is beaten with the player’s palm, which resonates the tuning-fork shape causing all the loosened teeth to vibrate

This percussive backbone is joined by melodic guitar and passionate singing to form the heart of Black Peruvian music—a genre that was coalesced by Peru Negro. It is widely accepted that during the time of the international black pride movements, this ensemble—founded by Ronaldo Campos de la Colina to preserve Peru’s African heritage 30 years ago—became the national standard other bands emulated. And they haven’t let up yet. Peru Negro’s first internationally-available recording, Sangre de un Don, was be released by Times Square Records in the United States in April 24 of 2001 in conjunction with Dutch label World Connection. Times Square will release Jologorio on January 20, 2004.

For most music fans in the US, Peruvian music means Andean panpipes. While the African presence in such music kingpins as Brazil and Cuba are well known, Peru’s African legacy has only recently gained major attention here. Furthermore, the legacy of slavery in Peru differed from elsewhere in the Americas in that slaves were brought from a wide variety of regions in Africa making cultural continuity virtually impossible.

It wasn’t until 1995 when Luaka Bop released The Soul of Black Peru  that the general public became aware of the rhythms and sounds propagated on Peru’s coast by African slaves brought to work in the mines. But anyone who heard these recordings was left yearning for more.

Initially Peru Negro comprised 12 family members, dancers and choreographers as well as musicians. Now more than 30 people are involved and Peru Negro has become a proud institute of Peruvian culture. In Lima, the company runs their own school and junior troupe, Peru Negrito, from which they recruit new members. Peru Negro has performed all over the world and has been appointed officially as “Ambassadors of Peruvian Culture” by the government.