Afro-Peruvian Representations in and around Cusco: a Discussion about the Existence or Non-existence of an Afro-Andean Culture in Peru

Abstract

The article investigates the African heritage in the Peruvian Andes, in the colonial time as well as today, 150 years after the end of slavery in Peru. The author mainly discusses Peruvian studies as well as some other research reports conducted in Peru though the starting point is some observations in Cusco. After an overview about the literature the article criticises the general assumption that African slaves did not survived in the Andes and were therefore not brought to the Cusco area. The author argues instead that there has been African slavery in the Andes though not in great numbers because the colonial government decided to move the slaves to the coast because of economical and political reasons. The last part of the article focuses on the negritos, a popular dance in the Andes which some scholars even connect to Moorish Spain instead to African slaves in order to clear the dance from the negative stigma of slavery. The discussion of the literature about this dance leads to the debate about the image of Afro-Peruvians today.