Author(s)

Gehong Li ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ Department of Central Eurasian Studies, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, United States

Corresponding Author

Gehong Li

ABSTRACT

This paper critically examines El Condor Pasa by Daniel Alomía Robles as a multidimensional artefact embedded within Peruvian Indigenismo and nationalist discourses of the early 20th century, analysing its implications for questions of authorship, cultural hybridity, and heritage. Through an analysis of the musical score, I argue that both the title El Condor Pasa and its subtitle, Inca Dance, are inherently entangled with cultural politics, representing a confluence of indigenous iconography and mestizo identity. This construction of a mestizo protagonist, symbolising liberty and defiance, serves not only the Indigenismo project to "shape homogeneous citizens for the nation-state" [1], but also offers a reflection of the intricate social hierarchies and racialised tensions between Lima's urban elite and the indigenous migrant labour force. I explore the implications for indigenous practices when the yaraví-inspired melodies of El Condor Pasa permeate the urban milieu of the Peruvian capital. The latter part of this paper engages with the Eurocentric structures governing Peruvian music pedagogy, particularly the colonialist biases that relegated Indigenismo compositions like El Condor Pasa to a secondary status. By situating El Condor Pasa within broader postcolonial and intangible heritage frameworks, this paper investigates whether Peruvian conservatoires can play a role in the decolonisation of cultural institutions by integrating indigenous music into a collective national heritage, potentially reshaping the nation's musical and cultural identity.

KEYWORDS

Intangible Cultural Heritage, Metacultural Production, Cultural Hybridity, Heritagization, Decolonizing Music Education, Indigenismo

CITE THIS PAPER

Gehong Li, The Life of "El Condor Pasa"—Indigenismo, Authorship, Decolonisation, and Heritage-making. Journal of Sociology and Ethnology (2024) Vol. 6: 1-7. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/jsoce.2024.060601.

REFERENCES

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[2] Hafstein, V.T. Making Intangible Heritage [M]. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2018.
[3] Jamestapler. Cóndor Pasa (Peruvian Folk Song) - Daniel Robles (Original Piano Sheet Music) [EB/OL]. Cóndor Pasa (Peruvian Folk Song) - Daniel Robles (Original Piano Sheet Music), 1970-01-01 [2024-10-27]. http://boliviatarqa.blogspot.com/2014/08/condor-pasa-peruvian-folk-song-daniel.html.
[4] Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, B. Intangible Heritage as Metacultural Production [J]. Museum International, 2004, 56(1-2): 52-65. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1350-0775.2004.00458.x.
[5] L'Hoeste, H.F., Vila, P., Romero, R.R. Nationalisms and Anti-Indigenismos [A]. In: L'Hoeste, H.F., Vila, P., eds. Sound, Image, and National Imaginary in the Construction of Latin/O American Identities [C]. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2017: 91-105.
[6] Moore, R.D., Clark, W.A., Ritter, J. Peru and the Andes [A]. In: Moore, R.D., ed. Musics of Latin America [C]. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012: 325-370.
[7] Romero, R.R. Decolonising Andean and Peruvian Music: A View from Within [J]. Ethnomusicology Forum, 2021, 30(1): 129-139. https://doi.org/10.1080/17411912.2021.1938626.
[8] Stevenson, R. Alomía Robles, Daniel [EB/OL]. Oxford Music Online, 2001 [2024-10-27]. https://doi.org/10. 1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.00658.  
[9] Turino, T. The Music of Andean Migrants in Lima, Peru: Demographics, Social Power, and Style [J]. Latin American Music Review / Revista de Música Latinoamericana, 1988, 9(2): 127-150. https://doi.org/10.2307/780291.

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