On the southern coast of Peru, there is a large Afro-Peruvian culture that dances festejo and zapateo. On the northern coast is the famous marinera. In the mountainous parts of Peru, there are more traditional styles of dance, such ashuayno and the danza de tijeras (scissor dance). Near the largest lake in Peru, Lake Tititaca which borders Bolivia, communities dance diablada. In the Amazon Jungle region, a popular dance is known by the name of a very large powerful snake. You guessed it! Anaconda.
Many of the children here in Peru will learn a variety of dances from the different regions, because they are all important to Peruvian culture. These dances sometimes depict stories from the ancestors. For example, festejo is a high-energy dance meant to show the independence and freedom from slavery for the African Peruvians brought here to work on plantations.
Marinera is a dance in which the female dances with a long skirt and holds a white handkerchief, while the male is either on a horse or dancing by the side of the female with the purpose of winning her love. As we go to the mountains, for me one of the most shocking dances was the scissor dance where two males face off in a dance battle with metal blades that look like giant scissors.
