Visiting the Ballumbrosio family: El Carmen part 2

The highlight of the entire trip for me was visiting the home of the Ballumbrosio family which is essentially the heart of African-Peruvian dance and music, and where my friend Aaron stayed. The father of the family, Amador Ballumbrosio was born in El Carmen in 1936 and died in 2009. His passion for dance came from his catholic faith and he is known for continuing the tradition of the Afro-Peruvian dance called "hatajo de negritos" which is performed on December 24 in El Carmen in honor of baby Jesus. He also welcomed people from all over the world to his home to share Afro-Peruvian dance and music; he played the violin, cajón and danced Zapateo (foot work similar to tap, but with barefoot.) He had 15 children and passed down the tradition to them; currently many of them live around the world teaching dance but his daughter Lucy still lives in the house with her children and she grew very close with my friend Aaron when he was staying there. It was so amazing to be welcomed into the home and to see the walls of the house covered in photographs and paintings honoring their father and the family. The front room of the house is where the family performs dances, but has also become a kind of very authentic and personal museum celebrating Afro-Peruvian culture.

Lucy was very generous and talked to us for a while around her friendship with my friend Aaron, her father and the dances. She told us that her father always looked for the hardest part of the floor to dance on barefooted so that it would make the best sound when dancing Zapateo. She also expressed the fact that passing down the authentic dances and preserving this tradition is the legacy that her father left and that his children want to continue. Traditionally women were not allowed to play the cajón drum, but she showed us how to play a rhythm on the drum and how to play the donkey's jawbone, another instrument used in Afro-Peruvian music.

We also tried totuma, a special kind of pisco which is infused with the fruit of a local tree that is supposed to be a natural medicine. By this time, we were all ready to dance, so I asked Lucy to teach us the dance that goes with the rhythm that one of the volunteers named Natasha had learned how to play. So, right there, on the floor where generations of people have danced, we tried our best to move our hips to the music and follow Lucy and of course it was so fun! Several years ago I took a West African dance class in college which I loved and I could definitely see the similarities. After we had somewhat learned the danced and didn't look like complete fools, we took a video of us performing and Lucy's young daughter of about 7 years old joined us and of course was much better than any of us! She was shy at first, but but the time we left, she gave us a picture she had drawn and told us to say hi to Aaron for her- so sweet! Lucy told us that their door is always open and as we were leaving, I found myself hoping that I someday I will return to that house, so filled with pride, love and joy. Music and dance are some of the most powerful forms of expression, communication and community building that we have and it is incredible that despite years of oppression and suffering, this culture is still thriving and bringing people together to celebrate life.