Skip to main content

Shaping Society through Dance

Mestizo Ritual Performance in the Peruvian Andes

During the patron saint fiesta in the Andean town of San Jerónimo, Peru, crowds gather at sunset in the town square, eagerly awaiting the entrance of the colorful dance troupes, or comparsas. With their masks, music, and surprising interpretations of contemporary events, the comparsas of the Cusco region are the focus of this multifaceted work. At the crossroads of folklore and ritual, mass media and local preferences, and regional and national identity, the comparsas—recorded here on VHS, DVD, and compact disc—have become a powerful way for the local people to make sense of their place in Peru and in the world. As Zoila Mendoza shows, they do more than reflect societal changes, they actively transform society.

In this fluid world, she argues, racial and ethnic identities are shaped more by notions of what is decent, elegant, and modern rather than by skin color or status. As the different troupes vie for the townspeople’s recognition as the most "authentic" group, these notions are challenged and reworked. A fascinating look at a rich tradition, this innovative work is also a compelling example of the critical anthropology of performance.

302 pages | 32 halftones, 1 map, 1 CD | 6 x 9 | © 2000

Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology

Anthropology: Cultural and Social Anthropology

Latin American Studies

Music: Ethnomusicology

Religion: Christianity

Reviews

"Mendoza provides a fascinating picture of both the comparsa performances themselves and the constructed and contested nature of identity among mestizos in a Peruvian community. Folklorists, both festical scholars and Latin Americanists, will find [the book] a solid, valuable work of scholarship that speaks to contemporary concerns in cultural studies."--Journal of American Folklore

Katherine Borland | Journal of American Folklore

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Contents of Compact Disc
Acknowledgments
1. An Introduction to the Study of Ritual Dance Performance in the Andes
2. Folklore, Authenticity, and Traditions in Cusco Regional Identity
3. The People of San Jerónimo, Their Lives, and Their Main Ritual in Regional and Historical Perspectives
4. The Majeños Comparsa: Power, Prestige, and Masculinity among Mestizos
5. Genuine but Marginal: Cultural Belonging, Social Subordination, and the Carnivalesque in the Qollas Performance
6. Contesting Identities through Altiplano Danzas: Gender and Generational Conflicts in the Cusco Region
7. Reflections on the Relationship between Performance and Society
Notes
References
Contents of Video
Index

Be the first to know

Get the latest updates on new releases, special offers, and media highlights when you subscribe to our email lists!

Sign up here for updates about the Press