Hello, my friends!
I hope you are doing terrific! I would like to talk about a very nice little town I visited a week ago, located approximately 200 km from Lima to the south. This town is called “El Carmen”. It doesn´t take too much time to
El Carmen is the district where Afro-Peruvian ethnicity clearly predominates. It is the center of folklore in the province, a cheerful, bustling romantic town set in a large Chinchano valley. The first settlers were descendants of slaves from Angola and Mandingas. Its patron is the Virgin of El Carmen. This is a very religious community.
It is a humble place but full of joy. In the square, it is easy to find children who play soccer or dance in the Chinchano style, which includes the famous zapateo. The dance of zapateo involves the reproduction of rhythmic patterns of African descent to the sound of musical instruments that evoke tunes with Andean influence. If you travel over there you will also find many places where you can buy souvenirs, such as crafts, clothes, magnets, among others, very beautiful.
In this city, there are many festivities, among them the carnivals of El Carmen, in which dance competitions, food festivals, among other events are held. Here I share a Youtube Video of street dance.
I hope you enjoy this post and all the Peruvian traditions!
Hugs,
Marco … from PERU!