Folk music radio had become the main force of the Andean people in maintaining their own culture in Lima, despite the city's strong cosmopolitan and international influences. Today, folk music programming in Lima is still clearly directed at provincials residing in Lima by, of course, the music, but also by the types of ads and announcements and by the Andean cultural references made by the announcers. Here lies the great irony of the story. In the 1540s, the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro and a band of adventurers subdued the Inca empire and established Spanish cultural domination in Peru. Four hundred years later another Pizarro started a radio program, and in just a few decades the Andean peasants and their music pushed Spanish culture off the airwaves right there in its very heart, the city of Lima.
History works in strange ways.
This article is copyright 1991 by Don Moore. It may not be printed in any publication without written permission. In such case, your comments on the article would be appreciated.