Guide to Music in Peru

"SONJIA CUHER: On behalf of Expert Village, this is Sonjia Cuher. Music. Peruvians live for music. We love music, dancing. That's an expression of our culture. Since early age, everybody dances; men, women, elderly, it doesn't matter where you from, if you are from the highlands, the Amazon, anything, as long as there is a group of friends, people, relatives, we all in time will going to end up in dancing. So, be ready if you want to be part of the culture, get your dancing shoes, and I'm taking my dancing shoes. Of course these are a little bit more than dancing shoes, but definitely I will get some attention, that's what I want. Do you know, if you're not a dancer, it is fine, unless you are disabled or something and you are not able to stand up, it's okay remain seated. But, if you really want to be part of the culture, just get up, try and the girls are going to be so surprised actually if you ask them to dance, that's customary. You don't dance for yourself. And you can ask elder women, young women, and things like that. Usually you dance in couples. Right now in the discotheques, you know still you can dance as a group but still people would prefer dancing as couple. Music. We have Andean music. We have the largest festival in the Altiplano. I'm going--just in few days, I'm going to go that festival, but it is such a large variety. In the coastline, we have beautiful guitars still coming from with some Spanish influence. We have in the highlands, panpipes such as these called "Zampona," and in the jungle we have basic drum instruments. So matter where you go, there is no reason for you not to dance. And if you are a girl, it's okay if you don't even know how to dance. If you just look [INDISCERNIBLE], I promise you're going to have more than one willing to teach you a few steps."