(dramatic orchestral music)
- [Jacob] Just south of the Equator, is a country
with remarkably diverse landscapes and people.
It holds secrets, mysteries and treasures
that are waiting to be revealed.
The earth's largest rain forest
covers its entire eastern territory.
Some of the highest peaks in the world
divide this jungle from the largest ocean on the planet.
Ancient civilizations thrived on this land.
And its abundant resources helped Spain
build a global empire.
(dramatic orchestral music)
This is Peru.
And there's so much to experience here,
history to be unearthed,
places outside of time,
rhythms that delight,
and cuisine that reinvents tradition.
(upbeat orchestral music)
I've traveled a lot, but this adventure
to the edge of South America,
promises to be a voyage unlike any other.
(upbeat orchestral music)
- [Announcer] Funding for Music Voyager
provided in part by
Celebrating Culture.
Encouraging Communication.
Create for Change.
A non-profit for building cultures through film.
Look, listen, learn.
Additional funding for this season of Music Voyager
provided by
Prom Peru, commission for travel tourism Peru.
Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Tauck, how you see the world matters.
(upbeat Latin dance music)
- [Jacob] The country of Peru
sits on the west coast of South America,
just below the Equator.
Many people hear Peru and they think
of Llamas, pan pipes,
Incas, the Andes.
But Peru is a lot more than Machu Picchu.
The real Peru is a complex tapestry
with rich history and ancient cultures
woven into the fabric of a modern lifestyle.
(upbeat Latin dance music)
My name is Jacob Edgar, I'm an ethno musicologist
and I follow the planet's musical heartbeat
to reveal the soul and spirit of our world.
I'm traveling across Peru with my friend Alvaro Fernandez,
a musician and entrepreneur, who invited me to explore
his fascinating country.
Alvaro is the drummer for one of Lima's
most popular rock bands, Campo de Almas.
With his connections to some of Peru's top trend setters
and his knowledge of unique,
off the beaten path destinations,
Alvaro has promised me a journey I'll never forget.
- My passion for Peru is the diversity,
it's just like an explosion of flavors,
explosion of colors, explosion of life.
- Peru has always fascinated me because,
obviously because of its music,
that's the doorway, that's what gets me interested
in the country and then I learn more about the food,
about the history, about the tradition,
the culture, the landscaping, you name it.
Music opens the door and then helps me discover
all these other elements of a given country.
(upbeat Latin dance music)
I land at night, just as the city is coming to life.
I meet Alvaro in one of his favorite parts of the city,
where the nightlife is rich and colorful.
(upbeat Latin music)
We grab some Pisco sours, the iconic Peruvian cocktail
at a stylish bar and restaurant called Huaca Pucllana.
(upbeat Latin music)
The pre-Columbian ruins that rise above the bar
are a perfect symbol of the blend of ancient and modern
that makes Lima so fascinating.
In this cosmopolitan urban center,
the past always lies just below the surface,
you just need to know where to dig
and Alvaro promises to show me.
The next morning we head into
Lima's downtown historic district.
Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro,
formally established in 1535,
what he called la Ciudad de los Reyes,
the city of kings.
(upbeat Latin dance music)
Eventually it came to be known
by its traditional Quechuan name, the Limac, or Lima.
The Spanish colonial powers
were very consistent
in the way they designed their cities,
they were always built on a grid system
and they always had a church right in the center
and a government building right in the center.
And then from there, a main plaza and grids going off.
And you'll see this in every Latin American city.
(upbeat Latin dance music)
(bright live band music)
As we were standing there, you had the procession
going by the changing of the guard.
(bright live band music)
So you had these two iconic representations
of power in Latin America, side-by-side.
(bright live band music)
(guard chanting in foreign language)
We meet up with Luis Martin, an architect,
who knows exactly where to find Lima's often hidden
historical sites.
- So, we we went to this house.
It was like if you were like transport
to a different era.
(bright guitar music)
- And you go up this magnificent staircase
and suddenly it's like you've gone back in time.
- It's an interesting feeling and you actually start
thinking of how people used to live
in those times.
- And it has the original furniture,
it has the original decoration.
The historical treasures of Casa de Aliaga
are not only contained within.
Above the street is a wooden balcony,
a feature of many colonial homes
in this part of the city.
You can dig deeper into Lima's history
at the nearby Monestary of San Francisco.
Beneath this 200 year old church are catacombs
that contain the remains of up to 25,000 bodies.
Up until 1808, Lima did not have a cemetery,
so the dead were laid to rest here.
For over a century, knowledge of the existence
of these catacombs was lost,
until they were rediscovered in 1943.
Who arranged the bones and when
is still being debated,
adding to the eerie mysteries of this place.
Lima is a sprawling city with many districts
and neighborhoods that spread out
as far as the eye can see.
And it's a massive city, because Peruvians
from all parts of the country
come here seeking economic opportunities.
They bring with them the unique expressions
of their native regions,
adding to the multicultural melting pot.
It makes Lima, Peru's most diverse city.
- Lima is a perfect place for express your ideas, okay?
You are not different.
If you have a different way to communicate,
come to Lima.
Here ...
... we can talk.
(laughing)
- [Jacob] Meet Lucho Quequezana, one of Peru's
most famous musicians, composers,
and TV stars.
(upbeat rock music)
I know Lucho as a musician who has taken
traditional ambien music and instrumentation
and put it into a very new context.
And demonstrates the musical possibilities.
(upbeat rock music)
(applause)
(man speaking foreign language)
We meet Lucho in Barranco,
one of Lima's most artistic districts,
where he's recognized everywhere we'd walk.
When you meet a great musician,
you can tell that they're special.
And Lucho's one of those musicians
that the minute you hear him play,
you know he's at a level beyond
your average musician.
Lucho plays 25 different instruments
and began composing at the age of 13.
- When I was learn to play an instrument,
for me, it's a different toys.
(calm guitar music)
- [Jacob] His musical foundation comes from his time
as a child in the Andes mountains.
- [Lucho] And I play with many different toys.
- [Jacob] Where he learned to play
traditional instruments, such as the charango guitar,
and the many flutes, hand pipes,
and percussion of the region.
- [Lucho] I don't know why in my head
all the toys they have this of little space.
(upbeat guitar and flute music)
- [Jacob] After jamming at a small music shop,
Lucho takes us for a bite to eat
at a nearby hot spot.
- This place is called Juanito,
it's a iconic place in Barranco.
I think this is a really point for musician artist,
for neighborhoods.
- Right, there's painters, (mumbles).
- Right, so this is the hangout.
Barranco is like the Greenwhich Village of Lima.
People who are interested in creative expression
will meet up no matter which part of the city
they come from.
- If you have a band, you must play in Barranco.
- Oh, okay.
And Juanito is the epicenter of that in Barranco.
Oh, what's this?
Wow!
- Jamon del norte.
- Ham from the north. - Ham of the north.
Alright, let me give it a try, cheers.
Good, we've got a beer for you now.
Gracias, senor.
Salud. - Salud.
- While beer and a ham sandwich offer simple pleasures,
the cuisine of Peru is much more complex and diverse.
As I continued to excavate Lima's secrets,
I learned that not far from Barranco
is one of the city's best restaurants.
It's called Maras, and it's hidden
inside the Westin Lima Hotel,
in the upscale San Isidro neighborhood.
Maras presents a fusion of classic coastal ingredients
with elegant style.
Its mastermind is Rafael Piqueras,
considered one of Lima's top chefs.
He also happens to be one of Alvaro's childhood friends.
His dishes embrace traditional ingredients
and recipes and partner them
with sophisticated techniques in presentation.
(calm Latin music)
The cuisine, architecture and music of a country
can give one a connection to the past.
But one way to hold Peru's history in your hand,
or wear it on your sleeve, is to seek out
one of the country's most precious resources.
- [Beatrice] This should be packed and sent overnight.
- [Woman] Okay.
- There's a long history of silver in Latin America,
not just in Peru, but across the Americas.
When the Spanish got here, they discovered
the incredible wealth of gold, silver,
other mineral resources, which they mined
and plundered for hundreds of years.
But they also discovered that there were
great silversmiths in Peru, people who really knew
how to work the silver,
they've been doing it for generations.
And that tradition continues to this day.
I discovered that Peru is one of the few countries
in the world that still hand crafts silver.
- We meet Ilaria's owner, Beatrice Chiabatti.
On the terrace of the trendy Hotel B,
her family has long been involved
with silver mining and trade.
- Peru has a big tradition of mining, obviously,
and right about now,
we are, I think the fifth country producer of silver.
Have many mines.
- [Jacob] Peru's history with its precious metals
stretches back thousands of years.
The Inca referred to silver as tiers of the moon
because of its soft gleam.
- Museo Larco is one of the most important museums
we have here in Lima.
It shows, especially for what the silver,
the incredible pieces that were made
from pre-Columbian period
and especially Mochica and Chimu.
- Which are cultures.
We think of Inca as being -- - Yeah, the culture.
- But actually, there were a lot --
- A lot of different groups before.
- [Jacob] Fantastic examples of Peru's silver craftwork
can be found at Lima's Museo de Larco,
one of Latin America's most important collections
of indigenous artifacts.
It's this ancient legacy of silver craftsmanship
that Beatrice has brought into the present
and it is represented in the jewelry
and figurines of Ilaria.
(bright instrumental Latin music)
- The figurines actually, I mean, they're pieces
that represent our culture.
Here we have decided to have figures
that are from the costa of Peru,
from the sierra and the selva.
From the costa, for example, we have the Marinera dancers,
we can have the Caballo de Paso.
(bright guitar music)
- Caballos de Paso, what does that mean?
- It's a kind of horse, right,
that was born to walk on the sand,
so it has this special way of walking.
Where if he moves the legs different
because it has to walk on the sand
is really part of our culture
for the coast of Peru.
It has a Chalan,
that's the man who rides the horse
and it's actually a dance that he makes
with the horse.
You see how different it is from a normal horse
and how incredible is.
- And actually, it has a lot to do with La Marinera.
(upbeat Latin music)
- Peru is very popular right now,
the dance of Marinera with this horse.
And there's a Chalan riding a horse
and there's a female dancer that they dance
and then make like a combination
with the gait of the horse
and the dance.
- [Jacob] Fernando Rissa Montes
is a horse breeder and trainer,
who expresses a deep passion for the beauty
and history of the Peruvian Paso horse.
- This horse is unique because
he has a natural gait.
The natural gait is a kind of walk
that is a very smooth horse.
It's a very smooth horse, very elegant.
This is a dance which is done with what
like a handkerchief? - A handkerchief, right
Aha, the man and the woman.
- The man and the woman and they're flirting.
- And you can even see --
And you can even see, now a days you see the horse.
- The horse and the woman.
- [Man] Dancing with the woman.
- We have tried to bring all this idea
to display in a figurine
that talks about our tradition
and also the art of making these pieces of art
also carved one-by-one, handmade and (mumbles).
That's what we see.
(upbeat Latin music)
- Behind every door, there's a story.
And Lima has a lot of doors.
Finding inspiration in the heritage
and traditions of the past has worked well
for one musical group, who builds their sound
on a foundation of African beats.
Before layering them with modern sounds and textures.
Nova Lima is a band from Lima
that has mixed Afro Peruvian roots music
with electronic music.
Nova Lima, who's name means New Lima,
is recognized internationally
for its unique blend of Afro Peruvian roots music
with contemporary electronic elements
inspired by global DJ culture.
(upbeat Afro Peruvian music)
Nova Lima is just one of many contemporary Peruvian bands
that mine the wealth of local culture
and mix it with new sounds, cutting edge technology,
and a futuristic aesthetic.
- Well the things really like about Afro Peruvian music
is all the percussive, rhythmic,
that's into the music.
It's very African, high technotic types of rhythms
that actually work great with modern music.
(upbeat Afro Peruvian music)
- Basically what they've done is
taken this rootsy traditional form
and updated it for a new generation.
And the sound they create is just really accessible,
really funky, really soulful,
but also very cool.
- Novo Lima is not a pop band,
I mean, we're not mainstream in the sense --
I mean, we don't get played on radios
and things like that.
But a lot of people know Nova Lima,
we play a lot of big shows and festivals in Lima.
Whenever we play, they really like it.
The only people that now appreciate all this music,
Afro Peruvian are starting to learn
about all these traditional heroes in the music
actually not that known.
They're starting to enjoy this old culture,
not only of Peruvian and different things of Peru,
but something that has happened in the last 50 years
in this country.
People have started appreciating their food,
their music, their landscape,
their country, et cetera.
(upbeat Afro Peruvian music)
- [Jacob] Behind every door, there's a story.
And Lima has a lot of doors.
(upbeat Afro Peruvian music)
On the surface, this is a city that seems
to be letting the new run rush of the deal,
where unfettered growth and development
is impossible to hold back.
But, if you manage to slow down,
get off the urban treadmill,
and open the right doors, you can step into a world,
where time stands still.
(upbeat Afro Peruvian music)
- [Announcer] Funding for Music Voyager
provided in part by
Celebrating Culture,
encouraging communication.
Create for Change, a non-profit
for bridging cultures through film.
Look, listen, learn.
Additional funding for this season
of Music Voyager provided by Prom Peru,
commission for travel and tourism, Peru.
Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Tauck, how you see the world matters.
(bright instrumental music)