Although the black population in Peru is largely invisible (~3% of the population), the influence of Afro-Peruvian peoples permeates the culture. From food, to music, to dance, and language, Afro-Peruvians have left their mark on the country. While in Lima, I learned that there is a town about three hours south that is considered the cultural capital of Afro-Peruvian traditions – El Carmen. 

I wanted to explore the town. Unfortunately there were no tours from Lima that focused specifically on El Carmen and gave the freedom to bump around without rushing to another site along the coast. So, I created a rough itinerary for myself and decided to step out of my comfort zone, hop on a bus, and explore on my own.

Getting to the Afro-Peruvian Cultural Capital from Lima

There are city buses that go to Chincha Alta and run quite frequently throughout the day. I chose to reserve a seat on a more comfortable, charter-like bus, with the company Jaksa, which runs a bus every hour. It’s about a three hour ride, so I booked the 7am bus to make sure I had enough time to do everything I wanted and still make it back to Lima at a reasonable hour.

A couple of things to be aware of :

• The bus “station” is more of a hidden parking lot. Different bus operators are located in different places. I’m not sure I would have found Jaksa without the help of my Uber driver that morning
• Make sure you get to the pickup spot with plenty of time. The bus pulls into the lot, and a hot second later it pulls out
• Make sure you know what your bus number is, and ask questions if you’re not sure. No one is going to announce anything about the buses leaving. And they will not ask you questions or wait around
• This bus still makes stops like a city bus. Be prepared for the bus to stop at seemingly random locations throughout the city. Again, there will be no announcements about where you are stopping (but everyone seemed to just know)
  • On my way to Chincha, I noticed that the bus stopped at some places closer to where I was staying. So on the way back to Lima I was determined to get off there rather than ride all the way through the city to the final stop. I used google to get an idea of where I was. I got off the bus when others did at the spot closer to me (the terminal is called Atocongo and I was staying in Barranco). This spot was basically just the bus pulling over on the side of the highway. 😀

Chincha Alta

Chincha Alta was the final destination and the stop I wanted. El Carmen is about a 15 minute drive from Chincha. I decided to walk to the Plaza de Armas to get a feel for the city. From there I could pick up a taxi to head to El Carmen. The walk was about twenty minutes. When I got to the Plaza I felt like I never wanted to come back to Chincha again. It was dirty with trash everywhere, smelly, and super loud. Chaos everywhere. And the plaza was unremarkable.

I flagged down a cab and told the driver I wanted to go to La Hacienda San Jose in El Carmen. He told me to hop in and he would explain everything to me. Basically he informed me that El Carmen is small and there are not a lot of cabs there. So, he could drive me around to the places I wanted to go and he would wait for me. 

He was very nice and helpful, but he would not give me a price up front for his services. Which I felt was a little shady. Still, he stuck with me the whole day and took me where I wanted to go. He also was pretty knowledgeable about Chincha and El Carmen. The cabby told me a lot about the town and the people. He spent about four hours with me and I ended up paying him the equivalent of about 42 USD. This seemed overpriced considering what I pay for time spent in Ubers in Lima. But I was happy to have an impromptu guide, so I let it be.

Afro-Peruvians and Plantation Culture: La Hacienda San José

This hacienda started as a monastery, and became one of the largest plantations in the region. It relied heavily on the labor of enslaved Africans and their descendants and grew sugar and cotton. Today it is a cultural landmark. The estate is beautiful, including a small church and a restaurant, and offers tours every hour. When I arrived, there was an Afro-Peruvian band playing festejo on the balcony with dancers. The estate is well-preserved. There are still many tools and instruments from that period on display.

I thought that it was interesting to see the estate; see the agricultural tools, tools of punishment for the enslaved, and tunnels underneath the estate. But I felt that the tour could have done more to fill in the gaps of the history there. What was life like for the owners and the slaves?

Afro-Peruvian Food in El Carmen!

I went to Mamainé for lunch. The people were super hospitable. When you sit down, they give you a shot of a traditional drink called tutuma. I thought it was delicious and asked for another shot! I had a papa relleno and half a portion of sopa seca (one of the most popular Afro-Peruvian dishes) with chicharon.

Town Center

After lunch I headed to the town plaza which was cute and quaint. Slow pace, but preparations were happening for a festival happening that night. I have to say that although El Carmen is the cultural capital of Afro-Peruvians, and although I did see people who visibly presented as black, I definitely did not see as many black people as I thought I would. I guess I expected the entire town to be black.

Afro-Peruvian Dance Traditions and History in El Carmen

My last stop was to Casa de los Ballumbrosio. It was the home of a revered musician and dancer who played a pivotal role in preserving and promoting Afro-Peruvian music and dance traditions. His family continues this legacy, opening up their home as a cultural center to learn about and enjoy zapateo and the music traditions of the culture.

I met the current manager, Marcela Ballumbrosio, when I arrived. But she was on her way out of town. She was kind enough to let me in her family home until her taxi came. She taught me a bit about her family legacy and let me take in all the pictures that adorn the walls. I recommend calling ahead if you go, so you can have a richer experience than I did.

Back to Chincha

I headed back to Chincha and although not pertaining to my quest to learn about Afro-Peruvian culture, my final activity was to visit the Tabernero Winery for a tour and wine tasting. They make wine as well as pisco. I met a lovely family on my tour, who were also there for the day from Lima. They invited me to go to another spot for drinking after the tour. But as I had a long bus ride, I wanted to head back at a reasonable hour.

All the Black People?

In reality, El Carmen is small – only ~14K residents. So this is definitely not where all the black people in Peru are. But it is where this group of people are no longer invisible. Their culture is on mainstage and celebrated and that is important.

Still, I left with so many questions that were never answered. Such as why did El Carmen become this cultural capital? Did freed slaves from all over come to this place, or did they just come from surrounding plantations? How do the Afro-descendientes there feel about the marketing of their culture, such as the dolls and figurines? Are they the creators of these?

I’m glad I took the day to hop out of my comfort zone and explore this aspect of Peruvian culture that is widely unknown, but of particular interest to me. I recommend you to do the same…just call ahead!

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