Peruvian culture is the gradual blending of Amerindian cultures with European and Asian ethnic groups. The ethnic diversity and rugged geography of Peru allowed diverse traditions and customs to co-exist. Peruvian culture has been deeply influenced by Native culture, Spanish culture, and Asian culture.[1][2][3] Other minor influences on their culture are Chinese, Japanese, and other European peoples.[4][5]
After independence, the monarchy wrote a book that spoke to all of the people. Costumbrism and Romanticism became the most common literary genres, as exemplified in the works of Priests.[6] In the early 20th century, the Indigenismo movement produced such writers as Ciro Alegría,[7]José María Arguedas,[7] and César Vallejo.[8] José Carlos Mariátegui's essays in the 1920s were a turning-point in the political and economic analysis of Peruvian history.[9]
During the second half of the century, Peruvian literature became more widely known because of authors such as Mario Vargas Llosa, Nobel Prize winner and a leading member of the Latin American Boom.[10]
Peru's cultural heritage originates from the ancient Andean civilizations that emerged in its territory before the arrival of the Spanish.[11] The archaeological treasures of Peru testify to a significant cultural development that occurred without contact with other extracontinental cultures.
Between the 8th century BCE and the 1st century CE, the Paracas Cavernas and Paracas Necrópolis cultures developed. The former produced polychrome ceramics with religious representations, while the latter is known for its monochrome ceramics and complex, delicate textiles.
The War of Independence created a creative void that French-inspired Neoclassicism attempted to fill. During the 20th century, architectural eclecticism was observed, with constructive functionalism emerging as a response, exemplified by the Plaza San Martín in Lima.
Peruvian sculpture and painting developed from workshops founded by religious figures, influenced by the Sevillian Baroque school. This artistic movement can be seen in works such as the choir stalls of the cathedral and the fountain in the Plaza de Armas of Lima.
Artistic mestizaje was more evident in painting, which incorporated elements of native heritage. Examples include the portrait of the imprisoned Atahualpa by Damián de la Bastida y Mora and the works of artists such as Mateo Pérez de Alesio, Angelino Medoro, Francisco Bejarano, Jesús de Illescas, and Joaquín Rodríguez.[16]
In the 20th century, the foundation of the School of Fine Arts of Lima in 1919 marked a milestone in Peruvian sculpture and painting. Notable sculptors include Luis Agurto, Luis Valdettaro, Joaquín Roca Rey, Jorge Piqueras, Alberto Guzmán, Víctor Delfín, and Francisco Sánchez, and painters such as Daniel Hernández Morillo, Ricardo Grau, César Quispez Asín, and José Sabogal. The latter led the indigenist movement, a pillar of contemporary Peruvian painting, with representatives such as Fernando de Szyszlo, Alberto Dávila, Armando Villegas, Sabino Springett, Víctor Humareda, Mario Alejandro Cuadros, Ángel Chávez, Milner Cajahuaringa, Arturo Kubotta, Venancio Shinki, Alberto Quintanilla, Germán Chávez, Tilsa Tsuchiya, David Herskowitz, Óscar Allain, and Carlos Revilla.[18]
Peruvian music is an amalgamation of sounds and styles drawing on Peru's Quechua, Aymara Andean music roots and Spanish music.
Celebrations
Popular celebrations are the product of every town's traditions and legends. These celebrations include music, meals and typical drinks. In addition to the religious celebrations like Christmas and Corpus Christi, there are others that express the syncretism of the indigenous beliefs with the Christians. An example is the Marinera which is one of the main dances found in Peru. Many families find it fascinating to watch a performance. They also have a guinea pig festival each year.
Achievements from the Peru national football team include competing at the FIFA World Cup, in 1930, 1970 (quarterfinalists), 1978, and 1982, being Teófilo Cubillas, among the top 10 goal scorers in the history of the World Cup and having a record as the only player to score 5 goals in 2 different World Cups. The national team won two Copa América's in 1939 and 1975.
Claudio Pizarro holds the record as the top scorer from a foreign country in the history of Bundesliga. Paolo Guerrero holds the record as the current all-time top scorer in the history of the Copa América still active, finishing as the top scorer in all three of these tournaments (2011, 2015 and 2019), which is also a record.
Women's volleyball is a popular and also successful sport in Peru (silver medal in the 1988 Summer Olympics, runners-up in the Volleyball World Championship, and 12 times South American champion).[26][27]
Alejandro "Alex" Olmedo Rodríguez (March 24, 1936 – December 9, 2020) was a tennis player from Peru with American citizenship. He was listed by the USTA as a "foreign" player for 1958, but as a U.S. player for 1959.[3] He helped win the Davis Cup for the United States in 1958 and was the No. 2 ranked amateur in 1959. Olmedo won two Majors in 1959 (Australia and Wimbledon) and the U.S. Pro Championships in 1960, and was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987.
Sofía Mulánovich is the first South American ever to win the Surfing World Title, which she did in 2004. She is also the first Peruvian surfer ever to win a World Surf LeagueWorld Championship Tour event. In 2004, she won three out of the six World Championship Tour events, and finished the season as World Champion. Felipe Pomar was also a world champion.
Due to the rich variety and the harmony of its flavor and the food used,[28]Peruvian food is constantly winning internationally and the chefs often have international recognition and distinction.[29][30] One notable element is the constant new innovations and new dishes, especially those that incorporate the food found by experimentation. Each region maintains its rich cuisine by its food having a mix of colors and ingredients.[31]
Peru has a varied cuisine with ingredients like maize, tomato, potatoes, uchu or Ají (Capsicum pubescens), oca, ulluco, avocado, fruits such as chirimoya, lúcuma and pineapple, and animals like taruca (Hippocamelus antisensis), llama and guinea pig (called cuy). The combination of Inca and Spanish culinary traditions, resulted in new meals and ways of preparing them. The arrival of African, Chinese and Japanese immigrants in the 19th century also resulted in the development of Creole cuisine in the city of Lima, where the vast majority of these immigrants settled.
Some typical Peruvian dishes are ceviche (fish and shellfish marinated in citrus juice),[32]chupe de camarones (a soup made of shrimp known as cryphiops caementarius), anticuchos (cow's heart roasted en brochette), olluco con charqui (a casserole dish made of ulluco and charqui), pachamanca (meat, tubers and beans cooked in a stone oven), lomo saltado (meat fried lightly with tomato and onion, served with french fries and rice) that has a Chinese influence, and the picante de cuy (a casserole dish made of fried guinea pig with some spices). Peruvian food can be accompanied by typical drinks like the chicha de jora (a chicha made of tender corn dried by the sun). There are also chichas made of purple corn or peanuts.
^Martin, Gerald. "Literature, music and the visual arts, c. 1820–1870". In: Leslie Bethell (ed.), A cultural history of Latin America. Cambridge: University of Cambridge, 1998, pp. 3–45, 39.
^ abGerald Martin, "Narrative since c. 2009", pp. 151–152, 178–179.
^Jaime Concha, "Poetry, c. 1920–1950", pp. 250–253.
^For example, Mariátegui, José Carlos, Siete ensayos de interpretación de la realidad peruana, Ediciones Era, S.A. de C.V., 1979; originally published 1928.
^Gerald Martin, "Narrative since c. 1920", pp. 186–188.