Culture of Peru
Quechua and Aymara literature, transmitted orally, was deeply linked to religious, agricultural, romantic, festive, and funerary rituals.
[8] During the colonial and republican periods, the dominance of the criollo oligarchy in Peruvian society favored the adoption of European literary forms at the expense of indigenous ones.
In this context, neoclassical authors such as Manuel Ascensio Segura and Felipe Pardo y Aliaga emerged, dominating the literary scene until the late 19th century when romanticism took hold through figures like Carlos Augusto Salaverry and José Arnaldo Márquez.
In the 20th century, avant-garde movements gained strength, driven by magazines like Colónida and Amauta, the latter founded in 1926 by José Carlos Mariátegui, with notable collaborators such as César Vallejo.
[12] The avant-garde movements fragmented into various lyrical proposals, such as those of Xavier Abril, Alberto Hidalgo, Sebastián Salazar Bondy, Carlos Germán Belli, among others, opening new and diverse expressive fields.
By the 20th century, indigenist prose reached some of its peak moments with Ciro Alegría and José María Arguedas, whose influences extended to authors such as Sebastián Salazar Bondy, Manuel Scorza, and Julio Ramón Ribeyro.
In poetry, prominent figures include Emilio Adolfo Westphalen, Jorge Eduardo Eielson, Carlos Germán Belli, Arturo Corcuera, Antonio Cisneros, Wáshington Delgado, Marco Martos, and Carmen Ollé.
The earliest artistic expressions with a high degree of intellectual and technological evolution are found in the sites of Chavín de Huántar and Cupisnique, dated between the 9th and 4th centuries BCE.
[17] These expressions include silver and gold jewelry, ceramics, architecture, and stone sculpture, reflecting symbolic and religious art.
The Tiahuanaco culture, which developed on the shores of Lake Titicaca between the 9th and 13th centuries, is known for its monumental stone architecture and sculpture, facilitated by the use of bronze.
[20] The arrival of the Spanish led to a cultural blending reflected in Peruvian architecture, combining European styles with indigenous influences.
After the Renaissance period, the Baroque reached a rich expression in buildings such as the Convent of San Francisco in Lima and the Iglesia de la Compañia in Cuzco.
During the 20th century, architectural eclecticism was observed, with constructive functionalism emerging as a response, exemplified by the Plaza San Martín in Lima.
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.
[22] Among the most widespread crafts in Peru are ceramics, both artistic and utilitarian, carving, silverwork, leather embossing, straw weaving, and textile work, with colorful alpaca wool fabrics standing out.
[23] The ethnic diversity of ancient Peru resulted in the coexistence of various traditions and customs, which have persisted over time and have been fundamental to the development of post-Hispanic Peruvian folklore.
Today, various musical expressions, such as dance and song, popular festivals (both religious and non-religious), handicrafts, gastronomy, and other regionally varied activities, are significant aspects of Peruvian and Latin American cultural heritage.
[24] Pre-Hispanic Andean musicians primarily used wind instruments, such as the quena, pinkillo, erke, antara or siku (also known as zampoña), and the pututo.
Current renowned players include defender Carlos Zambrano (Rubin Kazan), midfielder Juan Manuel Vargas (Universitario) and strikers Claudio Pizarro (Werder Bremen), Paolo Guerrero (Flamengo) and Jefferson Farfán (Lokomotiv Moscow).
[42] The great variety of native foods, such as corn, tomatoes, potatoes, uchu or chili pepper, oca, olluco, avocado, and fruits like cherimoya, lúcuma, and pineapple (ananás), along with animals such as tarucas (deer), llamas, and guinea pigs, led to the creation of new dishes and methods of preparation when combined with European and Moorish culinary traditions.
Among the most representative dishes of Peruvian cuisine are ceviche (fish and seafood marinated in lime juice), chupe (soup) of shrimp, anticuchos (grilled beef heart skewers), olluco con charqui, the Andean pachamanca (meats, tubers, and beans cooked in a stone oven), lomo saltado (stir-fried beef with tomatoes and onions, served with fried potatoes and rice) of Chinese influence, and picante de cuy.
