Güepajé returns, the exhibition that brings together the history of Peruvian cumbia in one place

The cumbia It is not only limited to a band or a region, it is the central premise that announces the second edition of “Güepajé: the meeting of the cumbias”, an exhibition produced by the Cultural Center of Spain that has the curatorship of the journalist Lucho Pacora, who after four months of research offers a vision of the most popular musical genre in Peru.

The exhibition is divided into three rooms that represent the natural regions: coast, mountains and jungle. It focuses on the foci where cumbia developed most strongly, as is the case of Iquitos, where there is still a large presence of this genre. An example of this is the current success of the group Papillom or Explosión de Iquitos.

The photographic material of the exhibition was retouched by artificial intelligence due to its origin, extracted from old photos or from blogs that do not have quality images. “The same thing happens in the United States with blues, there are still old records by bands that perhaps could only make one recording,” says Lucho Pacora.

The name of the exhibition comes from the interjection “uepa je”, an onomatopoeia that arises in Colombia and which is a way of saying: “I like it”. The selection of this word is consistent with the foreign elements that were the basis of much of the production of Peruvian cumbia, until little by little they were implementing unique sounds that marked the personality of the national cumbia, such as the presence of the electric guitar that is recognizable in songs like “Mujer hilandera”, “Muchacho provinciano”, “Viento”, among other songs.

women in cumbia

For its part, the exhibition also features several discoveries by Pacora, who, along with her research team from different regions of Peru, located female participation long before the 1980s. “Many people think that Princess Milly and Doll Sally are the oldest, but an orchestra made up entirely of women had already appeared in the 50s, with the participation of Lita Branda, Melcochita’s sister”mentions.

The difficulties to find the information that is now in the exhibition were several, from the lack of information to the contact of the sources that in some cases could only provide oral information. Added to this is the fact that one of the first investigations on cumbia called History of Peruvian cumbia: From tropical music to chicha” by Jesús Cosamalón was only published in 2022.

“You can hear the female presence on several old records, but you won’t even see their names on the back cover.”, Pacora mentions that he also emphasizes the importance of technocumbia as a subgenre where women took on a more important role in cumbia by ceasing to be backing vocalists or accompanists to be the main singers in concerts.

Inside the rooms, you can appreciate the evolution of the female role in cumbia, as well as the appearance of endearing music characters such as Ruth Karina (Ucayali), Rossy War (Madre de Dios), Ana Kohler (Loreto), Ada Chura (Tacna), among other outstanding singers who marked an era, but who disappeared after performing some concerts and recordings, such as Doris Oré, singer of the first female chicha group, La Gota Dulce, who will be present along with Rossy War at the inauguration of Güepajé.

Although the sample is already available at the Cultural Center of Spain, the investigation on cumbia will continue with the intention of showing the public more about this genre that has gained greater recognition with bands like Grupo 5 or Armonía 10. “We seek to show the lack of exhibition and investigation of bands that are pioneers in a popular genre”mentions