Pierr Padilla Vasquez (left) and his wife, 2019 apprentice Carmen Román (right), during their site visit. Photo: Julián Antonio Carrillo.
Pierr Padilla Vasquez
Afro-Peruvian Music and Dance
Pierr Padilla Vasquez’s is a member of one of the guiding families for Afro-Peruvian popular traditions, descended from “The Patriarch of Afro-Peruvian Music”: Mr. Porfirio Vásquez Aparicio. As a child, Padilla Vasquez, played the Cajón with his uncles (renowned musicians Manuel “Mangué” Vasquez and Juan “Juanchi” Carlos Vasquez) and cousins every day. Often, they also sang serenades and played guitar. Not only does the Cajón represent, to Padilla Vasquez, his family and cultural identity; it also signifies the resilience of Afro-descendants in Peru, being a product of their ancestral memory and creativity.
Pierr Padilla Vasquez playing Afro-Peruvian Cajón, 2019.
Apprenticeship Program
2023
Yussef Nuñez, Padilla Vasquez’s son, will expand his knowledge of the Afro-Peruvian technique for playing and performing Cajón. He will learn the six most popular Afro-Peruvian musical genres: Festejo, Alcatraz, Landó, Son de los Diablos, Pregón, and Zamacueca.
2019
Padilla Vasquez trained his wife and apprentice, Carmen Román, in the Afro-Peruvian dance form Marinera Limeña.
