Shaping Society through Dance: Mestizo Ritual Performance in the Peruvian Andes
During the patron saint fiesta in the Andean town of San Jerónimo, Peru, crowds gather at sunset in the town square, eagerly awaiting the entrance of the colorful dance troupes, or comparsas. With their masks, music, and surprising interpretations of contemporary events, the comparsas of the Cusco region are the focus of this multifaceted work. At the crossroads of folklore and ritual, mass media and local preferences, and regional and national identity, the comparsas—recorded here on VHS, DVD, and compact disc—have become a powerful way for the local people to make sense of their place in Peru and in the world. As Zoila Mendoza shows, they do more than reflect societal changes, they actively transform society.

In this fluid world, she argues, racial and ethnic identities are shaped more by notions of what is decent, elegant, and modern rather than by skin color or status. As the different troupes vie for the townspeople's recognition as the most "authentic" group, these notions are challenged and reworked. A fascinating look at a rich tradition, this innovative work is also a compelling example of the critical anthropology of performance.
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Shaping Society through Dance: Mestizo Ritual Performance in the Peruvian Andes
During the patron saint fiesta in the Andean town of San Jerónimo, Peru, crowds gather at sunset in the town square, eagerly awaiting the entrance of the colorful dance troupes, or comparsas. With their masks, music, and surprising interpretations of contemporary events, the comparsas of the Cusco region are the focus of this multifaceted work. At the crossroads of folklore and ritual, mass media and local preferences, and regional and national identity, the comparsas—recorded here on VHS, DVD, and compact disc—have become a powerful way for the local people to make sense of their place in Peru and in the world. As Zoila Mendoza shows, they do more than reflect societal changes, they actively transform society.

In this fluid world, she argues, racial and ethnic identities are shaped more by notions of what is decent, elegant, and modern rather than by skin color or status. As the different troupes vie for the townspeople's recognition as the most "authentic" group, these notions are challenged and reworked. A fascinating look at a rich tradition, this innovative work is also a compelling example of the critical anthropology of performance.
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Shaping Society through Dance: Mestizo Ritual Performance in the Peruvian Andes

Shaping Society through Dance: Mestizo Ritual Performance in the Peruvian Andes

by Zoila S. Mendoza
Shaping Society through Dance: Mestizo Ritual Performance in the Peruvian Andes

Shaping Society through Dance: Mestizo Ritual Performance in the Peruvian Andes

by Zoila S. Mendoza

Hardcover(First Edition)

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Overview

During the patron saint fiesta in the Andean town of San Jerónimo, Peru, crowds gather at sunset in the town square, eagerly awaiting the entrance of the colorful dance troupes, or comparsas. With their masks, music, and surprising interpretations of contemporary events, the comparsas of the Cusco region are the focus of this multifaceted work. At the crossroads of folklore and ritual, mass media and local preferences, and regional and national identity, the comparsas—recorded here on VHS, DVD, and compact disc—have become a powerful way for the local people to make sense of their place in Peru and in the world. As Zoila Mendoza shows, they do more than reflect societal changes, they actively transform society.

In this fluid world, she argues, racial and ethnic identities are shaped more by notions of what is decent, elegant, and modern rather than by skin color or status. As the different troupes vie for the townspeople's recognition as the most "authentic" group, these notions are challenged and reworked. A fascinating look at a rich tradition, this innovative work is also a compelling example of the critical anthropology of performance.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780226520087
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication date: 08/01/2000
Series: Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology
Edition description: First Edition
Pages: 302
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Zoila S. Mendoza, an anthropologist and native of Peru, is assistant professor of Native American Studies at the University of California, Davis.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Contents of Compact Disc
Acknowledgments
1. An Introduction to the Study of Ritual Dance Performance in the Andes
2. Folklore, Authenticity, and Traditions in Cusco Regional Identity
3. The People of San Jerónimo, Their Lives, and Their Main Ritual in Regional and Historical Perspectives
4. The Majeños Comparsa: Power, Prestige, and Masculinity among Mestizos
5. Genuine but Marginal: Cultural Belonging, Social Subordination, and the Carnivalesque in the Qollas Performance
6. Contesting Identities through Altiplano Danzas: Gender and Generational Conflicts in the Cusco Region
7. Reflections on the Relationship between Performance and Society
Notes
References
Contents of Video
Index
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