Chronicles of the Andean Migrant: Music, Migration, and Political Violence in Peru

This article describes the social and musical experience of migrants from the Ayacucho town of Hualla during their displacement and integration into Lima. The first phase of migration to the capital city was motivated by work and personal advancement, beginning in the mid-twentieth century and continuing into the onset of political violence (1980-2000). The second phase, known as forced migration, corresponds to a totally tragic context, in the midst of the war waged by Sendero Luminoso and military repression in the Andes. In both forms of migration, people took advantage of their social networks and strengthened their bonds of solidarity and trust among migrants. Music, song, and testimonial poetry express this social experience and reinforce their capacity for survival amid war, social exclusion, and nostalgia.