Geoffrey Dean

Jonathan Ritter, Terror in an Andean Key: Peasant Cosmopolitans Interpret

9/11, in Music in the Post-9/11 World, ed. Jonathan Ritter and J. Martin
Daughtery (New York: Routledge, 2007), 177-208.

In February 2002 the Andean people included a song titled Osama Bin Laden in
their annual song contest in the southern Peruvian Andes.

The song fit within the themes of social commentary, political critique, absurd
humor that are part of the carnival tradition associated with this competition.

Latin Americas history over the last 20 years gives its residence a unique
perspective on terrorism

Author is pointing out that it is seemingly unexpected by Americans that Peruvian

folk tunes would be alluding to 9/11.

After 9/11 musical responses from within and outside the United States were
significant.

Although some was performed through popular music genres, some was performed
in folk context as well i.e. shadow puppet theater in Indonesia to carnival songs in
highland Peru.

Concursos became an important song for political commentary/protest in trying to

make sense of the violence of the dirty war between Maoist guerrillas and the
Peruvian state from 1980 through the mid 1990s.

In 1980 Sendero Luminoso declared war on the Peruvian state. The Maoist, pro
communist states violent revolt came at the end of a 12 year military dictatorship.
This left the general public discerning between the terrorist acts vs the untrusted

military tactics. After the loss of life of 70,000 the group was dissolved but the
unrest contributed to what is referred to as Latin Americas lost decade. Explore-

Concursos had been being performed since the 1970s in Ayacucho.

Pumpin carnival music is played on twelve- string guitars featuring female vocalists

During the revolt Sendero Luminoso tried to use these songs to contribute to their
cause. In turn causing pumpin to go from love, agriculture, and daily-goings of
peasant life towards song with a direct message.

In the mid 1980s the music became focused on those who lost their lives and
protesting excesses of the Peruvian military. In the 1990s the focuses were on
refugee life and migrant life in the capital cities of Ayachumo and Lima. Although
they lived in Incan adobes modern elements of life like TV contributed to their
social awareness making pumpin music very modern tradition.

Peruvian media referred to 9/11 as 11-S. Peruvian media mostly focused on New
York where 5 Peruvian citizens had died and there is a large Peruvian population in
Paterson, New Jersey to provide a local angle.

Numerous songs about 9/11 were performed at the competition Ritter attended. 5
out of 15 offered sympathetic compositions .

In Waqay Vida the author makes connections in the phrasing of being reduced to
ashes as tying into to Perus own Mesa Redonda fire. First person language helps to
blur the boundary between their and our.

In Tragedy in North America a more political tone is taken likening Bin Laden to
the Shining Path leader Abimael Guzman. It shows the effect mass media has on
influencing attitudes. There is also some criticism of the treatment of prisoners in
American prisons. Overall theme of condemnation of all violence.