I made this documentary in order to bring greater recognition to the Afro-Peruvian community and the performance arts it has created. In the process, I have tried to show how a community can rise above horrific circumstances to create a thing of beauty.
Several key figures in the Afro-Peruvian community expressed to me their concern that traditional Afro-Peruvian music and dance might perish, lost in the modern world of mass communication and the entertainment industry. This documentary is also in part an attempt to support them as they try to prevent that from happening.
For more than 200 years, starting in the early 16th century, there was slavery in Peru, mostly people kidnapped from Africa who had first been brought to the eastern coast of South America and then taken to Peru. The descendants of these people are today’s Afro-Peruvians,: people fully Peruvian but with a lively cultural tradition of their own which includes music and dance.
The documentary includes lots of performance along with interviews, on-location footage, photographs and a host’s narration. Our star is Lalo Izquierdo: dancer, choreographer, percussionist and folklorist of his community. Filmed in the USA and in Peru, it is in SD (the square format image).
Special thanks to Lalo Izquierdo plus Óscar Chambi Eschegaray, Carlos López, Edith Maldonado and Juan Medrano Cotito!
Please note: If you would like to contribute to maintaining Afro-Peruvian music and dance in its country of origin, it is possible to make donations on-line that go directly to relevant cultural organizations. We'll put information and links up in the near future.
Palomino Productions (whose legal name is Palomino Pro, LLC) is the production arm of filmmaker Eve A. Ma. Productions include her more than 15 documentaries, several experimental shorts, and a one-hour drama. We will only mention the highlights here.
Ma’s work has been in festivals and important events in seven countries on three continents (North America, Europe and Asia). Her work has won awards, and much of it is presented in two languages – English and Spanish. Her principal concerns are ethnic and cultural diversity, the arts, and communicating across boundaries. As she explains, “I’d like everyone to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.”
Major work in HD includes Masters of Rhythm, now in post-production with an expected release in early 2016; and Domino: Caught in the Crisis (Dominó: agarrado por la crisis) which was released in 2014.
In addition, she has created a series of broadcast one-hour documentaries about world music and dance, including A Zest for Life as well as Of Beauty & Deities: Music & Dance of India and Pearls from the Sea: Music & Dance of Tahiti, all of which have and continue to be broadcast over educational stations in the United States. Ma's other work includes experimental shorts shot in Spain and the United States.
To learn more about Ma’s films, go to www.PalominoPro.com or sign up for her monthly newsletter, www.PalominoPro-signup.com.
