Legacy
Lucha Reyes and the ensemble Los Morochucos placed black performers among the leading interpreters of the vals criollo and marinera genres. Although it is not by origin an Afro-Peruvian music, by expertly phrasing lyrics and playing the vals criollo with slightly off-beat accents, as if pulling back and pushing on the regular meter. Marineras are songs done in honor of the sailors who had fought in the war with Chile and is played with two guitars and cajón, accompanied by hand clapping.
The vals criollo derives from the Viennese waltz, but feels quite different and has a lush, romantic character, from the Viennese waltz, as well as themes of love. The vals criollo has a drier, more restrained, sound, and keeps a certain distance from its subject. The addition of the cajón to the traditional instrumentation of two guitars served also to give the vals an Afro-Peruvian dimension.
Songs such as "¿Qué Importa?" of Juan Mosto ("What Does It Matter?"), with lyrics like " yet another failure is but a drop of water in the ocean for me " were made famous by Lucha Reyes and made here a National icon, as well as her songs, rich with Peruvian Nationalism and criollo pride. Today, October 31, the same day of her death, is the "Día de la Canción Criolla" (Day of the Creole Song) and is celebrated in Peru every year.
Read more about this topic: Lucha Reyes (Peruvian Singer)
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