Los Hermanos Ballumbrosio (the Ballumbrosio brothers) are members of one of the key families of El Carmen, Chincha, a cotton-producing province located 200 km south of Lima, Peru. The area is known for hosting the largest black community in Peru. Significantly, the Ballumbrosio brothers are the heirs of a great cultural tradition, embodied in the figure and teachings of their father Amador Ballumbrosio Mosquera, as well as their mother Adelina Guadalupe de Ballumbrosio.
The patriarch of the family was an icon of Afro-Peruvian musical culture. He was a fiddler, a performer of zapateo (a local type of tap dance) and, for a long time, a leading performer of the “Danza de Negritos” (also known as “Hatajo de Negritos”), a traditional religious dance that is part of the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Amador and Adelina had fifteen children, all of them heirs and practitioners of the Afro-Peruvian tradition who became great cultural ambassadors of El Carmen by turning their family house into a pilgrimage site for visitors in town. Hence, the Ballumbrosio brothers cultivated music from a very young age, training as percussionists and in particular as virtuosos of Afro-Peruvian zapateo, which constitutes a fundamental element of the “Hatajo de Negritos”.
In 2022, the Ballumbrosio brothers included Chebo, Miguel, Roberto, Camilo and Pudy Ballumbrosio, all of them with a recognized individual career in various groups and solo projects.
“Homenaje a El Carmen” (“Homage to El Carmen”), the third volume of the series “Perspectives on Afro-Peruvian Music”, signaled the return of the group to the recording studio, and also to the sources of rhythms such as festejo and panalivio, which they perform with cajón, quijada (jawbone), congas, bongo and batá.
On their 2022 album “Homenaje a El Carmen”, Los Hermanos Ballumbrosio perform traditional songs that are heard during festivities, such as “Guanchivalito”, which is played during the Yunza Negra, a ceremony in which a willow tree is cut to bring benefits to the community. “Panalivio ” and “Serrana Vieja” are two traditional Christmas carols that are performed in the “Hatajo de Negritos” and which reflect the syncretic character of the Afro-Peruvian culture. These songs speak of the difficulties of rural life, but they also serve as a vehicle to demonstrate the Ballumbrosio brother’s mastery in the art of zapateo, a dance that is accompanied by violin and bells. The classic “La Esquina de El Carmen” is perhaps the song that best expresses the erotic character of festejo, also known as baile de cintura (waist dance).
(headline image: Los hermanos ballumbrosio – Photo by Juan Pablo Aragón)
Discography:
Los Ritmos Negros De Chincha (Petites Planètes, 2014)
Homenaje a El Carmen (Buh Records, 2022)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.