Afro-Peruvians are a little-known but important part of the African Diaspora and this community of African descendants has created a lively and appealing music. It has also contributed several instruments to the word of music, most notably the Peruvian cajón (also called a cajón drum) which has now entered Latin jazz and even Spanish flamenco.

Our documentary focuses on three of the best-known and finest Afro-Peruvian percussionists as they play the cajón, sing, and shoot the breeze: Lalo Izquierdo, Cotito (Juan Medrano Cotito) and Huevito (Freddy Huevito Lobatón), three extremely charismatic musicians. We enjoy their performance and learn from them how they learned their art as well as some of the fascinating aspects of their culture.

The documentary is accompanied by several interesting Extras which add more depth to the educational viewing experience. Together, they provide an hour of video.

And for those interested in statistics: estimates of the size of the Afro-Peruvian community itself range from 50,000 to 2 million. The reason for the lack of precision is because for many decades, there was no category on the national census that allowed them to identify themselves. The 2017 census, however, has attempted to remedy this but it will take some time for the tally to be complete.

THIS VIDEO HAS CLOSED CAPTIONS (ENGLISH).