Nicknamed “the mother of Afro-Peruvian dance and theatre”, the choreographer and composer Victoria Santa Cruz (1922 – 2014) developed and renewed Afro-Peruvian culture in the 1960s – 1970s, in particular through the scenic arts.
A line of artists
Eighth of eleven children of her parents, Victoria Gamarra and Nicomedes Santa Cruz Aparicio, Victoria Eugenia Santa Cruz Gamarra was born on October 27, 1922 in Lima, Peru. Her family included many artists and musicians, and the little girl was introduced to various arts at a very young age, in particular dance, music and poetry. Her parents taught her Afro-Peruvian dances, in particular the marinera, and dances and music quickly established themselves as true passions for her, which would follow her all her life. His mother, in particular, dances. His father made him discover Shakespeare in English and listen to operas.
As a black Peruvian, in a country that has been independent since 1821 but abolished slavery nearly 30 years later, Victoria faces racism early on. In his poem Me gritaron negra (I was called "black") from 1978, she refers to her first painful experience of racism and exclusion:when she was five years old, a newcomer to her neighborhood, a blonde girl, said to Victoria's group of friends that she won't play with them "if the little black girl wants to play with them". Excluded, the little girl draws from this moment of suffering an awareness of her identity, of society and of life itself.
“I never forgot the importance of suffering. (…) That girl stimulated something in me without knowing. And I came to discover what it means to stand on your feet without looking for someone to blame, suffering but discovering things. I began to discover life. The enemy lives at home. » Victoria Santa Cruz in 2007. (I have never forgotten the importance of suffering. (…) This girl stimulated something in me without knowing it. And I discovered what it means to stand on your feet. feet, not looking for someone to blame, to suffer but to discover things. I began to discover life. The enemy lives within the home.)
Beginning of career
In 1958, Victoria Santa Cruz and her brother Nicomedes, three years her junior, founded the dance, singing and theater group Cumanana, in which all the siblings participated. She and her siblings see the company as a way to promote Afro-Peruvian music and culture and to – in her words – “raise black consciousness and pride” . Victoria co-directed the troupe until 1961, and composed pieces such as Malató , a musical addressing the theme of slavery that she writes, choreographs and directs.
Spotted during a show by a cultural adviser from the French Embassy, Victoria obtained a scholarship and went to study in France. In Paris, between 1961 and 1965, she took theater and choreography lessons at the higher school of choreographic studies at the University of the Theater of Nations, notably with the choreographer Maurice Béjart, the actor Jean-Louis Barrault and even by the writer Eugène Ionesco. During her European stay, Victoria deepened her interest in the roots of Afro-Peruvian culture by traveling to Africa. She creates a ballet called La muñeca negra (The black doll). In 1966, Victoria returned to Peru, with a very complete education and great creative energy, and with the objective of developing and professionalizing the Afro-Peruvian performing arts.
Teatro y Danzas del Perú
Upon her return from Peru, Victoria Santa Cruz founded the group Teatro y Danzas del Perú (theater and dances of Peru), thanks to which it produces shows whose high quality is quickly recognized. She and her brother Nicomedes carry out in-depth research on Peruvian culture and traditions, rediscovering or bringing up to date music, songs, dances that have been forgotten or fallen into disuse. During the shows, the dancers, carefully selected and trained, perform choreographies on a background of traditional music. The level of requirement and the high quality of the shows put on by Victoria have earned them recognition beyond the borders of Peru, and the troupe regularly performs abroad. His work is complemented by that of Nicomedes, who publishes books and articles on Afro-Peruvian culture. Both in their own way are driven by their desire to promote Afro-Peruvian culture.
“Encountered in lo que había heredado justamente como ancestro, África, la base para ponerme de pie. Tuve que empezar por el negro, por esas combinations rítmicas africanas que hemos heredado y conservamos tan celosamente a través de cuatrocientos años, fue lo que me hizo decir un día el negro no fue nunca esclavo, porque nadie pudo esclavizar su ritmo interior, que es the unique guide of the human being. Que no me diga nadie que no es racista antes de serlo, hay que serlo primero. » Victoria Santa Cruz (I found in what I had precisely inherited as an ancestor, Africa, the base to stand on my feet. I had to start with Black, with these combinations of African rhythms that we inherited and guarded so jealously for four hundred years, that is what made me say one day that the Black has never been a slave, because no one has been able to enslave his inner rhythm, which is the only guide to Don't tell me he's not racist until he's been, he has to be.)
Career peak
Victoria Santa Cruz enjoys recognition and success such as her group and she performs on international tours, including the United States, Canada, Western Europe. In 1968, the group Teatro y Danzas del Perú occurs during the Summer Olympics in Mexico City. The following year, Victoria was appointed director of the Escuela Nacional de Folklore then director of the Conjunto Nacional de Folklore in 1973; the latter aims to preserve and disseminate national folklore through live performance, dance, song and music. Particularly recognized in the United States, Victoria first organized workshops as a visiting professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, before becoming an assistant professor there from 1983 to 1989 and then professor emeritus from 1989 to 1999.
Along with her responsibilities, Victoria composes her own works, songs, poems, musical performances, among which the lyric poem inspired by her own experience Me gritaron negra , the play La Magia del Ritmo or the song Cumanana , discussing his past in the band of the same name with his brother.
Victoria Santa Cruz died in August 2014 in Lima, at the age of 91. She and her brother are still considered key players in the revival of Afro-Peruvian culture.
Me gritaron negra
Tenía siete años apenas,
apenas siete años
Que siete años!
No llegaba a cinco siquiera!
De pronto unas voces en la calle
Me gritaron Negra!
Negra! Negra! Negra! Negra! Negra! Negra! Negra!
“Soy acaso negra? » »- tell me
IF!
“”Que cosa es ser negra? » »
Negra!
Y yo no sabía the sad verdad that aquello escondía.
Negra!
Y me felt negra,
Negra!
Como ellos decian
Negra!
Y retrocedi
Negra!
Como ellos querian
Negra!
Y odie mis cabellos y mis labios gruesos
Y mire apenada mi carne tostada
Y retrocedi
Negra!
Y retrocedi. . .
Negra! Negra! Negra! Negra!
Negra! Negra! Negra!
Negra! Negra! Negra! Negra!
Negra! Negra! Negra! Negra!
Y pasaba el tiempo,
Y siempre amargada
Seguía llevando a mi espalda
Mi pesada cargo
Y cómo pesaba!…
Me alacié el cabello,
polvee me the cara
Y entre mis entrañas siempre resonaba la misma palabra
Negra! Negra! Negra! Negra!
Negra! Negra! Neeegra!
Hasta que un día que retrocedía, retrocedía y qué iba a caer
Negra! Negra! Negra! Negra!
Negra! Negra! Negra! Negra!
Negra! Negra! Negra! Negra!
Negra! Negra! Negra!
What?
What?
Negra!
Whether
Negra!
Soy
Negra!
Black
Negra!
Negra soy
Negra!
Whether
Negra!
Soy
Negra!
Black
Negra!
Negra soy
From hoy to adelante no quiero
Laciar mi cabello
no quiero
Y voy a reírme de aquellos,
Que por evitar -según ellos-
Que por evitarnos algún sinsabor
Llaman a los negros gente de color
Y de qué color!
nigga
Y qué lindo suena!
nigga
Y qué ritmo tiene!
Negro Negro Negro Negro
Negro Negro Negro Negro
Negro Negro Negro Negro
Negro Negro
At the end
Al fin comprehend
At the end
Ya no retrocedo
At the end
Y avanzo segura
At the end
Avanzo y espero
At the end
Y bendigo al cielo porque quiso Dios
Que negro azabache fuese mi color
Y ya comprehend
At the end
Ya tengo la llave!
At the end
Negro Negro Negro Negro
Negro Negro Negro Negro
Negro Negro Negro Negro
Negro Negro
Negra soy