Between the Jewel and the Pearl of the Pacific. Zamacueca, Chilean Cueca and Lima Marinera: Plebeian Culture and Transnationality (1880-1920)

Abstract

This article introduces theoretical issues related to the notion of plebeian culture from a transnational perspective, to historically reconstruct the development of regional musics between 1880 and 1920. It focuses particularly on the zamacueca and two of its derivative genres, the Chilean cueca and the Limean marinera, phenomena of a continent-wide impact that were involved in processes of nationalization and structural modernization within the musical field. All this, with the goal of offering a binational and comparative history, specifically based on their presence in Peruvian and Chilean songbooks towards the end of the 19th century and the first third of the 20th century.