Instructions:
Read Joshua Tucker’s “Natures Sonorous Politics” and choose ONE prompt. Post your answer in the comment section down below. 200-word minimum. The deadline is 4/13 before the class.
OPTION ONE
What is chimaycha music and what are Joshua Tucker’s views on its political implications?
OPTION TWO
Joshua Tucker says that chimaycha music “has always been an eco-centric idiom,” what does he mean by that?
OPTION THREE
What has been the role of Radio Quispillaccta in promoting indigenous self-determination in the region?
OPTION FOUR
Respectfully interact with ONE of your classmates’ responses. Do you agree with their arguments and interpretations? Do you disagree? What other observations about “Nature’s Sonorous Politics” do you want to bring into the discussion?
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Radio Quispillaccta allowed for chimaycha music to thrive which in turn allows for the indigenous people of Peru to come together as a community. The article states, “This radio program drove the creation of a chimaycha performing scene, made up of young musicians eager to hear themselves on the radio. More importantly, it established a cassette archive of traditional music.” Programs promoting Indigineous artists as well as other development projects improved the economy which gave new opportunities for Indigenous children. The radio Quispillaccta has more than chimaycha music playing as well. It has community news, encouragement of the value of Indigneous tradition and programs about human rights and agricultural technique. Chimaycha music has also evolved on the radio with the inclusion of chimaycha music and mainstream pop music. The Radio Quispillaccta’s staff believes this allows for the younger generations of Quechua speakers to find their voice but also claim and grow with their Indigenous identity. Radio Quispillaccta promotes indigenous self-determination in the region by giving them a voice and also a channel to embrace their indigenous identity and to evolve with it as a community. Peru’s indigenous movement isn’t as much political as it is cultural.
I strongly agree with your statement. I believe the Radio Quispillaccta plays an essential role in promoting indigenous self-determination in its region. Joshua Tucker explains that the radio shares a large variety of information, such as “community news, programs about human rights and agriculture techniques, exhortations about the value of indigenous tradition, and a lot of chimaycha”. This radio plays the role of a platform and takes up space for its community, in addition to highlighting what the community truly values. The article also states that the radios staff “accepts this as part of a process through which young Quechua speakers are finding their voice and defining their values as indigenous people.” The radio serves both younger and older generations with its content, meeting everyone’s needs and providing representation for the entire community. Like you mentioned, the radio station provided the community a voice, but it also provides an opportunity for learning and growth throughout the community, further promoting indigenous self determination.
I agree with your statement because I feel like culture is better than politics. The people in the community of Peru are enjoying little things such as radios and music because it is bringing them together.
Option 2(The Song Of Life)
Songs have long been associated to a cultural manifestation of people’s beliefs and values. Eco-narratives have long been a large part of peru’s narrative. Having a relationship to land and the people is important to cultivating land that prosper and gives a strong levels of return. The return are the crops, community, and the love they cultivate for their ecosystem.
The article by Joshua Tucker called “Natures Sonorous Politics” talks about music, ecology and indiginous activism in Peru. However, chimaycha music “has always been an eco-centric idiom” as stated in his article. This quote provides a strong insight of how powerful and important chimaycha music is for Peru to be point of being considered as a eco-centric idiom. Eco-centric can be defined as having a serious concern for environmental issues and management; therefore, chimaycha can be a symbol of Quechua identity intended to improve and raise awareness of Peruvian culture and environmental resonance. Through chimaycha music, indigenious people can improve their identity by creating and adding unique music styles to the world. Recognizing chimaycha music is a work in progress because indigenious work needs resources as any other work to spread their music to a global level. The author also states that “it was inevitable that chimaycha would come to revolve around the birds, mammals, landforms, and rivers that populated the very spaces in which the songs were sung”. As stated before, chimaycha has been around environmental resources; for that reason, people have associated this music to have a more natural or environmental root. In addition, chimaycha has been also considered an idiom revolving around the environment because these songs were created by people who labor hard in the Andean country.
Hey Daysi, I agree with your statement. Chimaycha music has always been important for the people of Peru, as its a eco-centric idiom. The radio is able to be a major factor in promoting indigenous self-discrimination in the region. We can all agree that the radio is able to provide a platform for the community in Peru. The people are given an opportunity to use their voice, and find their values as indigenous people. The radio is able to serve all generations with the content provided.
Joshua Tucker says that chimaycha music “has always been an eco-centric idiom,” what does he mean by that?
Chimaycha music has always highlighted and been inspired by the ecology of Andean Peru placing value and importance on the entire environment and all the natural life in it. Music is a significant part of indigenous experiences and it is produced by many type of instruments and arrangements which are created by a form of ritual or inherent knowledge by using the elemental tools that are present in their environments, literally using the sounds of nature such as animals, river flowing, a chirping bird etc…as their “track”. The music in this sense has served as a way to organically connect indigenous people, their ecologies and territories throughout the sparse Peruvian Andean region. It was mostly used by young herders who often were in remote locations that produced interesting sounds which they used to their advantage to have “get togethers”, this is actually reminscent to me of the early hip hop culture of the 80’s and 90’s in NYC when “beatboxers” would gather around basketball courts and parks and not only use their hands and mouths to create music but also use the sound of bouncing basketballs, handballs and even the ice cream truck and police sirens around them to make musical beats and rap about them. With the change of the seasons Chimaycha music also changed as the sounds and environments around them produced different soundtracks for them to create and recreate their songs as this also aided the courting rituals of the youth, Chimaycha music brought people together and solidified mating rituals thus enabling the creation of families and new ecologies that are all inherently interconnected.