What do Korean pop and Andean music in the Quechua language have in common? Not much, but the young Peruvian Lenin Tamayo Pinares managed the feat of linking these two musical genres to create Quechua pop, or in his words, Q-pop.
Like many emerging artists today, TikTok is where Lenin made his name. Her first video, released in 2022, shows an excerpt from the song’s music video Let’s dance (Let’s dance in Quechua), which he composed during the pandemic.
From that moment, the magic worked.
A year later, the young man has 200,000 subscribers and more than 4 million likes on the popular social network.
In the meantime, the 23-year-old artist has released two new songs and music videos, How does it work? (How?) and It’s the sun (The Andean New Year), which earned him congratulations from the South Korean Ambassador to Peru, creating his own Club, a national television appearance and requests for interviews from media around the world. His notoriety even led him to carry out advertising campaigns for a telecommunications company.
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The choreographies in his videos are similar to those of planetary groups like BTS, and the melodies borrow sounds from Korean pop and pop in general. But if you listen carefully, you can also hear Andean instruments, such as the zampoña and the quena (wind instruments), as well as the charango (string instrument).
Her style of dress is also surprising. We can see him dressed in jeans, a hoodie and sneakers as well as with makito (long gloves), a belt (belt) and traditional fabrics.
The objective: to unite modernity and [ses] Andean roots to break stereotypes, says in an interview with Indigenous Spaces the one who, a year ago, was finishing his studies in psychology at the university.
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Peruvian artist Lenin Tamayo (center), accompanied by his dancers during the filming of the music video for the song “Intiraymi”.
As for the lyrics, Lenin likes to mix Spanish and Quechua to make his music more accessible. Like K-pop, which includes English, he recalls.
From mother to son
The apple never falls far from the tree. Lenin Tamayo’s mother is none other than Yolanda Pinares, a well-known Andean folk singer in Peru. It is thanks to her, he admits, that he now masters Quechua and embraces his Andean roots without shame. A chance that other young Andeans did not have, he maintains.
Many young people today do not learn Quechua because their parents and grandparents feel that speaking Quechua is synonymous with ignorance and being uncivilized. And that is a direct consequence of colonization.
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Artist Lenin Tamayo Pinares with his mother Yolanda Pinares, Andean folklore singer
In the 15th and 16th centuries, Quechua was the lingua franca of the Inca Empire, which stretched from southern Colombia to northern Chile. Today, the language is estimated to have eight million speakers, more than half of whom are in Peru. Quechua includes several dialects; all are threatened to varying degrees, according to UNESCO.
Korean influences
For Lenin Tamayo, K-pop was first a refuge during his high school years when he was being bullied. She then allowed him to understand that language and culture were not limits.
The K-pop industry has demonstrated to the world that even if a language is only spoken by a minority of people, it can end up dominating the music industry. It’s inspiring. If Korean culture has succeeded in doing this, why not Andean culture?
On social networks, it is not uncommon to see comments from Internet users who thank him for promoting the Quechua language and Andean culture. Lenin has become something of a model for young people who have to deal with their Andean origins and the injustices suffered by the indigenous populations of South America, a legacy of Spanish colonization perpetuated by subsequent governments.
Ten years ago, the only people from the Andean community you saw on national television were stereotypes, says the artist, who moved to Lima, the capital, to devote himself to his musical career.
Still surprised by the attention he is generating, he is gradually noticing the extent of his success, which has been growing for a year.
It’s crazy! But it also reminds me of my responsibilities as an artist. I sincerely believe that being an artist is not just about making music; it is also to carry a message, to generate change so that society improves, he continues.
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Peruvian artist Lenin Tamayo
Although the majority of his admirers come from Peru, Lenin notices that his visibility extends to neighboring countries, from Ecuador to Bolivia, passing through Colombia, Chile and Argentina. It was like the expansion of the Inca Empire, he jokes.
We all have Andean blood, so when we hear Quechua, it catches our attention, continues the one who will release his first album on July 28, Bitter (Snake), whose structure is inspired by Andean Inca mythology.
This date is not insignificant: it corresponds to the national holiday of Peru, the date of independence which occurred in 1821 against the Spanish crown.
At Lenin Tamayo, there is always a return to basics and always a message to pass on.
2023-07-19 18:14:13
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