Visiting Chincha in the South of Peru instantly transports you to an entirely different time and place. Gone are the Inca ruins and traditional Peruvian dishes, replaced instead by black African figurines and mouth-watering dishes of Creole food featuring potatoes and rice .
The Afro-Peruvian culture is rich and colorful, steeped in a long history and well-defined traditions. If you visit Chincha during February or November, you will be able to see this part of Peru at its best. The festival of Verano Negro and las Danzas Negras bring the streets alive with music and dancing.
El Carmen is a worthwhile tourist destination at any time of the year with peñas (parties) featuring Afro-Peruvian music in clubs and bars. Pisco is served from the local wineries in the nearby district of Ica.
The traditional Afro-Peruvian music is played using a number of local historic instruments including the cajon drum, the cajita, and the quijada de burro, made from an ox or donkey jaw . The dances are fun and energetic bringing a smile to all those watching.
Hacienda San Jose built in 1688, a former seventeenth-century manor, provides a glimpse of a slave plantation from the past complete with catacombs and underground tunnels. Dinner and buffet shows are also available at this stately address.
Once the slave tradition ended, the Africans and their Peruvian-African descendants remained, enriching the local Peruvian Creole culture in Chincha and El Carmen.
