Peru - Cumanana

The “Cumanana” is a poetic form of singing based onfour or ten line stanzas. Of Spanish origin, it arrived in the northern coast of Peru with the slaves brought from the Caribbean, towards the 17th century. It is characterized by the joyfulness of its improvised verse lines dealing with all aspects of the life of men and women in the countryside. One of its forms is the competition between two rhymers and this is called “contrapunteo” (improvised musical dialogue).