Teachers, Folklore, and the Crafting ofSerranoCultural Identity in Peru

Javier García Liendo

doi:10.25222/larr.78

Abstract

This article examines two cases of folklorization led by teachers in Peru between 1939 and 1971, and characterized by the participation of the indigenous and mestizo subjects whose local cultures were transformed into folklore. These cases show teachers as active agents of cultural change in Andean schools, who were responding to de-Indianization by promoting aserrano(pertaining to the Sierra) regional identity among their students. In this fashion, teachers were reinventing “local traditions” to produce a new popular identity based on a common regional bond, through which indigenous and mestizo populations could negotiate new waves of cultural interaction with modernity and national society. The first case analyzes the projects of José María Arguedas and Emilio Barrantes to bring local folklore to the school curriculum and to promote an Andean popular culture. The second case explores school folklore competitions organized autonomously by provincial teachers, in which traditional dances were folklorized and turned into a popular spectacle. While framing both folklorization cases within the study of teachers as local intellectuals, the article also highlights the importance of a magisterial culture in Peru that, drawing from the progressive education movement, viewed teachers as agents of sociocultural change and nationalism.

Highlights

Studies on Peruvian education have widely explored various institutional, sociological, and cultural aspects of its history during the twentieth century
Vom Hau aligns with recent studies on Latin American education that stress the importance of analyzing teachers as intellectuals who constantly negotiate between local societies and the state (Vaughan 1997; Rockwell 1994, 2007)
His work focuses on Peruvian and Latin American cultural production and intellectual history of the twentieth century. He is the author of El intelectual y la cultura de masas: Argumentos latinoamericanos en torno a Ángel Rama y José María Arguedas (2017)

Summary

Javier García Liendo

This article examines two cases of folklorization led by teachers in Peru between 1939 and 1971, and characterized by the participation of the indigenous and mestizo subjects whose local cultures were transformed into folklore These cases show teachers as active agents of cultural change in Andean schools, who were responding to de-Indianization by promoting a serrano (pertaining to the Sierra) regional identity among their students. The second case explores school folklore competitions organized autonomously by provincial teachers, in which traditional dances were folklorized and turned into a popular spectacle While framing both folklorization cases within the study of teachers as local intellectuals, the article highlights the importance of a magisterial culture in Peru that, drawing from the progressive education movement, viewed teachers as agents of sociocultural change and nationalism. Aunque ambos casos de folklorización se enmarcan en el estudio de los maestros como intelectuales locales, este artículo también subraya la importancia de una cultura magisterial en el Perú que, influenciada por el movimiento de la Escuela Nueva, concibió a los maestros como agentes de cambio sociocultural y de nacionalismo

Introduction

Folklore Collections

Folklore Competitions

Conclusions

Author Information