LEGENDARY AFRO-PERUVIAN SONG & DANCE TROUPE PERÚ NEGRO

Legendary Afro-Peruvian Song & Dance Troupe PERÚ NEGRO

Tuesday, January 22, 2008 at 8:00 pm / Roy Thomson Hall / Toronto

Tickets: $59.50 to $29.50 – Call 416-872-4255

or visit the Roy Thomson Hall Box Office at www.roythomson.com.


Toronto, December 19, 2007 - The world-famous 22-member folkloric ensemble Perú Negro, celebrates Peru’s African-derived culture with vibrant dances, passionate songs and colourful costumes in a high-energy show at Roy Thomson Hall on Tuesday, January 22, 2008, at 8 p.m. The performance launches the company’s 10-week, 40-city North American tour.

Perú Negro’s cultural heritage dates from the early 1700s when Peru’s slaves were banned from using drums. To express and preserve their rhythms, the slaves substituted objects found in the fields, such as wooden fruit and vegetable crates, which developed into the cajón, the national instrument of Peru. (The cajón is a rectangular wooden box, which the player sits on and beats with both hands to create the intricate rhythms that form the foundation of most Afro-Peruvian tunes.) Other percussion instruments that evolved from this period are the cajita (a church collection box that hangs from the neck and is played by opening and closing its lid and tapping its side with a stick); and the quijada de burro (a dried-out donkey jawbone used as a shaker and scraper instrument). These unusual set of instruments, when joined by Latin percussion, guitars, and passionate vocals, create the distinctive and unforgettable sound that is the heart of Afro-Peruvian music.

Perú Negro was founded in 1969 by musician-choreographer Ronaldo Campos de la Colina and 12 family members. The group soon won the grand prize at the Hispanoamerican Festival of Song and Dance in Buenos Aires and rapidly became a Peruvian national treasure. These pioneering members helped spark the revival of Peru’s rich black cultural traditions and led to the preservation and development of Afro-Peruvian music.

Under the artistic direction of the founder’s son, lead percussionist Jaime Ronaldo Campos Ponce (whose wife, Mónica Dueñas, is the lead singer), Perú Negro remains a family affair that includes two generations of world-class performers.

Appointed by the Peruvian government as the official “Cultural Ambassadors of Black Peru,” the Lima-based music and dance company tours the world and runs its own school where it trains its junior troupe, Perú Negrito.

In 2005, Perú Negro was honored with two Grammy nominations for its second U.S. album, Jolgirio.

For more information, visit http://www.perunegro.org.

This performance is part of "Share the Music", the Corporation’s education and outreach program. Over 300 complimentary tickets will be provided to under-served young people to attend the concert and participate in a pre-concert workshop hosted by Latin American musician/composer Edguardo Moreno.

"Share the Music" aims to enrich and inspire young people through exposure to world-class performers and related educational activities. It is sponsored by Sun Life Financial and supported by many individuals and organizations. For more information, visit www.roythomson.com/shareMusic.cfm.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Liz Parker, Publicity Manager
Ph: 416 593 4822, Ext. 318
email: liz.parker@rth-mh.com

THE CORPORATION OF MASSEY HALL AND ROY THOMSON HALL
60 Simcoe Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5J 2H5


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