Chicherías lead to the coliseum: José María Arguedas, technology and popular music

Abstract

This article studies Arguedas’ intellectual practices with technology (the voice recorder, music records, the radio) concerning the transformation of Andean popular music in the context of mass immigration in Peru during the second half of the twentieth century. Arguedas’ intellectual response to the impact of capitalism on culture in the Andes is analyzed through the concept of mass culture. Arguedas simultaneously promotes and rejects this impact, since he perceives the potential for a positive reformulation of the quest for nationhood in Peru, as well as the impending destruction of traditional Andean cultures. Moreover, Arguedas’ reflection on the role of music in Andean culture is discussed through the concept of popular public sphere.