Indigenous musicians were at the heart of their communities in the Pueblos de Indios of the Viceroyalty of Peru. They were usually referred to as “Indios cantores” in documents, but this term encompasses a diverse group of individuals whose identities remain largely unknown today. Addressing labor and cultural practices, this conference will explore how these musicians coped with an ever-changing environment in which adaptation was key to sustaining their musical endeavors.
Laura Fahrenkrog is Associate Professor of History at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez (Chile). Her research centers on musical practices in colonial Spanish America, examining their connection to social and cultural problems, labor, and colonial categories. Her book Los "indios cantores" del Paraguay. Prácticas musicales y dinámicas de movilidad en Asunción colonial (siglos XVI-XVIII) (Sb Editorial, 2020) is the 2021 winner of the Clarence H. Haring Prize in Latin American History from the American Historical Association. Her DRCLAS project focuses on studying Indigenous musicians in the Viceroyalty of Peru (16th–18th centuries) and considers three interrelated themes: identities, mobilities, and material culture.