The Indigenous Peruvian Trap Music of Renata Flores

[Judi Lynn]

posted by Jason Kottke Jul 07, 2020

Quechua is an indigenous language family spoken by millions of people in the Andean region of South America, primarily in Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. It was the main language of the Inca empire and today is the most widely spoken pre-Columbian language in the Americas. In her music, Peruvian singer/songwriter Renata Flores combines modern forms like hip hop, electronic, and trap music with native instruments and vocals sung in Quechua. Here’s the video for one of her most popular songs, Tijeras:

Flores also does covers of pop songs (Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy, Fallin’ by Alicia Keys) and
she first captured people’s online attention with a Quechua cover of Michael Jackson’s
The Way You Make Me Feel performed when she was 14 years old:

Rosa Chávez Yacila wrote an article for Vice about Flores and her music last year.
Her use of Quechua in pop music brought the language out of private spaces into the
public.

More:
https://kottke.org/20/07/the-indigenous-peruvian-trap-music-of-renata-flores

(No one should be able to obscure the real reason: the descendants of the original invaders, slavers, genocidal power-mad racist Europeans have ALWAYS hated, and violently abused the remaining indigenous people of the Americas, from the Artic to the southernmost tip of Chile. They have ALL taken abuse, and have lived being treated as trash every day of their lives. In Bolivia, the Inca indigenous people are often referred to as "fu##ing Indians", "llama abortions" and anything else they have handy.

THAT'S why they have felt inferior, and despised all this time.

Long past time the racists got it all stacked back on them, forever. They are vicious idiots.

Renata is courageous.

[Ferrets are Cool]

1. Thank you. You always post the best stuff

[Judi Lynn]

2. Hi, Ferrets are Cool. Thank you, so much, you're too kind.

[Ferrets are Cool]

4. 🤩

[Clash City Rocker]

3. Nice. I just downloaded this song.

We need to post more world music here.

[Judi Lynn]

7. Great! She's a real artist, works hard at it. There are some tremendous musicians in the Americas.

[Judi Lynn]

5. Adding music from YouTube by Renata Flores:

(Wonderful photography.)

[dhill926]

6. Enlightening and inspiring...

thx for posting. She has kind of a what if Frida Kahlo was a musician in these times vibe.

[Judi Lynn]

8. It's rare to discover people who are so determined, committed to making a worthy statement,

even if it takes their whole lives. They put themselves on the line continually. Thank you.