Zoila S. Mendoza is Associate Professor of Native American Studies at the University of California, Davis. She is the author of Shaping Society through Dance: Mestizo Ritual Performance in the Peruvian Andes.

The Mision Peruana de Arte Incaico and the Development of ArtisticFolkloric Production in Cuzco 17

The Rise of Cultural Institutions and Contests 35

Touristic Cuzco Its Monuments and Its Folkore 65

La Hora del Charango The Cholo Feeling Cuzquenoness and Peruvianness 93

Creative Effervescence and the Cosolidation of Spaces for Folklore 125

Who Will Represent What Is Our Own? Some Paradoxes of Andean Folklore Both Inside and Outside Peru 169

Notes 183

Discography 219

Bibliography 221

Index 229

Creating Our Own provides much useful data for the study of folkloric canon formation.” - Sydney Hutchinson, Dance Research Journal



“Creating Our Own lucidly reproduces the tensions, difficulties, and paradoxes of postcolonial identity-formation at the regional and national levels. Not only is Mendoza successful in showing how the artistic-folkloric productions of Cuzco were integral to the formation of both cuzqueño and Peruvian identities, but she also succeeds in humanizing and individualizing what are often seen as largely social and national processes. . . . Creating Our Own is a suitable resource for graduate students and scholars of anthropology, history, and musicology. Mendoza organizes her materials logically, elegantly, and clearly.” - Adam M. Pacton, Anthropology Review Database



“Creating Our Own offers a detailed accounting of how folklore enters into processes of identity formation and projection in one exemplary setting, Cuzco, Peru, during the first half of the twentieth century. . . . Folklorists will find in this book a pliable and productive formulation of the domain of folklore.” - John H. McDowell, Journal of Folklore Research



“[F]ascinating, well-written. . . . Mendoza illuminates a rich time of cultural production that continues to have an ongoing influence on hemispheric and even global indigenous identity formation. Recommended.” - K.S. Fine-Dare, Choice



“[T]his book is a valuable contribution to the understanding of Peruvian cultural history in the past century, arising from an admirable methodological meeting between anthropology and musicology. Creating Our Own not only brings new ideas and knowledge, but the reader can enjoy the musical works studied here by purchasing recordings listed in the discography.” - Víctor Peralta Ruiz, Hispanic American Historical Review



“Revivals of local musical traditions are sometimes described as the creations of relatively wealthy groups and government policymakers. Zoila S. Mendoza’s fascinating analysis of the roles of local actors in shaping folklore movements in Peru is highly relevant for studies in the rest of Latin America, the United States, and elsewhere.”—Anthony Seeger, author of Why Suyá Sing: A Musical Anthropology of an Amazonian People



“This innovative, impassioned book explores music and dance in the heartland of the Andes. Zoila S. Mendoza conveys the power and beauty of Cuzco’s Andean culture, and yet, like some nimble village pan-pipe player, shows the complexities, contradictions, and struggle over that elusive, marketable commodity we call ‘folklore.’ Her remarkable study allows us to see the Andes and the matter of tradition and heritage in new ways.”—Orin Starn, coeditor of The Peru Reader: History, Culture, Politics
From the Publisher
"This innovative, impassioned book explores music and dance in the heartland of the Andes. Zoila S. Mendoza conveys the power and beauty of Cuzco's Andean culture, and yet, like some nimble village pan-pipe player, shows the complexities, contradictions, and struggle over that elusive, marketable commodity we call `folklore.' Her remarkable study allows us to see the Andes and the matter of tradition and heritage in new ways."--Orin Starn, coeditor of The Peru Reader: History, Culture, Politics
"Revivals of local musical traditions are sometimes described as the creations of relatively wealthy groups and government policymakers. Zoila S. Mendoza's fascinating analysis of the roles of local actors in shaping folklore movements in Peru is highly relevant for studies in the rest of Latin America, the United States, and elsewhere."--Anthony Seeger, author of Why Suyá Sing: A Musical Anthropology of an Amazonian People --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.