Lima’s <i>Criolla </i><i>Music</i>, A Polyhedron of Thousand Points: 
A Conversation with Bruno Benavides Allaín on Representation and the Self in Visual Anthropology

Luis Andres Caceres Alvarez

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ash.20261201.11

Research Article |

| Peer-Reviewed

Lima’s Criolla Music, A Polyhedron of Thousand Points: A Conversation with Bruno Benavides Allaín on Representation and the Self in Visual Anthropology

Luis Andres Caceres Alvarez^*

Published in Advances in Sciences and Humanities (Volume 12, Issue 1)

Received: 26 December 2025 Accepted: 14 January 2026 Published: 30 January 2026

Views: Downloads:

Download PDF

Share This Article

Twitter
Linked In
Facebook

Abstract

Criollismo and criolla music appear on the academic agenda in an intermittent manner: they emerge forcefully, only to later dissolve once again. In his master’s thesis in Visual Anthropology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP), Bruno Benavides Allaín weaves together family memory with a critical gaze that distrusts fixed definitions. His research, Idyllic Landscapes: The criollo within me, begins with a documentary dedicated to his grandfather, the painter Óscar Allaín, and expands into a broader exploration of criollismo as an affective, performative, and deeply urban experience. Benavides Allaín understands that “the criollo” does not refer to a single category, but rather to a field of tensions in which class, memory, nostalgia, humor, exclusions, and everyday gestures coexist. He acknowledges the dilemma of studying which constitutes him: family heritage, the figure of the grandfather, the codes of the jarana. He also observes how the audiovisual makes it possible to capture nuances that escape textual analysis: rhythms, silences, bonds, and ways of being together. His work proposes approaching criollismo not as a static tradition, nor as a golden myth of a lost Lima, but as a mobile polyhedron in which each generation projects different meanings. The research reclaims performance, domestic archive, and autoethnography as legitimate pathways for thinking about identity. From the camera and through reflection, it invites a reconsideration of criollismo as an emotional territory that still pulses, even if from the fragility of its memories.

Published in	Advances in Sciences and Humanities (Volume 12, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.ash.20261201.11
Page(s)	1-16
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Visual Anthropology, Criollismo, Peruvian Criolla Music, Jarana, Documentary Photography, Lima, Peru

References

[1]	Rohner, F. The Old Guard. The criollo vals and the Formation of Citizenship in the Popular Classes (1885–1930). Lima, Peru: Institute of Ethnomusicology, Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP); 2018, 463 pp.
[2]	Chocano, R. Will there be a Jarana in heaven? Tradition and Change in the Lima Marinera. Lima, Peru: Ministry of Culture; 2012.
[3]	Multimedia exhibition presents criollo music centers. Lima, Peru: El Peruano; 2021. Available from: https://elperuano.pe/noticia/135918-primo-te-espero-en-la-jarana (accessed 10 December 2025).
[4]	Caceres Alvarez, L. A. Forty Years After Criollos y andinos: Evolution and Preservation of criolla music in Lima. Antec: Peruvian Journal of Musical Research. 2024, 8(2), 267–292. https://revistas.unm.edu.pe/index.php/Antec/article/view/130
[5]	Stein, S. Lima obrera 1900-1930. Lima, Peru: El Virrey; 1986.
[6]	Lloréns, J. A., & Chocano, R. Celajes, florestas y secretos: A history of the popular limeñan vals. Lima, Perú: National Institute of Culture; 2009.
[7]	Gómez Acuña, L. The criollo in republican Peru: A brief approach to an elusive term. Historica, 31(2), 115–166; 2007. Available from: https://doi.org/10.18800/historica.200702.004
[8]	Sayariy Producciones; Tamare Films. Lima Bruja: Portraits of Criolla Music [Film]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BRNLcNul6g (accessed 8 January 2026).
[9]	Small, C. Musicking: The meanings of performing and listening. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press; 1998.
[10]	Rohner, F. Musical Centers of Lima and Callao. “Criollas” Social and Musical Practices in Contemporary Lima: The Case of La Catedral del Criollismo in the Context of Lima’s Musical Centers and Peñas. In C. Aguirre & A. Panfichi (Eds.), Lima, 20th Century: Culture, Socialization and Change (pp. 267–297). Lima, Peru: Editorial Fund of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru; 2013.

Cite This Article

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Alvarez, L. A. C. (2026). Lima’s Criolla Music, A Polyhedron of Thousand Points: A Conversation with Bruno Benavides Allaín on Representation and the Self in Visual Anthropology. Advances in Sciences and Humanities, 12(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20261201.11

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Alvarez, L. A. C. Lima’s Criolla Music, A Polyhedron of Thousand Points: A Conversation with Bruno Benavides Allaín on Representation and the Self in Visual Anthropology. Adv. Sci. Humanit. 2026, 12(1), 1-16. doi: 10.11648/j.ash.20261201.11

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Alvarez LAC. Lima’s Criolla Music, A Polyhedron of Thousand Points: A Conversation with Bruno Benavides Allaín on Representation and the Self in Visual Anthropology. Adv Sci Humanit. 2026;12(1):1-16. doi: 10.11648/j.ash.20261201.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ash.20261201.11,
  author = {Luis Andres Caceres Alvarez},
  title = {Lima’s Criolla Music, A Polyhedron of Thousand Points: 
A Conversation with Bruno Benavides Allaín on Representation and the Self in Visual Anthropology},
  journal = {Advances in Sciences and Humanities},
  volume = {12},
  number = {1},
  pages = {1-16},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ash.20261201.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20261201.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ash.20261201.11},
  abstract = {Criollismo and criolla music appear on the academic agenda in an intermittent manner: they emerge forcefully, only to later dissolve once again. In his master’s thesis in Visual Anthropology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP), Bruno Benavides Allaín weaves together family memory with a critical gaze that distrusts fixed definitions. His research, Idyllic Landscapes: The criollo within me, begins with a documentary dedicated to his grandfather, the painter Óscar Allaín, and expands into a broader exploration of criollismo as an affective, performative, and deeply urban experience. Benavides Allaín understands that “the criollo” does not refer to a single category, but rather to a field of tensions in which class, memory, nostalgia, humor, exclusions, and everyday gestures coexist. He acknowledges the dilemma of studying which constitutes him: family heritage, the figure of the grandfather, the codes of the jarana. He also observes how the audiovisual makes it possible to capture nuances that escape textual analysis: rhythms, silences, bonds, and ways of being together. His work proposes approaching criollismo not as a static tradition, nor as a golden myth of a lost Lima, but as a mobile polyhedron in which each generation projects different meanings. The research reclaims performance, domestic archive, and autoethnography as legitimate pathways for thinking about identity. From the camera and through reflection, it invites a reconsideration of criollismo as an emotional territory that still pulses, even if from the fragility of its memories.},
 year = {2026}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Lima’s Criolla Music, A Polyhedron of Thousand Points: 
A Conversation with Bruno Benavides Allaín on Representation and the Self in Visual Anthropology
AU  - Luis Andres Caceres Alvarez
Y1  - 2026/01/30
PY  - 2026
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20261201.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ash.20261201.11
T2  - Advances in Sciences and Humanities
JF  - Advances in Sciences and Humanities
JO  - Advances in Sciences and Humanities
SP  - 1
EP  - 16
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2472-0984
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20261201.11
AB  - Criollismo and criolla music appear on the academic agenda in an intermittent manner: they emerge forcefully, only to later dissolve once again. In his master’s thesis in Visual Anthropology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP), Bruno Benavides Allaín weaves together family memory with a critical gaze that distrusts fixed definitions. His research, Idyllic Landscapes: The criollo within me, begins with a documentary dedicated to his grandfather, the painter Óscar Allaín, and expands into a broader exploration of criollismo as an affective, performative, and deeply urban experience. Benavides Allaín understands that “the criollo” does not refer to a single category, but rather to a field of tensions in which class, memory, nostalgia, humor, exclusions, and everyday gestures coexist. He acknowledges the dilemma of studying which constitutes him: family heritage, the figure of the grandfather, the codes of the jarana. He also observes how the audiovisual makes it possible to capture nuances that escape textual analysis: rhythms, silences, bonds, and ways of being together. His work proposes approaching criollismo not as a static tradition, nor as a golden myth of a lost Lima, but as a mobile polyhedron in which each generation projects different meanings. The research reclaims performance, domestic archive, and autoethnography as legitimate pathways for thinking about identity. From the camera and through reflection, it invites a reconsideration of criollismo as an emotional territory that still pulses, even if from the fragility of its memories.
VL  - 12
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download

Author Information

Luis Andres Caceres Alvarez

Independent Researcher, Lima, Peru

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1738-5483

Download PDF

Submit an Article

Sections

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Alvarez, L. A. C. (2026). Lima’s Criolla Music, A Polyhedron of Thousand Points: A Conversation with Bruno Benavides Allaín on Representation and the Self in Visual Anthropology. Advances in Sciences and Humanities, 12(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20261201.11

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Alvarez, L. A. C. Lima’s Criolla Music, A Polyhedron of Thousand Points: A Conversation with Bruno Benavides Allaín on Representation and the Self in Visual Anthropology. Adv. Sci. Humanit. 2026, 12(1), 1-16. doi: 10.11648/j.ash.20261201.11

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Alvarez LAC. Lima’s Criolla Music, A Polyhedron of Thousand Points: A Conversation with Bruno Benavides Allaín on Representation and the Self in Visual Anthropology. Adv Sci Humanit. 2026;12(1):1-16. doi: 10.11648/j.ash.20261201.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ash.20261201.11,
  author = {Luis Andres Caceres Alvarez},
  title = {Lima’s Criolla Music, A Polyhedron of Thousand Points: 
A Conversation with Bruno Benavides Allaín on Representation and the Self in Visual Anthropology},
  journal = {Advances in Sciences and Humanities},
  volume = {12},
  number = {1},
  pages = {1-16},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ash.20261201.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20261201.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ash.20261201.11},
  abstract = {Criollismo and criolla music appear on the academic agenda in an intermittent manner: they emerge forcefully, only to later dissolve once again. In his master’s thesis in Visual Anthropology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP), Bruno Benavides Allaín weaves together family memory with a critical gaze that distrusts fixed definitions. His research, Idyllic Landscapes: The criollo within me, begins with a documentary dedicated to his grandfather, the painter Óscar Allaín, and expands into a broader exploration of criollismo as an affective, performative, and deeply urban experience. Benavides Allaín understands that “the criollo” does not refer to a single category, but rather to a field of tensions in which class, memory, nostalgia, humor, exclusions, and everyday gestures coexist. He acknowledges the dilemma of studying which constitutes him: family heritage, the figure of the grandfather, the codes of the jarana. He also observes how the audiovisual makes it possible to capture nuances that escape textual analysis: rhythms, silences, bonds, and ways of being together. His work proposes approaching criollismo not as a static tradition, nor as a golden myth of a lost Lima, but as a mobile polyhedron in which each generation projects different meanings. The research reclaims performance, domestic archive, and autoethnography as legitimate pathways for thinking about identity. From the camera and through reflection, it invites a reconsideration of criollismo as an emotional territory that still pulses, even if from the fragility of its memories.},
 year = {2026}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Lima’s Criolla Music, A Polyhedron of Thousand Points: 
A Conversation with Bruno Benavides Allaín on Representation and the Self in Visual Anthropology
AU  - Luis Andres Caceres Alvarez
Y1  - 2026/01/30
PY  - 2026
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20261201.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ash.20261201.11
T2  - Advances in Sciences and Humanities
JF  - Advances in Sciences and Humanities
JO  - Advances in Sciences and Humanities
SP  - 1
EP  - 16
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2472-0984
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20261201.11
AB  - Criollismo and criolla music appear on the academic agenda in an intermittent manner: they emerge forcefully, only to later dissolve once again. In his master’s thesis in Visual Anthropology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP), Bruno Benavides Allaín weaves together family memory with a critical gaze that distrusts fixed definitions. His research, Idyllic Landscapes: The criollo within me, begins with a documentary dedicated to his grandfather, the painter Óscar Allaín, and expands into a broader exploration of criollismo as an affective, performative, and deeply urban experience. Benavides Allaín understands that “the criollo” does not refer to a single category, but rather to a field of tensions in which class, memory, nostalgia, humor, exclusions, and everyday gestures coexist. He acknowledges the dilemma of studying which constitutes him: family heritage, the figure of the grandfather, the codes of the jarana. He also observes how the audiovisual makes it possible to capture nuances that escape textual analysis: rhythms, silences, bonds, and ways of being together. His work proposes approaching criollismo not as a static tradition, nor as a golden myth of a lost Lima, but as a mobile polyhedron in which each generation projects different meanings. The research reclaims performance, domestic archive, and autoethnography as legitimate pathways for thinking about identity. From the camera and through reflection, it invites a reconsideration of criollismo as an emotional territory that still pulses, even if from the fragility of its memories.
VL  - 12
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download