UNESCO Cities of Music

Huancayo is located in the centre of Peru, 3200 meters above sea level. It is known as the ‘Trade Fair Capital’ of the country, and according to a population research carried out by the Catholic University of Peru, it is considered ‘Peru’s Happiest City’ owning to the convergence of festivals and job satisfaction that are part of its residents’ everyday life. This festive spirit draws on a long historical tradition of the feasts and music resulting from several cultures coming together. Huancayo is a city of musicians, and the cradle of several, widely diverse musical genres, some of which have even transcended the country’s borders, such as chicha, huayno, or huaylarsh. Moreover, Huancayo hosts a musical cluster where several actors gather and offer goods and services to the different music genres. During the high season, the space known as ‘Inmaculada Park’ becomes a place where musicians from further afield flock to the city to offer their services. Similarly, people from other Peruvian cities visit this venue to engage musicians. In addition, other creative fields are also successful in Huancayo, such as film-making, photography, and the publishing industry. Moreover, the city has several intangible components recognized by the Peruvian State as Cultural Heritage of the Nation, including some traditional musical instruments.

As a Creative City of Music, the following steps will be important:

Developing public policies for the music sector including a proposal for a post-COVID reactivation, with a proposed investment for cultural public infrastructure;
Ensuring the population’s access to the cultural public infrastructure, and also better conditions for the musicians;
Offering professionalization platforms through the creation of the Professional Music Career, and management backstopping by the Municipality; and
Ensuring exchanges with other member cities of the Network by enhancing existing cooperation and exchange programmes in the Network with new events and activities.

In Port of Spain (POS) – the capital of Trinidad and Tobago – cultural difference, mixture and co-habitation infused and produced a rich melody of sounds unique in their rhythms and fusions. Alongside the first peoples, Africans, Indians, Chinese and Europeans, have all contributed to the diversity and the musical heritage of the city. This social history is acknowledged and the music celebrated in the annual Pan African Festival which pays homage to persons of African descent, in the Emancipation Day parade, the Obatala Festival of the Orisha faith, and in the Hosay Festival of the Muslim community of St. James. The resilience and vibrancy of the city is reflected in the annual Canboulay and Carnival too, and the innovativeness and musicianship of a people is evident in the annual Panorama steelband Festival. 

From the city’s multicultural heritage has emerged an outsized musical contribution for a geographically small place. POS is the heartbeat of the nation. There are many venues and locations across POS where in any given month you hear the sounds of traditional African drums, steel pan, calypso, spoken word performances, choral singing groups, carnival sound systems, the beating iron of rhythm sections and live concerts. 

Musical venues in POS are both open-air with the Savannah Grandstand, the St James Amphitheatre, Adam Smith Square and the numerous steelband Pan Yards, as well as enclosed spaces with the Beryl McBurnie Little Carib Theatre, the National Academy of the Performing Arts, Queen’s Hall, the Hasley Crawford Stadium and the many lounges and bars of the city and its suburbs of St James, Belmont and Woodbrook. 

Institutional support through programmes at the University of Trinidad and Tobago, the University of the West Indies and state agency MusicTT, sustain an eco system that feeds the creative and cultural fabric of POS. 

The future of POS, like its past, will be driven by its creative expressions. A new model of urban renewal for POS is proposed where creativity and culture generate employment, prosperity and innovation. This includes establishing Music Zones in historically relevant locations and Music Walks of Fame to honour the city’s musicians, pioneers and artists. A music museum in POS is another plan for the preservation and promotion of T&T′s indigenous music. 

From Panorama with the sweet melodies of the pannist musicians, to the infectiousness of tassa drumming, and the liberatory and sonic power of calypso, soca and all our music, POS is a UNESCO Creative City of Music because, like Havana, Kingston, and Santo Domingo (the other Creative Cities of Music in the Caribbean), music is the stitching that holds the city together. Music shapes us. It is the central element of our environment. It provides an original soundtrack for the moments and memories of this vibrant city. 

Music connects Port of Spain (POS) to the world. 

Port Louis, as a cosmopolitan capital city, is the showcase of Mauritius, the reflection of a mosaic of cultures and traditions which originated from all continents with a strong historical background and emerging modern elements. It is the place where all great events in the history of the country have taken place. The City is the birthplace of the historical, political, social and economic evolution of Mauritius.

The fusion of old and new is typical of many islands in the Indian Ocean.  Mauritius has a colourful past which is reflected in the various cultures, religions and traditions of its citizens.

During the period 1598 to 1710 when Dutch settled on the island, slaves were brought from African countries, particularly from Mozambique and Madagascar, for the main purpose of felling ebony trees and working on tobacco and sugar cane plantations. The economic foundation of the country was then developed as a sugarcane colony.

The island was later taken over by the French in 1715. Buildings were erected in the 18^th and early 19^th centuries by slaves, who produced bricks, lime, and also carried out wood and iron works. They did all the manual works to build up Port Louis, in terms of road and infrastructural development, under the leadership of Governor Mahé de Labourdonnais. The infrastructural legacy of slaves during the French settlement is reflected in the existing colonial buildings, like the Government House, Fort Adelaide, the Central Market and the military and civil hospitals.

Shortly after the British conquered the island in 1810,   slavery was abolished resulting in a drastic repercussion on the socio-economic and demographic fields. To counter the loss of manpower/labour force, Indian indentured labourers were employed to work in the sugar plantations. They came in large numbers and were of both Hindu and Muslim faith. They were later joined by some traders of Chinese origin. This eventually changed the fabric of the society.

This multiculturalism gave birth to a blend of artistic and musical form.  Sega music and dance emerged during the slavery epoch. Subsequently, the rural forms of music, like the Mauritian Bhojpuri songs and kawali, melted in the cultural fabric during the period of indentured labour and remained popular. Musicians in Mauritius are talented and, throughout the years, Mauritian music has evolved to international standards. For instance, the Geet Gawai, a pre-wedding ceremony of Bhojpuri speaking people, was listed on the Intangible Cultural Heritage List of UNESCO in 2016.

Promoting traditional folk music, encouraging contemporary music, building capacity especially in suburbs and providing platforms, act as a powerful tool to empower the youth while protecting them from social ills (Agenda 2063).

Music will enhance the discovery of other heritage treasures, thereby benefiting the City’s creative and heritage economy.  The City will collaborate with all stakeholders to achieve this goal (SDG 17).

The City Council of Port Louis implements projects at grassroot level, promoting social inclusion (SDGs 1,8) while partnering with Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the private sector in line with SDG 17 and UN Agenda 2063.

Port Louis is home to a rich cultural scene. Visitors have access to cultural heritage sites, namely the Aapravasi Ghat (AGWHS) designated as the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006, and cultural landmarks such as the St Louis Cathedral, the Jummah Mosque/Masjid, the Sockalingum Meenatchee Ammen Temple (Kaylasson), the Western Cemetery and Chinatown.

In addition, the world-class assets of the city include the Company’s Garden (Jardin de la Compagnie) serving as a cultural musical platform for artists ; the Municipal Theatre, the Champ de Mars race course and the Natural History Museum.

Valledupar, is the corner of the Colombian Caribbean Region, located north of the Valle de río Cesar (Cesar’s river valley), between Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, on the west, and the Serranía del Perijá (mountain range of Perijá), on the east. This zone, which sits on the margin of the rivers Cesar and Guatapurí, is distinguished from others by transforming its music into a cultural model. This accentuates the relationship of the inhabitants with their territory and the social dynamics. This is the origin of Vallenata Traditional Music, a harmonic cultural fusion derived from the spirit of three millennial cultures (Spanish, Indigenous, and African) and that was included in the 2015 list of Intangible Cultural Heritage, with an urgent safeguard requirement, as part of the UNESCO.

The history and sense of the town are expressed through four methods: Puya and Merengue, life, wellbeing, and overflowing joy; Son and Paseo, expression of sentiment and contemplation, wellbeing, and overflowing joy. Through the latter, vallenato becomes a vehicle to build the collective imagination and the participation for sustainable urban development, due to the location of the city as a musical and cultural symbol for the country.

Valledupar is music, the historical influence that it has also had from other Caribbean rhythms such as cumbia and bullerengue perfectly demonstrates it. Its rural zone has been a cradle for minstrels of vallenato for 4 generations.

The Festival of the Vallenato Legend Foundation, placed the great acordeon party as the greatest event of such genre, in 1968. Since then, and throughout several decades, Valledupar has been an attractive territory  for visitors from other regions and which bring other musical tendencies. This has allowed the diversification of music genres along with the surge of events such as:

• Earth of Composers of Patillal Festival
• Guitar and Tambo bands Vallenato Music Festival
• The Quinta KX Rock Festival
• Cultural Ethnic and Folcloric Encounter of Sierra Nevada (ethnic encounter)
• Bagpipes Encounter in the Village of Guatapurí
• Vallenato Festival of Children with Down Syndrome FIDES
• Feminine Vallenato Encounter

These festivals are conducted in partnership with public and private organizations.

Currently, Valledupar has an adequate number of cultural stages such as; plazoletas (small squares generally in parks), schools, and spaces capable of development and maximizing creative economic resources of the city. Over thirty three organizations are dedicated to the creation of cultural music for children, youth, and adults, including the vulnerable and displaced population. This sector has flourished around vallenata music, with the following schools:

• School of the Turco Gil
• The Music Academy Dinastía Romero
• The Municipal Administration School Leonardo Gómez

The private sector and the academy have also seen opportunities of continuous productivity resulting in the strengthening of the vallenato universe, supporting the artistic formation of old and new generations. A constant job that promotes the exposure of knowledge of such music genres, its instruments, and its influence on a national and international level.

The administration, has defined strategies from the impact they have in reaching the goals of the 2030 agenda as well as the base of culture and local identity, through which can be found programs that directly impact SDG 3 (good health and wellbeing), 4 (quality education), 8 (decent work and economic growth), 16 (peace, justice, and strong institutions), and SDG 11, 12, and 13, which strive for sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, and climate action.

As a Creative City of Music, Valledupar in the future:

The membership has allowed Valledupar to harness its musical diversity, understanding the importance it has for an integral development, confirming the acquired commitment on October 31st, 2019, as a creative city. Securing the search to preserve our music, identifying successful experience through training processes at the Leo Gómez, applying different methods such as: accordion, flute, guitar, caja (type of drum), guacharaca (percussion instrument), piano, percussion, strengthening the social fabric of our city through music, currently has more than 500 participants from different age groups, providing the opportunity in the rural and urban sector of the municipality, appointing gender equity and differential focus.