Pastorita Huaracina (December 19, 1930 - May 2001) born María Alvarado Trujillo, was a Peruvian singer who strongly identified with the traditions of the rural Andes. Her career began in the era of

78 rpm records A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near ...

and lasted into that of compact discs. In the 1950s she recorded 4 songs a month and sold more records in Peru than the Beatles. Her success established her reputation as the diva of Andean song and she won every award that pertained to her type of music. She toured extensively in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

Biography

Pastorita Huaracina was born in the Malvas district of

Aija Province The Aija Province is one of 20 provinces of the Ancash Region in Peru. Geography The Cordillera Negra traverses the province. Some of the highest mountains of the province are listed below: Political division Aija is divided into five distri ...

Ancash region Ancash ( qu, Anqash; es, Áncash ) is a department and region in northern Peru. It is bordered by the departments of La Libertad on the north, Huánuco and Pasco on the east, Lima on the south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Its capital i ...

. Reportedly, even as a young child tending the flocks, she already loved to sing. Raised speaking Quechua, upon the death of her mother she traveled to Lima at the age of 8, with no luggage or money and no one to meet her, and speaking very little Spanish.Montoya, pg 47 She debuted as a performer on her 12th birthday. She began as a performer of Andean dances but later became a singer and composer of songs. She developed a reputation as disciplined trouper, always the first to arrive at a rehearsal or performance; this continued even once she became a star. She always advocated for authenticity in the performance of Andean music and dance, including the use of traditional outfits: "typical dress is not a costume, it is part of our identity, something we must assume with honor and pride, being conscious of whom we represent..." Her singing became a symbol of liberty and of a demand for the rights of the ''serranos'', the people of the high Andes, expressing beauty but also bearing the people's demand for opportunity and conditions for their development. On her program on Radio Santa Rosa, ''Canta el Perú Profundo'' she openly expressed her opposition to the dictatorship of Alberto Fujimori and

Vladimiro Montesinos Vladimiro Lenin Ilich Montesinos Torres (born 20 May 1945) is a former long-standing head of Peru's intelligence service, National Intelligence Service (SIN), under President Alberto Fujimori. In the year 2000, the infamous "Vladi-videos" came ...

, and she was a longtime defender of the validity of the Quechua language. Loyal to her principles, she refused significant sums of money from politicians who solicited her for their electoral campaigns and from businesses which she felt unfairly exploited the people. Towards the end of her life, only one week after an operation and in delicate health, she voted in the Peruvian presidential election of 2001. She died of cancer in 2001

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Huaracina, Pastorita 1930 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Peruvian women singers 20th-century Peruvian singers Peruvian people of Quechua descent