Sounds of contestation: urban young fans crossing boundaries through Pop Andino music

Popular music in Peru is a domain where the historical tension between the Spanish/ Lima/creole and the Andean/Highlands/cholo appears to coexist in harmony. Contrarily, social relations follow colonial logics where lo andino (Andean-ness) is looked down upon and discrimination is an ongoing issue. In this context, youth have created fusions of Western and traditional Andean music such as Pop Andino (Andean Pop) which has an active Fanclub with members mostly from Peru but also other countries of Latin America. This research paper focuses on the social meaning of Andean Pop music beyond categories like ethnicity and class. From the reflexive and critical perspective of urban young fans, this thesis draws on concepts like Andean-ness, fandom, representation, pride, and recognition. The guiding question explores how fans make sense of Andean Pop and lo andino in their contexts. Fieldwork was conducted in the city of Lima deeply rooted in performance and digital ethnography. Based on the findings I argue that Andean Pop is for its young fans not only a source of leisure but a community that is contesting taught boundaries and reflecting on injustices toward lo andino.