Yesterday I was taking the #10 bus home from my job in Hospital Dos de Mayo to my jato in Barranco while listening to a mix by DJ Jamad when something caught my eye. While reading up on my Spanish grammar my perceptive peripheral vision noticed a group of 3 boys sneak on the bus through the back door. Within a minute I could hear a smooth combination of strings, wind, and cajon in the background of my headphones. The music from my mp3 player had me bobbing my head but my curiosity got the best of me and I slowly slipped off the left side of the headphones so that I could get a better listen. I had seen many bus performers AKA Nomad Entertainers in the past 3 months but I had never seen an article, book, or TV show try to capture the story behind these often forgotten providers of Afro-Peruvian rhythm. By now my headphones had become my necklace and I could see they were pretty talented so I dropped the flute player a coin and asked if I could record the show with my camera. He seemed a little surprised but then he nudged his friend, turned around, and motioned for me to record… I got a few strange stares from those around me. Most bus musicians are ignored and even if a person decides to give them some change they often do not even get a look in the face. They seem to be looked down upon in society…placed somewhere in between a beggar and a newspaper boy. I tried to talk to them afterwards but they quickly jumped off the bus in search of a new stage… before they left they told me that they were all from downtown (centro) Lima and that they don’t always stick to the same bus routes. They take buses all over the city, regardless of their destination. And with those final words the back door magically opened and they were gone… leaving us with the non-harmonious sounds of car horns and screeching brakes… I kept my eyes on that back door for the rest of the bus ride hoping that we would soon be blessed with something beautiful to help us escape the chaos within these calles de Lima.
