Christmas digital cultural content: "Hatajo de Negritos" y "Las Pallitas"

The Embassy of Peru is pleased to share the dances "Hatajo de Negritos" and "Las Pallitas", two festive traditions from the south of the Peruvian central coast, registered in 2019 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO.

The "Hatajo de Negritos" and "Las Pallitas" are dances from the Department of Ica that stage the visit of the shepherds and the Three Wise Men to Jesus; artistic expressions in which three cultural traditions converge: Pre-Hispanic Andean world values, European Catholicism and African musical rhythms brought to this part of Peru in colonial times.

The “Hatajo de Negritos” is sung and danced by men, stomping to the rhythm of the violin and bells, while “Las Pallitas” are performed by women, who dance and sing to the sound of a guitar. In both cases, the dances are practiced in groups that can congregate up to fifty dancers, between adults and children.

The following documentary is shared in order to highlight this tradition of intangible culture recognized by UNESCO:

More information can be found, in different languages, in the following links:

Spanish: https://ich.unesco.org/es/RL/el-hatajo-de-negritos-y-las-pallitas-danzas-del-sur-de-la-costa-central-del-peru-01309

English: https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/hatajo-de-negritos-and-hatajo-de-pallitas-from-the-peruvian-south-central-coastline-01309?RL=01309

French: https://ich.unesco.org/fr/RL/l-hatajo-de-negritos-et-l-hatajo-de-pallitas-de-la-cote-sud-centrale-du-perou-01309? RL = 01309

Arabic: https://ich.unesco.org/ar/RL/-01309?RL=01309

Embassy of Peru