Liberato Kani (Ricardo Flores Carrasco) and Yana Paqcha (Jorge Luis Astovilca) with audience members following their performance at the IU School of Education.
Over the last few months, the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies has been working hard to bring Quechua back into the core programming of the department. This movement follows Dr. Serafín Coronel-Molina’s induction as the Director of CLACS late last year. Dr. Coronel-Molina, an Indigenous Peruvian Quechua scholar, has taken large strides for CLACS’ involvement with Quechua programming, and many budding relationships are in the works as a result!
CLACS Graduate Student Representative Eddy Rafael Santiago Huamani (right) interviews Liberato Kani (Ricardo Flores Carrasco, left).
Liberato Kani & Yana Paqcha
Last month, CLACS was delighted to welcome Quechua rapper Liberato Kani (Ricardo Flores Carrasco) and Quechua scissor dancer Yana Paqcha (Jorge Luis Astovilca) to IU Bloomington. The duo traveled from Peru for their United States tour, which brought them to multiple universities around the country and raised awareness for Liberato Kani’s soon-to-be-released album.
During their visit to IU Bloomington, Liberato Kani was interviewed by CLACS’ Graduate Student Representative Eddy Rafael Santiago Huamani, who also calls Peru home. Throughout the interview, Liberato Kani shed light on his creative process, his background and journey to becoming a rapper, and his motivations for the lyrics he writes in an interesting blend of Spanish and Quechua.
Yana Paqcha (Jorge Luis Astovilca) mid-air during his performance of the traditional Quechua scissor dance, La Danza de Tijeras.
Following the interview, Liberato Kani and Yana Paqcha gave a performance at the IU School of Education’s atrium. Students, faculty, family, and friends gathered to watch the duo: Liberato Kani performing his most popular rap Andino songs while Yana Paqcha energetically performed traditional Peruvian Quechua scissor dancing (la Danza de Tijeras), which was a wild blend of color and acrobatics, all while playing a pair of polished iron rods, which look like scissors, in one hand.
Be sure to check out Liberato Kani’s music wherever you like to listen:
Liberato Kani on Spotify
Liberato Kani on YouTube
Liberato Kani on YouTube Music
Liberato Kani on Apple Music
The Quechua Alliance
Later that weekend, CLACS Director Serafín Coronel-Molina and Program Manager Emma Bonham traveled to Chicago, Illinois with Liberato Kani and Yana Paqcha for the 8th Annual Quechua Alliance, held at Northwestern University’s downtown campus on April 18th, 2024.
Conference organizers Carlos Molina (center) and Américo Mendoza Mori (right) join Julia Garcia (left) for the opening ceremony of the 8th Annual Quechua Alliance meeting.
The annual event, which “has been a vibrant and multigenerational space for the exchange of ideas between Quechua speakers, community leaders, college students, and educators who share an interest and passion for Quechua language and Andean culture,” (thequechua.org) welcomed over 100 attendees from around the United States and the world to join and share their research, art, music, and stories with one another.
Liberato Kani during the final performance of his United States tour at the 2024 Quechua Alliance.
During the single-day event, participants had the option to attend presentations focused on Quechua, participate in exciting interactive workshops, and attend film screenings and performances. Liberato Kani and Yana Paqcha also performed one last time, closing out their United States tour during the event’s closing ceremony.
On that note, an exciting announcement was made toward the end of the event…
The 9th Annual Quechua Alliance will be hosted by CLACS at Indiana University Bloomington in April 2025!
The cheerful news for CLACS’ involvement in next year’s Quechua Alliance was announced during the closing ceremony of the event. As per tradition, Carlos Molina, one of the key organizers for this year’s Quechua Alliance meeting, passed the symbolic Quechua Alliance lliklla to Serafín Coronel-Molina, who will serve as the primary organizer for next year’s event. To watch a full video of the announcement on the CLACS Facebook page, click here.
Carlos Molina (right) hands Serafín Coronel-Molina (left) the symbolic Quechua Alliance lliklla, which is presented to the future host of the next meeting each year.
2024 Fall Quechua Workshop
Next year’s Quechua Alliance meeting isn’t the only exciting project in the works at CLACS… We’re also bringing back our FREE Quechua Workshop this fall! You’re invited to join our 10-week online course with Quechua teachers Jermani Ojeda-Ludena and Katherin Patricia Tairo-Quispe, who will join us virtually from Cusco, Peru. Jermani and Katherin are co-founders of Quechua Tinkuy, an organization focused on educating students on Quechua culture and language. Classes are expected to take place once a week for 10 weeks, starting the first week of September. More information will be announced soon, so stay tuned to our social media and weekly newsletter Novedades for updates.
CLACS Director Serafín Coronel-Molina (center) with Quechua Instructors Jermani Ojeda-Ludena (left) and Katherin Patricia Tairo-Quispe (right) at the 2024 Quechua Alliance meeting in Chicago, Illinois.
If you’re interested in signing up for the Fall Quechua Workshop or becoming involved with next year’s Quechua Alliance, send us an email at clacs@iu.edu. To stay up to date on all things CLACS, consider signing up for our weekly Novedades newsletter here.
Until next time, tinkunanchikkama!
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