Landó is an Afro-Peruvian

Afro-Peruvian

Afro Peruvians are citizens of Peru mostly descended from African slaves who were brought to the Western hemisphere with the arrival of the conquistadors towards the end of the slave trade.-Early history:...

 form of music in the musica criolla

Música criolla

Música criolla is a category of Peruvian music that combines mainly African, Spanish and Andean influences. Afro-Peruvian music was first created by African slaves in Peru during the Colonial Period and beyond. The rhythms include Festejo, Landó, Socabon, Pregon, Zamacueca, and Alcatraz...

 genre. Its unique sound had been likened to the American blues

Blues

Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

 genre.

Influences

Landó developed from a dance in Angola

Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...

 called londu that came with slaves when they arrived in Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. Even today, in Brazil, the Angolan influenced londo is played. Hence, the Landó is a mix of both Spanish

Music of Spain

The Music of Spain has a long history and has played an important part in the development of western music. It has had a particularly strong influence upon Latin American music. The music of Spain is often associated abroad with traditions like flamenco and the classical guitar but Spanish music...

 and African

Music of Africa

Africa is a vast continent and its regions and nations have distinct musical traditions. The music of North Africa for the most part has a different history from sub-Saharan African music traditions....

 rhythms. It features a slower tempo and call and response

Call and response

Call and response is a form of "spontaneous verbal and non-verbal interaction between speaker and listener in which all of the statements are punctuated by expressions from the listener."...

 vocalization. The signature instrument of the Landó is the cajon

Cajón

A cajón is a box-shaped percussion instrument originally from Peru, played by slapping the front face with the hands.-Origins and evolution:...

, a box-like drum. This instrument was improvised by West Africans after they were taken to South America without instruments or other possessions.

Today

The Landó is still a very popular musical style in Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

. Peruvian musician Eva Ayllon

Eva Ayllón

Eva Ayllón , a composer and singer, is one of Peru's foremost Afro-Peruvian musicians, and one of the country's most enduring stars.-Biography:...

 is one of its most popular performers along with the band Perú Negro

Perú Negro

Perú Negro is an Afro-Peruvian musical ensemble founded in 1969 to celebrate and preserve Peru's black culture and música criolla. Ronaldo Campos de la Colina founded the Lima-based group with 12 family members...

.

Rhythmic Structure

The basic rhythm of Landó is a two-bar figure, played on the cajon (B = bass, F = flam, . = rest):
B . F . B B | . F B . F B
...or, alternatively:
B . F . B B | . F . F . B
This pattern is closely related to a bell pattern

Bell pattern

A bell pattern is a rhythmic pattern, often a key pattern , performed on metal bells such as an agogô, gankoqui, cowbell or similar percussion instruments such as the metal shell of the timbales or drum kit cymbal.-sub-Saharan African music:The use of iron bells in sub-Saharan African music is...

found in many African-based rhythms (L = low pitch, H = high pitch):
L . H . H H | . H . H . H
However, another pattern for the hand bell is often favoured:
H H H . H H | H . H H H .