Origins and development of Peruvian cumbia:
Chicha started out in the 1960s in the oil-boom cities of the Peruvian Amazon. Loosely inspired by Colombian cumbia, it incorporated the distinctive pentatonic scales of Andean melodies, Cuban percussion, and the psychedelic sounds of surf guitars, wah-wah pedals and moog synthesizers. Chicha absorbed elements of the music of the Amazonian regions of Peru and the use of the Farfisa electric organ through Amazonian bands like Juaneco y su Combo. Chicha, which is named after a corn-based liquor favored by the Incas, quickly spread to Lima. It became the music of choice of the mostly indigenous new migrant population. By the mid-1980s it had become the most widespread urban music in Peru.
The first Chicha hit, and the song from which the movement has taken its name, was "La Chichera" (The Chicha Seller) by Los Demonios del Mantaro (The Devils of Mantaro), who hailed from the central highlands of Junin. Band Los Destellos, formed in Lima en 1966, brought electric guitars to Chicha and consolidated its characteristic features by integrating in it elements of Peruvian Andean folklore, Peruvian Creole Waltz, Cuban music and Rock music.
During the 1980s the Amerindian immigrants to coastal cities that nurtured the subgenre became working and middle class individuals and a market for Chicha commercial radio. The Pharaoh of Cumbia, Chacalon, became one of the most popular Chicha artists through his hit "Soy provinciano" (I am from the province) and vibrant concerts. Another famous band in the 1980s were Los Shapis, a provincial group established by their 1981 hit "El Aguajal" (The Swamp), a version of a traditional huayno.
The strong influence of Mexican tecnocumbia became evident on the evolution of Peruvian cumbia in the 1990s. Efforts by Argentina-based Grupo Néctar and others gave it regional recognition. Its decline during the late 1990s was followed by a revival that began in 2007. To the Andean, Northern, Amazonian and Central varieties of Chicha, a Romantic one was added, influenced by new songwriters, romantic Salsa music and romantic Latin ballads.