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This is part of a special series, Cumbia Across Latin America , a visual report across six countries developed over several years, covering the people, places and cultures that keep this music genre alive.

The people of Peru have many definitions for the word chicha: a sacred fermented corn drink, popular culture, popular art and, of course, Peruvian cumbia. It has also been used as a derogatory term, mocking immigrant culture in Lima during the mass migrations of Indigenous Andean people to Lima in the 20th century. When it comes to music, the term has become extremely controversial.

In a small peña , or neighborhood club, in Lima, two legends — Berardo Hernandez Jr., the son of Manzanita, and Pancho Acosta, of Compay Quinto — filled the venue with intricate a

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