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Marinera is a partner dance that originated along the Coast of Peru, using as props. The dance is a re-enactment of an ancient Mochic dance, modernised with a mix of Contradanza and Zamacueca, and is a stylized reenactment of a courtship, showing a blend of the different cultures of Peru. The dance has gained recognition throughout South America and is known as the most prominent Folk dance of Peru. The city of Trujillo has been recognized as the national birthplace of the marinera since 1986. The Marinera Festival, a cultural event dedicated to marinera held in Trujillo, although as of 2023 the festival has been held in the city of Lima. These annual competitions of the dance have taken place since 1960. In 2012, the Congress of Peru observed nationally October 7 as a commemorative day for the marinera.
The dance is traditionally accompanied by several instruments: cajón, , , , and bugles.
According to the Peruvian historian Romulo Cuneo Vidal, the Zamacueca was itself a dance of rest during the era of the Inca Empire. Thus, coming from such a far natively Peruvian background, the dance is itself simply a derivation of an ancient Peruvian dance. Ancient pottery dating from the Pre-Columbian era called huacos depicted people resting in Zamacueca positions.
The first Marinera to be written in musical notation was La Concheperla composed by Abelardo Gamarra Rondó and José Alvarado, by Rosa Mercedes Ayarza de Morales in 1894...
According to Peruvian historian Rómulo Cúneo Vidal, the zamacueca was itself a dance of rest during the times of the Inca Empire and pre-Inca cultures, supporting the proposal that Marinera is native to Peru as a derivation of traditional dance, as depicted in some ancient huacos of people resting in Zamacueca positions.
The three main variations are the Marinera Limeña, the Marinera Norteña, and the Marinera Serrana. Sometimes the Marinera is danced with her partner mounted on a Peruvian Paso (the horse dancing, and the chálan directing it).
Nowadays, the Marinera Limeña seems to be becoming overshadowed by the Marinera Norteña, because of its popular qualities. Nevertheless, the dance still has a small number of fans that dance it during October fests or during the anniversary of Lima.
It is thanks to that popularity that the Marinera is considered the National Dance of Peru, along with the Peruvian Waltz.
In Marinera Norteña, the man wears shoes, while the woman dances completely barefoot. With constant practice women are even able to dance barefoot on extremely hot pavement and coarse, very rough surfaces, as the soles of their feet become well seasoned and toughened up, something they are really proud of.
The dancer must go to the dance floor wearing their best clothes but with bare feet, in the same way they did the rural northern girls of the nineteenth century. Being forced to dance barefoot on any surface without showing any discomfort, professional dancers should practice enough to develop thick calluses on the soles of their feet."
"The Marinera Norteña allows men to wear shoes, but women must dance barefoot, soon developing thick calluses on their feet, of which they are proud to show off."
"It was in Trujillo that female dancers started the whole tradition of going barefoot—some even pride themselves on being able to put out cigarettes on their callused soles."
Very often the Marinera Norteña presentations on open air are purposely scheduled at noon, when the pavement is hotter, because this motivates and encourages the barefoot female dancers to dance better and to conquer the Chalán and also because the public is astonished to see how the girls smile and enjoy as they burn the soles of their feet on the scorching hot ground.
Besides high skills and constant rehearsals, marinera also demands great physical effort and sacrifices from the dancers, who must exercise and have a proper diet. In order to strengthen the soles of their feet it is known that many marinera dancer women train by walking barefoot in the street, going to different places as a part of their regular routine and in their spare time, becoming what's known as "barefooters". The braver, more advanced female dancers are even able to walk barefoot on broken glass and to put cigarettes out on the tough soles of their feet, in order to make them stronger and to show others what they are capable of. Men, on the other hand, have intense practice on "zapateo" and the different steps of the dance until they master them. A marinera norteña dancer leaves aside social life, family reunions and resting hours in order to dedicate time to his/hers passion.
It's mandatory that the women dance barefoot. It is unacceptable for them to wear sandals, canvas shoes, ballet slippers or any kind of footwear outside of practice.
For the men it is typical to wear "chalan" clothing, with cotton poncho, or a suit and a wide straw hat. In some places they wear a white drill suit. Men wear black, glossy shoes.
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