Artists and guests of honor take a group photo after Lenin Tamayo’s concert in Hanoi. (Photo: The Embassy of Peru in Vietnam)

Lenin Tamayo’s concert at the Hanoi Opera House last Wednesday brought Quechua pop to Hanoi for the first time. Despite the language barrier, the audience sang along.

Last November, the 24-year-old Peruvian went viral on the internet with his novel genre of music, Quechua pop – or Q’pop – which blends Korean beats and the language of the Incas – Quechua – which is still spoken by an estimated 10 million people in Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador and Brazil.

“I invented Q’pop in a rather complicated time of my life. When I was at school, I was bullied and I was trying to get out of that situation. I met a group of girls who listened to K-pop music, and I got the idea of combining K-pop with the Quechua language. Q’pop was born as a way to give back to my mother all the affection and love she has given me. I don't see Q’pop as a musical genre. I see it more as an extension of myself as an artist and as an Andean,” Lenin recalled.

Q’pop has made Lenin a social media star. His music videos have amassed 6 million likes on TikTok and tens of thousands of followers on Instagram.

Lenin Tamayo and his mother Yolanda Pinares, who wore ao dai, the Vietnamese traditional long dress. (Photo: The Embassy of Peru in Vietnam)

Lenin said his mother, artist Yolanda Pinares, has played a special role in his success.

“My mother has worked hard to share my music with the world. My mother is part of my identity, and I will continue doing things for her forever,” the young singer said.

Despite his personal success, Lenin said what he really wants to do is attract the world’s attention to Peru.

“I’ve met wonderful people in every country I’ve visited. I’m overcome with emotion because I’m not just singing to my own people, I’m singing to all the people in the world – like those here in Vietnam,” Lenin noted.

In August Lenin released the first part of his debut album “Amaru”, every song of which was inspired by Incan mythology. The album’s title means “large snake” and refers to a mythic double-headed snake.

The album is divided into three parts. The first part was released last year. After returning from this tour, he is going to release the second part.

“In each part, I have a favorite song – like ‘Kutimuni’, which I’m going to sing today. Another song, which I'll be releasing in part 2, is also very special to me because it's been with me on this tour. It's called ‘La llaqta’, which means ‘The people’. It's special because every time I hear it I think of my people,” said Lenin.

Lenin and other featured artists perform popular Vietnamese song "Hello Vietnam" (Photo: The Embassy of Peru in Vietnam)

Lenin’s "Q’Pop & Quechua Concert" – performed one night at the Hanoi Opera House and one night at Hanoi University – was part of activities to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Peru-Vietnam diplomatic relations.

According to Peruvian Ambassador to Vietnam, Patricia Yolanda Ráez Portocarrero, one of the ways to go to the heart and soul of Vietnamese and Peruvians is through art and culture, which has no limits.

“You can think in another language and people are inspired by rhythms and what comes from the heart. That's why this is a very good way to celebrate our relationship,” said the Ambassador, adding, “Cultural exchanges and cultural diversity enrich both the Peruvian and Vietnamese community, because we learn from each other, from our heritages and from our traditions. Even if Vietnamese don't speak Quechua and Peruvians don't speak Vietnamese, we’re inspired by the rhythms and what they convey to people.”

The concert also featured Yolanda Pinares, Tamayo’s mother, and two Vietnamese artists.

A key figure in disseminating Peruvian culture, Pinares is an Andean artist who sings in Spanish and Quechua. She raised Lenin in the culture of the Andes mountains, the ancestral home of the Incas and other indigenous groups, and wove Andean tradition into Lenin’s life.

(Photo: The Embassy of Peru in Vietnam)

When Lenin combined the Quechua language with modern K-pop music, Yolanda said as a professional artist with 28 years of experience, “I understand what Lenin is doing. Beyond the fusion, what he’s doing shows the great responsibility that lies in promoting, not just beautiful music, but our culture, our identity, our history.”

“There are many paths to artistic success and one is to work hard. On that path Lenin will have the help of colleagues, including his mother,” said Yolanda.

Joining the artists from Peru were two Vietnamese artists – classical guitarist Vu Hien and Phan Thuy, a musician and lecturer at the Vietnam National Academy of Music who plays a plucked four-string instrument called a tỳ bà.

“Lenin’s music is youthful and vibrant. When I performed with Lenin and the other Peruvian artists at this concert, I found that his music has a lot of emotion. It’s vibrant but very emotional. It’s not just for entertainment,” said Hien, adding “ You can feel that when you listen to Tamayo and his mother sing. Lenin said many of the songs in the program were written for his mother."

Artist Yolanda Pinares performs the song titled Flor de colores (Photo: The Embassy of Peru in Vietnam)

Meanwhile, for Thuy, Lenin’s music is very special, just like him – very young but full of concern for life, people, and especially women. It has touched her to perform and talk with Lenin and Yolanda.

“Of the three songs I performed with Lenin during this concert, the most touching is ‘Flowers’. In this song Lenin expresses his love for his mother and for Peruvian women, and encourages women around the world to rise up and shine like flowers," said Thuy.

6 million likes on TikTok, tens of thousands of followers on Instagram, and a tour of four Asian countries in October are considerable success for the inventor of Q’pop in just one year.

But the most important thing to him is that it promotes the values he embodies in his art. As the singer said when he introduced himself: “Lenin, love and liberty. Love to unite people. Liberty to be one’s self.”