NO ESTOY MUERTO, SOLO ESTOY DORMIDO

According to a Peruvian wisdom the soul of a deceased returns in the form of a donkey. “I’m not dead, only asleep” is a portrait of two Peruvian families who have a special bond with a donkey. The one is a family of farmers who think the donkey is a sacred animal. The second is a family of musicians who uses the donkey as a music instrument.

Brought originally to Peru by African slaves, the quijada de burro – a music instrument made of the jaw of a donkey- has ever since been used to make music in resistance against oppression. Today, the lyrical sounds extracted from the mouths of former beasts of burden accompany remarkable stories of people in various Peruvian communities.