Harawi poetry

Harawi poetry derives from the time of the Incas and is found in Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia - it combines traditional Andean Music and lyric poetry.

Harawi poetry speak of deep feelings - love, and those who don't love us, the harshness of life sung over melodies mainly in minor key played on the quena (a type of flute). 

Although original Incan lyrics are extant, today you are more likely to hear examples from the mestizo genre yaravi - which connects to the Spanish/Moorish troubadour tradition of poetry and accompanying music. This was formalised by the short-lived revolutionary poet Mariano Melgar (Lorenzo Mariano Melgar Valdiviezo) (1790 - 1815) as a way of expressing traditional Peruvian independence of form in opposition to European culture and norms.

The music of the form influenced Messiaen and was sampled by Simon and Garfunkel. You can find some example of yaravi - the Spanish form here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4EM5mOLoaw (familiar) and here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyr0pMa3-zc&feature=related. And more on the yaravi form here http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yarav%C3%AD_Arequipe%C3%B1o and Mariano Melgar here http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariano_Melgar.