This article is about the Festival Arte y Pueblo, which was installed in the Plazoleta de San Francisco in the city of Arequipa, in southern Peru, from November 18–25, 1975. The anonymous reviewer notes the integration and multidisciplinary nature of the event, which was organized by the ORAMS IX, an agency that reports to SINAMOS (Sistema Nacional de Apoyo a la Movilización Social). The festival made it clear that although the people of Arequipa “may not be artists, they can make art.” In other words, it was a “cultural event for the people rather than the elite; or, as one viewer said, ‘This is just art and the people.’”

One of the initiatives undertaken by the Gobierno Revolucionario de las Fuerzas Armadas Peruanas, the regime that was in power at the time under the leadership of General Juan Velasco Alvarado (1968–75), was to organize cultural and sporting events for the general population. The success of the multidisciplinary festivals, such as Contacta 72 (1972) and Inkari (1973), which were planned by the teams of communicators and artists at SINAMOS (Sistema Nacional de Apoyo a la Movilización Social), inspired similar events in other parts of the country. One of these events is mentioned in this article: the Festival Arte y Pueblo, held in Arequipa. SINAMOS had a very well-organized network of Oficinas de Apoyo a la Movilización Social, such as the ONAMS at the national level, the ORAMS at the regional level, and the OZAMS at the local level.

[With regard to Contacta 72, see the following articles, all unattributed, in the ICAA digital archive: “Contacta 72: arte libertario” (doc. no. 1138949), “SINAMOS Contacta 72: a los artistas y artesanos del Perú” (doc. no. 1138964), “Contacta 72 será una experiencia de significación” (doc. no. 1138979), and “Pueblo y arte se dieron la mano en Contacta 72: gran cita en el Parque de la Reserva” (doc. no. 1138994). Regarding Inkari, see (unattributed) “Reintegración: Inkari: un reencuentro esperado” (doc. no. 1139039)]. 

[As complementary reading about SINAMOS and Naylamp 72, see also the following articles in the archive: (unattributed) “Revolución en la artesanía” (doc. no. 1139278); (unattributed) “Naylamp 72” (doc. no. 1139009); by Alfonso Castrillón, Leslie Lee, and Carlos Bernasconi “Fundamentación para el dictamen por mayoría simple a favor del artista popular Joaquín López Antay” (doc. no. 1135896); by Alfonso Bermúdez “Premio a López Antay suscita controversias. Unos: consagración del arte popular. Otros: una cosa es arte y otra artesanía” (doc. no. 1135879); by Francisco Abril de Vivero, Luis Cossío Marino, and Alberto Dávila “Artistas plásticos cuestionan premio” (doc. no. 1135960); and (unattributed) “‘No todos nos quieren ni en Lima ni en Ayacucho’: así comentó sobre cuestionamiento a premio” (doc. no. 1135930)].