Heidi Carolyn Feldman, "Black Rhythms of Peru"

page 94
Under Nicomedes Santa Cruz' direction, first theatrical production featured a 'festejo' that he had collected and revived. Nicomedes did not publicly reveal how he had learned this song, and later recordings attribute its composition to Nicomedes himself. 'A mí no me cumbén' was performed as part of the theatrical sketch 'La pelona' in 1960, and Cumanana recorded it in 1964.

pp. 95 - 96
The [opening] lyrics of "A mí no me cumbén" are provocative, providing a striking commentary on Peruvian ideas on race and marriage:

No me casará con negra               I won't marry a Black woman
ni aunque el diablo me llevara             even if the devil dragged me
porque tienen los ojos blancos             because they have white eyes
y la bemba colorada                         and big red mouths

Como aquella que está sentada!       Like that one sitting down!
Como aquella que está parada!       Like that one standing up!

Tampoco me casaría                   I wouldn't marry a man
con mulato o zambo-claro                   with light skin and mixed blood
porque dejan a los negritos                because they abandon little Black children
por las de 'cara lavada'                   for women whose faces have the Blackness '[white-]washed out' of them

Como aquel que está sentado!         Like that one sitting down!
Como aquel que está parado!          Like that one standing up!