music is also an important part of cultural life in arequipa. since the last years of the spanish colonial period, there were important academic composers like mariano melgar (who was best known as a poet), pedro jiménez tirado april and florentino diaz, all of them placing arequipa as one of the peruvian cities with a renowned musical scene. the symphonic orchestra of arequipa, created in 1939, contributes to keep classical and vernacular music as part of the city's culture. as in the rest of the country, in arequipa, many traditional music styles like vals criollo (or peruvian waltz), yaravi (or harawi) and huayno are still performed.