The population of the Callejón de Huaylas is primarily Quechua and Spanish-speaking Andeans, most of them small-scale and subsistence-farmers living in mountain villages, mixed with Spanish-speaking Mestizos in the small towns and cities along the Santa river.
Most Quechua families adhere to traditional forms of food, music, and dress, yet still have cell phones and typically raise Guinea Pigs and other farm animals in their farms.