Ancient tombs have yielded flutes, trumpets, drums, and
other musical artifacts; music was obviously important in
the human and supernatural worlds of ancient Andean people.
Native music of the Andes is based on the flute and the
drum. The main wind instruments in ancient times included
notched-end quena flutes of bone, cane, or metal; ocarinas
(whistles) made from clay; and panpipes, known in the region
as siku (Aymara) or zampoña (Spanish), that were
made of bamboo cane or a strong but lightweight reed called
songo that grows on the banks of Lake Titicaca. The Andean
panpipes are generally played either by one player blowing
two rows of pipes, or by two players who share the melody
in a "dialogue" of alternating notes. The quena
and panpipes produce a pentatonic, or five-note scale, which
to ears trained to a European musical tradition, has a distinctly
melancholy tone to it. The main rhythm instrument used today
is a large two-headed drum called a bombo, usually made
from a hollowed tree trunk with hide skins stretched across
the top and bottom.
The Spanish introduced string instruments - including the
guitar, harp, mandolin, and the violin - in the sixteenth
century. The native people of the central Andes adapted
the guitar into a small ten-stringed instrument known as
the charango, often crafted from the shells of armadillos
because wood is scarce in the high Andes. Another string
instrument commonly seen today is the Andean harp, with
its great, boat-like, half-conical sounding-box.
The popular "pan-Andean" musical style of today
-- diffused by the popularity of the nueva canción
("new song") groups of Chile such as Inti-Illimani
and Quilapayún, Los Incas (a.k.a. Urubamba) from
Peru (who recorded El Condor Pasa with Simon and Garfunkle),
and Los Jairas, Los Kjarkas, and Savia Andina from Bolivia
-- is largely a phenomenon of post-1960s urban folklore.
This music of today, quite popular throughout Europe, Japan,
and the United States and Canada, is pan-Andean because
its repertoire often includes cuecas from Chile and Bolivian
saya in addition to waynos from Bolivia and Peru and San
Juanitos from Ecuador, among other varieties of Andean rhythms.
Each has evolved from local rural music and dance traditions,
not unlike bluegrass in the Eastern U.S., and each region
has developed its own characteristic variation.
While traveling through the Andean region
of South America, you are sure to hear Andean music playing,
perhaps as accompaniment while dining in a four star restaurant,
or while relaxing at a local peña, or folklore music
club. With its timeless appeal to the traveler as well as
a wide variety of local people - from government officials
to campesinos and urban youth - Andean music is destined
to continue growing in popularity.
* * *
Thanks to this popularity and to modern
technology, the traveler can enjoy the sounds of the Andes
after the long flight home. Many music stores in the United
States and Europe sell a variety of traditional Andean music,
and the internet also has numerous sites that let us enjoy
Andean music. Here are a few favorites:
