Do you know Adean Music? Even if you say you don't, I'm sure an image just popped into your mind, of a group of South Americans, dressed in indigenous garb, playing lively tunes on pan-pipes (called rondador or zampoña) and tiny guitars (called charango). And the music they play ... is somehow reminiscent of Simon and Garfunkel? Don't feel embarrassed if this is what you free-associated, because their famous If I Could is in fact a cover of the most iconic Andean tune of El Cóndor Pasa. Though Peruvian songwriter Daniel Alomía Robles is credited for composing this for a musical play called zarzuela, its origins go back to folklore, and it has been covered by countless other musicians over the years. The same can be said about three of the other most known examples of Andean music, I have put together here for #ThreeTuneTuesday.
What Is Andean Music Really?
Interestingly, there is a wide range of musical styles that can fit into the category of Andean music. Tinku, Harawi, Sicuri, Chimayche, Morenada, Huaino, ... The list goes on. Some are more traditional, others are a combination of other musical genres, many of which have their roots in the diverse cultural backgrounds of South America. They cover various indigenous cultures through Quechua, Quilla, Uro, and Aymara, among others, span nations from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, all the way to Chile and Northwest Argentina, and may include dozens of musical styles, as well as their crossovers. It is therefor impossible to define a homogeneous musical style to fit into this broader area of what's considered "Andean Music".
Ojos Azules - My Personal Favorite
This beautiful song of the huayno genre I remember hearing way back in my childhood, and loving the dreamy feeling it let me fall in. This same sensation came up every time I heard a version of Ojos Azules, no matter if it was slow and sad or upbeat and lively. Curiously, this song was one of our staples we used to play at the Earthship Theater build in Mazunte, where it also became subject of our attempts to translate it into Hungarian... with questionable results. The song is attributed to either Gilberto Rojas Enriquez from Bolivia, or Manuel Casazola Huancco from Peru. However, a third hypothesis claims that it goes back to a traditional called "Ojos Bonitos" from Cuzco, Peru. This would make sense, since blue eyes are not that common in South America.
El Cariñito - An Explosive Revival
Perhaps the song with the most covers and remixes originating from the Andes is El Cariñito, a Peruvian cumbia first published by Los Hijos del Sol in 1979. With the growing popularity of cumbia music, this song has reached unheard of levels of popularity, with numerous interpretations. Many of them I have witnessed myself, performed live by less famous groups, as well as huge acts. There seems to be a major revival nowadays, of both cumbia in general, as well as this song in particular, seeing what a great favorite it has become. Though most interprets have kept the cumbia style, some of them added a strong rock flare to it.
Lambada - From the Bolivian Highlands to the Copacabana
Do you remember Lambada? Back in the early 90's it was a mainstay at every party, conjuring images of Brazilian beach bodies engaged in a sensual dance. As it turns out, this song is originally not even from Brazil! It was first recorded by Los Kjarkas from Bolivia (and thus in Spansih), though it goes back further into the murky origins of Andean folklore. In their Afro-Bolivian saya version it sounds much slower and more melancholic than the famous beach-party cover by KAOMA, which today is considered a plagiarized version since they never gave credit to Los Kjarkas.
What about El Humahuaqueño?
Yeah, and what about all those other, less famous Andean songs that also deserve a mention? At first the song called El Humahuaqueño, Carnavalito** or **Quebradeño respectively, was among the three tunes I picked for this Tuesday's challenge, since it is probably just as iconic as the other three (or four, if you want to include my mention of El Cóndor Pasa). But in the end I didn't want to break the frame even more, so I did not embed the video here. But go ahead and open the link if you're curious.
If you enjoyed my selection, check out this pretty example of Andean Music. I also recommend visiting the weekly challenge of #TTT created by 