History
The original group was formed in April 1937 by Carlos Morgan, the brothers Pedro and Ernesto Amenábar, and Mario Besoaín. The four friends, who at the time were students at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago, styled themselves as Los Quincheros; [1] in English their name means "those who use the quincha," a construction of wood and cane used to contain the livestock during a rodeo. [2] From 1937 to 1957 the name of the group was simply Los Quincheros. In 1939, when they had been performing on Radio Agricultura for 5 years, they began calling themselves Los Huasos Nuevos ('The New Cowboys') because they had replaced Los Cuatro Huasos (Raúl Velasco's old group), whose former members became affectionately known as Los Huasos Viejos ('The Old Cowboys'). In 1957, Hernán Velasco and Aníbal Ortúzar left Los Quincheros, with the opinion that the group ought to disband. Carlos Morgan and Jorge Montaldo decided to continue at any cost the traditions already established by Los Quincheros. They invited Alfredo Sauvalle and Gerardo Ríos to join them. In 1958, a lawsuit brought by the three musicians who had left prohibited the group from using the name Los Quincheros. It was at this point that the group adopted the name Los Huasos Quincheros, a combination of the group's predecessors' names. [2]
Through its history the group has had nineteen members, [1] most of them professionals in other areas. These have included the brothers Hernán and Raúl Velasco (who had previously founded Los Cuatro Huasos, another music group), Aníbal Ortúzar, Javier Campos, Jorge Montaldo (lead vocalist from 1952 until he left in 1965 to form another group, Voces de Tierralarga), brothers Sergio and Alfredo Sauvalle and Héctor Inostroza. [2]
The group has toured America, Asia, Europe and Oceania, and has received recognition from the Organisation of American States and IMC-UNESCO. In February 2007 the group celebrated their '70th Anniversary Gala' in the Teatro Municipal in Viña del Mar. In March 2013 they were nominated for the 'Premio a la Música Presidente de la República', a highly regarded Chilean music award, in the folk category. [3] From 1937 to 1957 the name of the group was simply Los Quincheros.
Nowadays the group uses both names, Los Huasos Quincheros and Los Quincheros, which has led to some confusion. Generally, they seem to use the name Los Quincheros when they sing boleros, usually dressed in suits, and Los Huasos Quincheros when they sing folk music, often dressed as huasos. For this reason, the original Quincheros of 1937-57 are often called Los Quincheros del Recuerdo (literally 'The Quincheros of memory').
According to the Chilean National Institute of Industrial Property (INAPI), the name Los Huasos Quincheros is currently registered to Carlos Mackenna, Patricio Reyes, Antonia Antoncich and José Videla. [4]
The current iteration of the group performs throughout Chile, mostly at agricultural events. In June 2013, their album 75 años ('75 Years') sold over 15,000 copies in Chile, making it the eighth-highest-selling Chilean album sold in physical format of the 21st century. [5]
In addition, there was Los Quincheros del Ayer ("The Quincheros of Yesterday"), a spin-off group created by Carlos Morgan, Hernán Velasco, Aníbal Ortúzar, and Javier Campos when they decided to reunite in the 1960s to record new material.
