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The music of Bolivia has a long history. Out of all the Andean countries, Bolivia remains perhaps the most culturally linked to the indigenous peoples.
Like most of its neighbors, Bolivia was long dominated by Spain and its attendant culture. Even after independence, Bolivian music was largely based on European forms. In 1952, a revolution established nationalistic reforms which included cultural and political awareness of the Aymara and Quechua natives. Intellectuals in the country began wearing ponchos and otherwise associating themselves with native cultures, and the new government promoted native folklore by, among other methods, establishing a folklore department in the Bolivian Ministry of Education.
Awareness of native music, spirituality and art continued into the 1960s. In 1965, Edgar 'Yayo' Jofré formed a quartet called Los Jairas [1] in La Paz. With Bolivian folk music gaining popularity throughout the country, Jofré, along with Alfredo Dominguez, Ernesto Cavour Julio Godoy, and Gilbert Favre used traditional music in modified forms to appeal to urban-dwellers and Europeans. Later groups like Wara, Khanata, Paja Brava, Savia Andina, and especially Los Kjarkas and Kalamarka helped further refine this fusion. Following a close but different path, groups and singers like Luzmila Carpio, Ruphay, and Grupo Aymara started touring abroad and gained international praise for their compositions, tunes that have brought indigenous Bolivian culture and history to the world's attention.
Los K'jarkas consists of 3 brothers, the Hermosas, who play primarily Huayño or, more rarely, sayas. These are both dance music influenced both by native forms as well as African music imported to Bolivia with slavery. Los K'jarkas are known internationally for their Caporales classic "Llorando se fue", which was adopted and transformed to the popular beginning of the lambada dance craze of the 1980s, along with forró and carimbo in northern Brazil. The song was popularized by a French group, resulting in a successful lawsuit from the Hermosa brothers. Kalamarka was founded in 1984 by Hugo Gutierrez and Rodolfo Choque. They fusion folk instruments such as Zampoña, Quena, Charango and Bombo with modern instruments, creating a beautiful Andean music. Their famous songs are 'Cuando Florezca el Chuño' and 'Ama, Ama, Amazonas'. In the 1980s, Chilean nueva canción was imported to Bolivia and changed into canto nuevo, which was popularized by performers like Emma Junaro. [2]
Traditional Bolivian (and other South American) musical instruments include the charango, charangón, ronroco, hualaycho, zampoña, quena, bombo, huancara, reco reco, chiapya box, pinquillo, tarka, toyos, pututu, Andean saxophone, and Chajchas, as well as European musical instruments such as the violin and guitar.
Most prominent Bolivian musical forms identified in its culture and origins are the Kullawada, Morenada, Caporales, Llamerada, Diablada, Tonada (or, directly Tinku), Sikuri, Tarqueada, Taquirari, Carnavalito, Bailecito, Huayño, Lamento, Afro-Bolivian Saya, Tuntuna, Taki Taki, Waca Tocoris, Chovena, Sarao, Potolos, Pujllay, Danza Salay, Rueda Chapaca, Chacarera, Escondido, Tonada, Ch'unchu (dance), Tobas and Cueca which presents different variants in each Bolivian department.
The charango is a small Andean stringed instrument of the lute family, from the Quechua and Aymara populations in the territory of the Altiplano in post-Colonial times, after European stringed instruments were introduced by the Spanish during colonialization. The instrument is widespread throughout the Andean regions of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, northern Chile and northwestern Argentina, where it is a popular musical instrument that exists in many variant forms.
Andean music is a group of styles of music from the Andes region in South America.
Chilean music refers to all kinds of music developed in Chile, or by Chileans in other countries, from the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors to the modern day. It also includes the native pre-Columbian music from what is today Chilean territory.
Peruvian music is an amalgamation of sounds and styles drawing on Peru's Andean, Spanish, and African roots. Andean influences can perhaps be best heard in wind instruments and the shape of the melodies, while the African influences can be heard in the rhythm and percussion instruments, and European influences can be heard in the harmonies and stringed instruments. Pre-Columbian Andean music was played on drums and string instruments, like the European pipe and tabor tradition. Andean tritonic and pentatonic scales were elaborated during the colonial period into hexatonic, and in some cases, diatonic scales.
Los Jairas was a Bolivian folk music group that was active in the 1960s. Their work features the charango, a stringed instrument from Bolivia.
Bolivia is a country in South America, bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina to the south, Chile to the west, and Peru to the west.
Huayno is a genre of popular Andean music and dance. It is especially common in Peru, Western Bolivia, Northern Argentina and Northern Chile, and is practiced by a variety of ethnic groups, especially the Quechua people. The history of Huayno dates back to colonial Peru as a combination of traditional rural folk music and popular urban dance music. High-pitched vocals are accompanied by a variety of instruments, including quena (flute), harp, siku (panpipe), accordion, saxophone, charango, lute, violin, guitar, and mandolin. Some elements of huayno originate in the music of the pre-Columbian Andes, especially on the territory of the former Inca Empire. Huayno utilizes a distinctive rhythm in which the first beat is stressed and followed by two short beats.
Los Kjarkas is a Bolivian band from the Capinota province in the department of Cochabamba, and one of the most popular Andean folk music bands in the country's history. Among the styles they play are Saya, tuntuna, huayno, and carnavales. The instruments they use include the charango, quena, zampoña, ronroco, guitar, and bombo.
Kuyayky is one of the most popular and newly influential bands in Andean music. The band has contributed to the prominence and revival of huayno music from central Peru. One of the few Andean music bands with a majority of female members. The band now resides in the United States and gained a following from world music fans for its traditional yet innovative style of Peruvian Music.
Emma Junaro is a Bolivian musician.
Siku is a traditional Andean panpipe. This instrument is the main instrument used in a musical genre known as sikuri. It is traditionally found all across the Andes but is more typically associated with music from the Kollasuyo, or Aymara speaking regions around Lake Titicaca. Historically because of the complicated mountain geography of the region, and due to other factors, in some regions each community would develop its own type of siku, with its own special tuning, shape and size. Additionally each community developed its own style of playing. Today the siku has been standardized to fit in with modern western forms of music and has been transported from its traditional roots.
Sukay is an Andean folk music band.
Afro-Bolivians are Bolivian people of Sub-Saharan African heritage and therefore the descriptive "Afro-Bolivian" may refer to historical or cultural elements in Bolivia thought to emanate from their community. It can also refer to the combining of African and other cultural elements found in Bolivian society such as religion, music, language, the arts, and class culture. The Afro-Bolivians are recognized as one of the constituent ethnic groups of Bolivia by the country's government, and are ceremonially led by a king who traces his descent back to a line of monarchs that reigned in Africa during the medieval period. They numbered 23,000 according to the 2012 census.
Javier Parrado is a Bolivian classical composer, whose works have been performed in Europe, and Latin America.
Illiniza is a cultural association from Ecuador centered in Popular Latin American music since 1979. It has been recognized as one of the most influential musical ensembles in the country.
The Carnavalito is a traditional indigenous dance from the Argentinian Altiplano and puna regions, usually performed during religious festivities. Its current form is an expression of a syncretism between Pre-Columbian and Spanish colonial culture. .
The Saya is a music and dance that originated in Los Yungas-Chicaloma Bolivia. The artform's name comes from the Kikongo term nsaya, which means communal work led by a singing voice, akin to a work song. The Saya's instrumentation and dance also reflects the influence of traditional Andean music.
Based in Austin, Texas, Chaski has performed together since 1985 and has toured the United States, Costa Rica, Venezuela, England, and Scotland. Chaski is featured on the soundtrack of the 2006 IMAX film, Ride Around the World: A Cowboy Adventure. Its five CDs feature selections from Chaski's repertoire from Latin America and Spain on flute, panpipes, quena, harp, accordion, cuatro, guitar, charango, bombo, maracas, and other instruments.
The bandolin is a 15-stringed musical instrument in Ecuador. It is used as a rhythm and melody instrument in the Andean region of Ecuador during festivals where dancing and music are involved. It has a flat back and 15 strings in triple courses.
A Sanjuanito, Sanjuan, or San Juan is a type of Ecuadorian music and dance. Sanjuanitos are an indigenous form of music and folkloric dance associated with the Sierra, Ecuador's mountainous Andean region. It's associated with, but not specific to, the Otavalo people.
