The vibrant, energetic music of the Andes region of South America is performed in its most authentic form by Andes Manta, musicians and natives of the Ecuadorian Andes. Learn about dozens of traditional instruments, including six-foot-long panpipes. Andes Manta musicians discuss the history, music, and traditions of their culture, demonstrate the rich and haunting sounds of the rain forest, and perform traditional folk music. Andes Manta is committed to performing traditional Andean music, rooted in the cultural heritage of the Incas and their ancestors, in its purest, most authentic form.
Andes Manta: The Music of the Andes
Andean Cultural Traditions
In Andean traditional culture, festivals mark life events such as the blessing of a new house, the birth of a child, or the cycles of planting and harvesting. These festivals are celebrated with vibrant, energetic music and dance, and combine native religious practices with Catholic rituals that were introduced by the Spanish.
Music is central to Andean communities, and serves as a metaphor for how successful community members work together. Musicians like Andes Manta who are selected to perform at festivals earn great prestige.
What to Look and Listen For
The Lopez brothers make their own instruments by hand. Many of their instruments imitate the sounds of nature, including wind, rain, the forest, and birds. Some traditional Andean instruments include:
Panpipes made by connecting bamboo pipes of various lengths, organized from long to short. Each individual pipe, because of its specific length, produces a different pitch. A musician can blow into more than one pipe at the same time, producing several tones together. There are many different sizes and styles of Andean panpipes, each with a specific name.
A vertical bamboo flute with holes for producing different pitches. There are also different sizes of quena. A small quena is called a quenilla (kay-NEE-yah); and a large one is called a quenacho (kay0NAH-cho).
A large drum played with a drumstick.
A “rain stick” made by hollowing out a tube of bamboo, piercing the bamboo with small pegs that protrude into the inside of the tube, filling the empty tube with seeds or small stones, and capping off the ends. When the “rain stick” is turned upside down, the seeds hit the small pegs as they fall from one end to the other, producing a sound like rain.
A rattle made of goat or llama toenails.The Spanish introduced stringed instruments, including:
A the acoustic guitar familiar to North Americans.
A small guitar with only four (cuatro) strings that produces higher sounds than the guitar.
An adaptation of the Spanish guitar with a body made from the shell of an armadillo. It has up to fifteen strings and is played rapidly as a solo instrument.During the performance, you will hear abrupt changes in the speed of the music. Experiment with doubling your speed.
Producer
Kenny Neal
Published
September 9, 2019
Travel through the diverse cultures of Latin America, as represented by artists from Ecuador, Cuba, Bolivia, El Salvador, Spain, Venezuela, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Texas and California. Enjoy art rich in both tradition and innovation.
Experience and honor cultures of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas through dance, music, literary, and visual arts. Watch Native Pride the eagle and hoop dances, trace the life of a Navajo weaver, learn how Keith Bear makes a flute, make a listening doll, and meet fancy dancers Larry and Jessup Yazzie.
Eric Friedman
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Kenny Neal
Manager, Digital Education Resources
Tiffany A. Bryant
Manager, Operations and Audience Engagement
JoDee Scissors
Content Specialist, Digital Learning
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