Andean musician Alex Llumiquinga Perez

Traditional skill/art/craft: Charango and Quena Instrument Making

Years Awarded: 2012

Contact Information:

                Phone: (541)961-5186 

                Email: chayag2@yahoo.com

Website: www.andeanmusic.org

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
I have played Andean Folk Music for the last 20 years of my life. I was inspired as a boy by my grandfather and the popular Andean folk groups of my native country, Ecuador. I later traveled the world sharing my music as part of the folk group Chayag. After coming to the U.S., I continued working in music. Through my performances I feel I’ve contributed to the cultural enrichment of our diverse society. As a boy, I remember going to my uncle’s in the summertime and working in his woodshop. I loved working with wood and as a musician I had to learn how to maintain and repair a diverse array of flutes and stringed instruments. This interest led me to begin making both bamboo and wood flutes and more recently to the construction of the ten-string Andean instrument, the charango.
APPRENTICE BIOGRAPHY - Freddy Calla Waywa 2012
Freddy Calla Waywa is from Telamayu, Bolivia, where he first learned Andean music during his village’s celebrations. Like many, he learned by ear and through the people around him and bought his first flute when he was 13. He then left to Mexico to learn natural medicine but continues to play music during that time, when he moved to the US he joined the Andean ensemble group Grupo Condor. He has been playing the flute for over 4o years, but this apprenticeship is his first opportunity to make instruments. His goal is to continue on the tradition and teach it to his sons, and possibly create workshops for others to participate. This apprenticeship will have Alex LLumiquinga teach Freddy how to construct a charango and a quena from bamboo.
Q+A WITH THE MENTOR ARTIST
Describe your traditional art.
Body
The Charango (ten stringed Andean Guitar) has been constructed traditionally using the armadillo shell but now is principally constructed from wood. Both the Charango and the bamboo flutes (including the Quena) are made to accompany all traditional festivities in communities, towns and cities across the Andean region. I began playing the instrument as a boy, and then as and adult became interested in learning how to make them.
How did you come to learn this tradition?
Why is this cultural tradition important to your community?
Experience/Honors