Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
MUSIC AND DANCE
Bolivia's music is vibrant and varied. Much of it has a similar flavour to that of neigh-
bouring Andean countries, evidence of the continuity of musical traditions amongst the
indigenous peoples of the Andes, and there's a wealth of popular music connected either
with the various festivals that dot the year, or to key events in the agricultural calendar.
Inevitably, much of this music is inextricably involved with dance: if you're lucky you
might see the unforgettable sight of a full squad of young women
comparsas
swirling
their
pollera
skirts, with
manta
shawls tied around their shoulders and bowler hats on
their heads.
Andean instruments and traditions
The persistence of Bolivia's
agricultural traditions
means that musical life in most rural
areas has enjoyed enormous continuity, and traditional music, bearing a direct relationship
to that played in pre-Inca times, still thrives today at every kind of
celebration
and
ritual
.
Because all the country's musical traditions are oral and bound to local events, music varies
from one village to another - all over the Andes, villages have different ways of making and
tuning instruments and composing tunes.
Many of Bolivia's distinctive
musical instruments
date back to pre-Hispanic times. Per-
haps the most haunting and memorable are the breathy-sounding handmade sets of bamboo
panpipesandquenaflutesthatareplayedacrosstheAltiplano.Inaddition,otherpre-conquest
Andean instruments - conch shell trumpets, shakers (using nuts for rattles), ocarinas, wind
instruments and drums - are still used by groups all over the country.
Panpipes and quenas
Panpipes
(
siku
in Aymara,
antara
in Quechua, and
zampoña
in Spanish) are ancient instru-
ments. While modern panpipes - played in the city or in groups with other instruments - may
offer a complete scale, allowing solo performance, traditional models are played in pairs, as
described bysixteenth-century Spanish chroniclers. The pipes share the melody,each playing
alternate notes of the scale, so that two or more players are needed to pick out a single tune
using a
hocket technique
. Usually one player leads and the other follows. Symbolically this
demonstrates reciprocity and exchange within the community; in practice it enables players
to play for a long time without getting too dizzy from over-breathing.
Played by blowing (or breathing out hard) across the top of a tube, panpipes come in various
sizes. Several tubes made of
bamboo reed
of different lengths are bound together to produce
a sound that can be jaunty, but also has a melancholic edge depending on tune and playing
style. Many tunes have a minor, descending shape to them, and panpipe players traditionally
favour dense overlapping textures and
syncopated rhythms
. Playing is often described as
