Orchestra! The music of the Huaconada of Mito

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An excerpt from my book Behind the Mask, available through Betula Books.

One of the most endearing memories I have about the Huaconada (a Peruvian dance recognized by UNESCO for its intangible cultural heritage) was the shout from one Huacon to his fellow dancers and musicians in their thirty-minute circuit around the plaza of Mito. Just one word of encouragement: Orchestra! It would come every couple of minutes as the music was getting into its final bars before being repeated throughout the day.

Two tinyas

Two tinyas, small hand-held, leather-sided drums direct the rhythm providing a distinctive echo from Peru’s pre-colonial past. The melody is plucked from the strings of an Andean harp and bowed from a violin. A multitude of baritone, tenor, and alto saxophones give the tune its marching step and the clarinet its burbling cheerfulness.

Two orchestras

One or two orchestras played, depending upon the time of day and number of dancers out in the plaza. One of those was Orquesta Típica Familia Musical Hermanos Cuba, seen performing in the film La Máscara y Más in black suits. The other, playing in brown uniforms, was Orquesta Folklórica Sinfonía Aquence led by Jorge Luis Chuquillanqui Inga.

Sinfonía Aquence originates from the neighbouring town of Aco located about 5 km up the mountainside from Mito and has grown to include musicians from other parts of the Mantaro Valley. They, and their forebears, have been performing the music for this ancient dance for many years.

Mito: Land of the Huaconada

Although the original author of the music is unknown, Jorge Chuquillanqui (shown above), whose father began this version of the orchestra about twenty-five years ago, published a transcription of the music in the book Mito: Tierra de la Huaconada.

The music of the Huaconada has three tempos or movements.

He explained the structure of the music: “The music of the Huaconada has three tempos or movements. It’s repeated in the second part an average of six or eight times, depending on the Huaconada performers’ choreography.”

Originally, the music of the Huaconada was only played by the tinya drum and Andean flutes (quena and pincullo). Clarinet, Andean harp, and violin were added later, followed by saxophones.

Unplugged

An unplugged version (without horns) can be heard in the film during Sinfonía Aquence’s New Year’s Eve performance and again after the credits.

We don’t have permission to merge other styles of music.

“The Huaconada is unique in its kind, it is traditional to this town of Mito,” explained Jorge, “We can’t just misrepresent the music, it’s not allowed, we don’t have permission to merge other styles of music.”

Films, books and music

You can see my books about Mito and the Huaconada at Betula Books. The trailers and full documentary film La Máscara y Más: La Huaconada de Mito (The Mask and More: the Huaconada of Mito) can be seen on my YouTube Channel. Here is the full version.