The diaspora of Otavalo merchants, who export their textile production to places all around the world, is not the only way of exporting Otavalo culture. Music is an important part of Otavalo´s culture, tradition and identity and it is spread around the world, too.

 

Why is music important for the Otavalo society?

Music has a great importance for Otavalo society in different ways. Lynn Meisch explains the different functions of music in the Otavalo society. Music can be seen as a way of communication, a way of expressing spirituality, “an expression of correct social behavior” and also in present times as an economic activity (117).

 

Moreover music has the function to represent cultural identity and works like an “integrating mechanism”. Therefore music can create a “feeling of unity among its listeners and reaffirms social ties” (118).

 

Music is firmly rooted in Otavalo society. Dances and rhythm are essential elements for traditional customs and ritual events (ib.).

 

Is there a change in Otavalo music?

As we already showed in Traditions, the culture of today´s Otavalo was formed by two great conquests, which influenced the societies cosmovisón (world view), traditions and therefore of course also musical traditions. Maybe the most obvious change can be observed in musical style and repertoire. First the Inca and later the Spaniards brought new musical traditions to the Imbabura-region. As culture is a living entity, it is still changing today with the new society activities. Global processes, tourism and the commercial dependence on global interest are still shaping Otavalo music (cf. 129). The following is a brief portrait of the musical influence over the decades of conquests.

 

Musical influence of the Inca

The Incas used music for religious chants or love songs. Moreover they used it as a military aspect, for example the “blowing of the conch”, the sound of which signaled their arrival during the time of the Inca expansion. In 1777 the conch (or quipa) was also used in a revolt in the Otavalo region (122ff.). Nowadays music is still the expression of warfare and rebellion in the Andean – and Otavalo - region.

 

Musical influence of the Spaniards

The Europeans especially brought new instruments to Ecuador, which are now forming an indispensable part of the indigenous repertory. Some of these European Instruments which were adapted into Ecuadorian native societies are the guitar, the violin, the harp and the mandolin.

 

How does Otavalo – Music sound today?

As you can see in the video above the current traditional Otavalo beats are performed, amongst others, with the violin, charango, bandolin, guitar, bass, panpipes, bombo, chacchas, and other traditional or adapted instruments (cf. Cultural survival). Of course there is also a notable influence of other music genres, which influenced musical traditions through cultural contact, globalization and the Otavalo music diaspora. Genres like Reggae, Cumbia, Rock´n Roll, Rap, Techno, Hip Hop and Salsa blend with traditional Otavalo rhythm (cf. 129). This also clarifies a commercial strategy: The adaption of global popular patterns to increase the success and the popularity on the global market.

 

How did the Otavalo Sound spread around the World?

First we should ask ourselves the question of how Andean folklore got popular. Lynn Meisch called it a music “renaissance”, the phenomena which began in the 1980´s and describes the rise of Andean music. Andean folklore gained more and more good reputations in Latin America and Europe. In Europe this renaissance may have its beginning in 1956, when the Peruvian group Los Incas popularized the Andean Music by performing with Simon and Garfunkel the world-famous song El Condor Pasa. The exotic rhythm, instruments and also the Quechua-language found an audience and became global (cf. 137ff).

 

In Otavalo the “commercialization of music has its roots in textile merchandising” and in the growth of tourism (133ff.). This commercialization of Otavalo music goes with the adaptation to global music interests. But you can also see and hear that there is still a firm expression of Otavalo culture. The Otavalo music group Quichua Marka presents their song “Kanda Munani” in a commercial form as a music-video. The lyrics in kichwa and the traditional clothing of the Otavalo with their traditional long plait are elements which express Otavalo culture. As a product of the “exotic Other” Andean- and Otavalo music join the hype of tourism and handicraft in Otavalo and the global world (cf. Trupp 144).