Extending the Folk tradition

  Between 2010 and 2015 I traveled to La Paz, Bolivia every winter (their summer) for three months in order to learn the Bolivian sound on guitar and charango from various teachers including my uncle, Ernesto Cavour, who is one of Bolivia’s musical cultural icons. Cavour is one of the founding members of the group Los Jairas who were at the forefront in establishing the folk revival scene in Bolivia and throughout South America in the 1960s.  In a post-colonial Bolivia, Los Jairas turned away from using classical European instruments and embraced indigenous instruments such as the charango, keena (flute), and zamponia (pan flute). Los Jairas is the first Bolivian ensemble to tour the world, giving Europe and Asia the opportunity to experience Andean music live. The group fostered pride and acceptance in the Bolivian peoples’ indigenous roots, encouraging them to embrace their heritage, which ushered a shift in Bolivia’s arts and politics. Cavour established El Museo de Instrumentos Musicales de Bolivia, which holds one of the largest pre-colonial collections of ancient Bolivian instruments as well as musical instruction about traditional instruments.  Under Cavour’s supervision, I learned to play the charango, a small five-stringed guitar, pan flutes, and folk guitar. After my lessons, I would spend the afternoons writing my own compositions for guitar, inspired by the country’s melancholic colonial past and the Bolivian people’s resilience in the face of adversity.