Local musicians keep Peruvian musical tradition alive
By hola | Published | No Comments
Every Sunday members of Grupo Etnia grab traditional instruments such as the zampoña pan flute of the Andean highlands and the lute-like charango, and gather at Fernando Cabrejo’s house in Germantown to practice the Peruvian music they grew up with and now perform for audiences around the Washington area.
The group, which has played at the Smithsonian Institution, area restaurants, as well as lots of weddings, baptisms and family parties, strives to match the best authentic renditions played in the Andes for generations. They take pride in mastering Peru’s traditional genres and regional variations, though it’s no easy task, Cabrejo says, given the country’s rich and varied musical tradition.
“We have to practice a lot because of the challenge to get each one of these rhythms right,” Cabrejo says.
The pentatonic (or five-tonal) scale of traditional Andean music gives it a wonderfully harmonious quality, he says, but each region of Peru puts its own distinctive stamp on the music, differences that are important to Etnia and its audiences, which usually include Peruvian natives. Each time they book a performance, they ask for requests and tailor their play list accordingly.
Since, more often than not, sheet music does not exist, Etnia’s members learn new compositions by listening to whatever recordings they can get their hands on. Then they assemble in Cabrejo’s basement to practice. It’s a lot of work but the audience reaction makes it worth the effort. “Sometimes people shout, cry or dance,” he says, when they hear a tune from home. 
Andean music has been evolving for centuries. It’s a formable musical tradition that dates back to the Incan Empire and includes Western influences as well.
While Etnia prides itself on achieving a traditional sound, the members also like to mix things up at times, sort of like jazz improvisation—Andean style. Besides zampoña and quena flutes, charangos and traditional percussions, Etnia members also play the saxophone and electric guitar. Cabrejo, a conservatory trained violinist who once performed with the Trujillo Symphony Orchestra, performs on violin and mandolin, as well as traditional instruments.
The group formed a few years ago but changed its name to Etnia about a year ago and stepped up its performance schedule. In its current form, the seven-member group includes Cabrejo, Carlos Hurtado, Walter Suarez, Jorge Huaylinos, Luis Enrique Levano, Oscar Quispe, and Mariela Marinero.
They will be performing Saturday night, Dec. 13, at the Peruvian dinner Christmas celebration of the Umbrella Initiatives Foundation, a nonprofit group based in Maryland that raises funds for social justice and education projects in Peru.The funds raised this weekend will support the group’s Backback Project, which provides school supplies to impoverished children attending a week-long summer camp.
Yenny Delgado, Umbrella Initiative’s co-founder and director, says she first found out about the group at a Peruvian independence day celebration in Washington last summer and is thrilled to have them performing at her group’s event. For more information and tickets, visit the Umbrella Initiatives’ website. You can learn more about Etnia on its Facebook page.
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