The Beauty of the Andean Music

I learned about Daria‘s work when I wrote this post about music around the world. Her cd album named Cancioncitas De Los Andes / Little Songs Of The Andes caught my attention the most. Not only because it features the traditional music of the area where I am from, but also it reminds me of my mother.

 

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As most of the Ecuadorian people, my family also is linked to the Andean civilizations that lived in the area before the Spanish Conquest. My mom was aware of this so for many years, she spent a good amount of time doing genealogical research while listening to instrumental Andean music.

Mom taught me to appreciate and love our Inca heritage through the stories she read to us, the historic places she took us to visit and the Andean music that she listened to. I know that all these things helped me to feel a special connection and reverence for the Inca people. But, more than anything, it connected me deeper with my own mother.

Of course, I was very excited when Daria contacted me to review her cd featuring music from the Andes. As soon as I could, I downloaded it to my laptop. I felt the strong urge to find out if the instruments in the songs of Cancioncitas De Los Andes / Little Songs Of The Andes would bring me back to the special memories of my mother sharing stories about the people that she had just “met” through her genealogical research. I am excited to say that it did!

This beautiful cd contains six songs where the familiar sounds of panpipes and charangos are always present. One of the songs of the album is “El Condor Pasa,” a famous piece that is considered part of the cultural heritage of Peru. Daria’s version of “El Condor Pasa” is beautiful and reminded me that is still the most moving song that I have ever heard.

If you want to learn more about Los Andes, I suggest to accompany the cd with the e-book: A Child’s Life in the Andes. This book can serve as a great supporting educational tool to explore the Andes since it covers “the geography of the area, daily life, animals, foods and languages spoken in this region.” I am planning to use it with my own children. It will help me to teach them more about her Inca heritage.

Ccaya cama

(See you tomorrow in Quechua)

More children books about the Inca civilization:

The Inca Empire (True Books: Ancient Civilizations)

Ancient Inca Daily Life

The Conquest of the Incas

 

Disclosure: I was given this cd and e-book for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.