William E. Centellas

Charango refers to the Andean tradition of music centered on the charango, a small, bright‑sounding 10‑string lute that emerged in the central Andean highlands during the colonial era. Typically built today with a carved wooden bowl (historically sometimes with armadillo shell), the instrument uses reentrant tuning (commonly sol–do–mi–la–mi / G–C–E–A–E across five courses), producing a chiming, bell‑like timbre ideal for rapid strums, cross‑rhythms, and tremolo melody lines. Charango music accompanies and carries the melodies of regional dances and songs such as huayno, carnavalito, cueca boliviana, tinku, kaluyo, and saya, and often appears with panpipes (siku), end‑blown flutes (quena), and bombo/wankara drums. Beyond folk ensembles, the charango has become a solo concert instrument and a modern studio color in film, pop, and world fusion.