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Description
Guitarra andina (Peruvian Andean guitar) is a solo and ensemble guitar tradition that adapts Andean song–dance genres—especially huayno, yaraví, pasacalle and carnavales—to the tonal palette and techniques of the Spanish/Western classical guitar.
Its modern concert form coalesced in Ayacucho, Peru, where exponents began arranging rural and urban Andean repertoires for nylon‑string guitar using arpeggios, tremolo, bordoneo (bass–melody accompaniment), rasgueos and counterpoint to evoke harp and charango textures. The result is a poetic, intimate sound that can swing between festive dance rhythms and meditative, nostalgic laments. Key figures such as Raúl García Zárate and Manuelcha Prado helped codify and internationalize the style from the mid‑20th century onward.
History
Guitarra andina grew out of regional Andean repertoires (huayno, yaraví, pasacalle, carnavales) performed on voices, harp and charango. In Ayacucho—long a guitar‑centered musical hub—players translated these idioms to the nylon‑string guitar, shaping a distinctive right‑hand arpeggio language, bordoneo bass lines, and lyrical, vocal‑like melodies.
Raúl García Zárate emerged as the seminal concertizer of the tradition. Beginning in the 1950s he appeared on radio, recorded widely, and presented Andean pieces as solo guitar works, establishing the Ayacuchan school’s aesthetics and repertoire on national stages. His career demonstrated that huayno and yaraví could be compelling in virtuosic solo arrangements, paving the way for later artists.
From the late 1970s and 1980s, Manuelcha Prado—“el Saqra de la Guitarra”—deepened the idiom’s techniques and visibility through tours, albums and pedagogy, often collaborating with scholars and producing anthologies of Peruvian guitar music. His work linked rural Andean roots with contemporary concert practice and helped train new generations.
The style now spans solo recitals, singer‑guitarist formats and ensembles, and coexists with broader Andean and Peruvian popular currents. Schools and cultural centers in Peru teach guitarra andina, and arrangers continue to adapt regional dances and songs while experimenting with harmony and form.
