Various Artists
¡Así Kotama! The Flutes of Otavalo - Ecuador (CD)

SFW-CD-40564

¡Así Kotama! The Flutes of Otavalo, Ecuador features an Andean indigenous flute tradition unlike any other. It is the soundtrack of a success story that defies globalization, steers tradition in a new direction, and revitalizes a musical practice that was once considered obsolete. The joyful, multigenerational Kichwa flutists of Kotama village in the historic municipality of Otavalo play, chant, and dance their way into a future that upholds their deepest values and customs. 62 minutes, 40-page booklet with bilingual notes and photos.
The music on ¡Así Kotama!’ draws from a pre-Incan musical practice commonly called gaita. In Otavalo, gaita refers to a specific type of side-blown flute historically used to summon rain and pray for prosperity during rituals, festivals, and rites of passage.
The songs on the album feature meditative, repeated phrase melodies on the flute and call-and-response vocals delivered with a shouted intensity and joviality. Certain songs are used at particular times of the year. For example, the middle section of the album features songs for Hatun Puncha, an agricultural festival marking the end of the corn and bean harvest in the summer. Other sounds, such as harmonica, conch shell, and sharp, repeated whistling, complement the vocals and flutes, which are often set to a pulsing, driving rhythm kept by dancers' footsteps.

Track listing:

1. Chinkashka / Perdido / Lost
2. Arias Pampa / Valle Arias / Arias Valley
3. Llaz Tuaz / Llaz tuaz / Llaz Tuaz
4–29. Hatun Puncha
30. Kotama Ñan / Camino de Kotama / Kotama Path
31. Kotama Wayra / Viento de Kotama / Kotama Wind
32. Yaku Taki / Canción de agua / Water Song
33. Kashna Kotama / Así Kotama / This is Kotama
34. Ñawi Mayllay / Lavado de cara / The Face Washing
35. Puchka paskachik / Limandero / Umbrella Swift
36. Bonus: Yaku Chaka / Puente del río / River Bridge

Published: 2013

Genre: Middle & North America & Tango
Label: Smithsonian Folkways