AMANKAY

Florindo Alvis from Potosí is a master of the charango, of which he is an player and luthier. He has known us since we were 20 years old, when he performed back in the 80s at "El Cafetín" -a tiny venue located on Sepulcro street in Zaragoza- closed some years ago. Every night he amazed us with his charangos accompanied on the guitar by Pepe Ramírez, also Bolivian, guitarist, composer and a very good painter of paintings. Florindo has bequeathed us many lessons about the music of Bolivia and his region, Potosí, transmitting to us complex strumming techniques for the Walaycho, that miniature metallic string charango. On his last visit to Zaragoza in 2005 he gave us a walaycho "just like the ones the peasants play back in my land", with which we recorded this salaque rhythm.