The Chinchinero, a true Chilean tradition
While walking the streets of Santiago or having a coffee it’s possible to be surprised by the sound of some drums in the city.
In comparison to other Latin-American cities this music probably doesn’t come from a group of drummers neither does it come from one of the random street artists, but most likely it is a Chinchinero, the typical street artist of the country.
The Chinchineros as we know them today are to find on the Streets of Santiago and Valparaiso, but there are also some in Concepción, Iquique, Talca and Curió. They play on street corners, squares or markets, but others also work for private occasions or festivals.
Some Chilean Chinchineros have been invited to international festivals in Europe, where no one was able to bear comparison with their characteristical dances.
“It is a tradition that you have to learn from your childhood on, otherwise it’s nearly impossible”, says Guillermo Saavedra, Chichinero for all his life, to Chile.Travel.
Saavedra learned the skills from his uncle when he was seven years old, and right now he is showing it to his son. “This is the third generation of Chinchineros in my family”, he explains.
The situation Saavedra is pointing out is not unusual among the Chinchineros. The practice of their music goes from generation to generation, from father to son, who later go together in duos or in a bigger group of family members.
The Chilean Chinchinero and it’s history
The Chinchinero is carrying a drum on it’s back and has two big drumsticks to play it. Above the drum there are some cymbals that are connected to the feet of the Chinchinero with a rope.
While the artist is dancing full of energy and doing some acrobatics, the sound of the cymbals and the drum are accompanying his movements. A mixture of steps, fast turns, waltz, folkloric dance and movements from the tango are what makes this type of music so special.
The Chilean tradition ascribes to the 1920s in the region Metropolitana of Santiago. At the beginning the Chinchin, or the portable drum, was meant to accompany the organ grinders who normally walked the streets together with their little monkey. In this epoch the Chinchineros were nothing more than company and didn´t try to attract attention because they didn´t want to distract from the main attraction.
In the 30s the Chinchineros started to integrate some small dancing moves into their performances, although this is nothing compared to the complicated moves of today. The dance of the Chinchineos ascribes to HéctorLizana Gutiérrez who developed this typical dance in the late 30s.
The Chinchineros outside of Santiago
In the 60s the Chinchineros already reached the harbor city of Valparaiso. On many occasions they played in public places together with organ grinders, fotographers, street magicians of newspaper sellers.
In the course of time all these professions became obsolete or the artist started to work alone. Only the cooperation of organ grinders and Chinchineros stayed the same, the original duo.
Right now the number of organ grinders is growing again, but it’s the unbowed Chinchineros that are the only ones who survived the course of time.
So open your eyes and ears while enjoying the warm spring night and take the opportunity to walk the streets and market places of Santiago. Maybe you are lucky and will see one or two Chinchineros.
