Educational Media Reviews Online

El Charango is a documentary film about the relationship between the Bolivian stringed instrument the charango and a mountain of silver called Cerro Rico (Rich Mountain) in Potosi, Bolivia. In colonial times the oppressed indigenous miners of Potosi were forbidden to pay the Spanish guitar so they created their own instrument the charango. The diminutive charango resembles the Hawaiian ukulele, but sounds differently.

This short documentary does an excellent job of contrasting the hard life of contemporary Andean silver miners with the creation and playing of the charango. The viewer is taken on a hellish journey to the bowels of Cerro Rico to observe the hard life of Bolivian miners that is little changed from the time of the conquistadors. Miners, who use simple hand tools, must chew coca leaves to deal with the darkness, heat, thirst, hunger, and frequent cave-ins of Cerro Rico. Only El Tio (the uncle), a local spirit or deity identified with El Diablo, seems concerned with the miners welfare. By contrast, an expert craftsman discusses the making of a charango. He explains that the charango’s body is sometimes made from the shell of an armadillo or expertly carved from a solid piece of wood. Musicians, including the remarkable Ernesto Cavour Ayamaro, demonstrate its musical versatility and haunting beauty.

This fine little documentary is well edited and fast-paced. Images flow at just the right rhythm to maintain interest. Picture quality and sound are excellent. The brevity of the documentary is an asset. The director doesn’t linger over scenes, but makes his point and moves on. I really enjoyed the music, and I particularly enjoyed the playing of master charango player Ernesto Ayamaro. What he can do with this small instrument is nothing short of amazing!

The only part of the documentary that might not be to everyone’s taste is a scene where a Llama is slaughtered, but this is certainly an authentic part of Andean culture. Overall, the documentary has a gritty realism lacking in other more contrived productions.

The Bolivarian Revolution of Evo Morales Ayma has reasserted the rights of indigenous peoples in Latin America. Combine this with the ascendant leftism of Hugo Chavez and we have a whole continent gripped by power forces of change.

It’s always been my opinion that we pay little attention to the sister republics in our hemisphere. El Charango will help us to understand our Latin American neighbors. This superb film would be valuable in music, folklore, anthropology, history, and Latin American studies classes. I strongly recommend this gem of an independent film. I hope it can find the wide distribution it merits.