The Andean Conjunto, Bolivian Sikureada and the Folkloric Musical Representation Continuum

Abstract

The Andean conjunto and Bolivian sikureada are two vastly different folkloric representations of the Southern Andean tropa (indigenous wind consort). This article examines the extent to which these folkloric portrayals sonically resemble and have stylistically influenced rural indigenous community music-making in the Southern Andes. I argue that these case studies provide evidence that a folkloric musical representation's sonic resemblance to the rural genre or style it is said to be chiefly derived from can be conceptualized along a continuum and that this approach elucidates the feasibility of musical borrowings from a folkloric enactment back to its so-called root form. The final section compares the Andean conjunto and Bolivian sikureada to the Cuban ‘international’ rumba and ‘classic era’ son, respectively, to position my findings within a wider comparative perspective and to illustrate that the categories of ‘folkloric’ and ‘popular’ music frequently obfuscate similar stylistic modification and resignification processes.