Most Indigenous musicians from the community of Otavalo in Ecuador do not acknowledge themselves or their music as being political or revolutionary. However, through music they have branched out globally and locally, gaining social justice, political power and economic advancement that has strengthened and transformed their communities. This has made a revolutionary change that to most Indigenous people half a century ago would have seemed inconceivable.

Today Indigenous musicians from Ecuador have gained vast publicity, respect for their music and international recognition. However, the struggle for equality and social justice for the Indigenous Ecuadorians has been a long and continuing battle that has lasted over five hundred years. Since the time of the Spanish conquest, the death of the great Inca king, Huayna-Capac in 1527 and the fall of The Inca Empire, Indigenous Ecuadorians have suffered extreme oppression and exploitation by the Mestizo people. The Mestizo population makes up a little more then half of the country’s population and has, since the fall of the Inca Empire, held a superior position in Ecuador”s social and economic system. “Large numbers of Latin Americans have Indigenous or mixed heritage but do not identify themselves as culturally Indigenous or live in Indian communities(Brysk 6). The treatment of the Indians by The Mestizos has a deep rooted


history of racism that has been carried on with a vengeance within Ecuadorian Society. Although The Mestizo people themselves are part Indigenous, society has taught them to be ashamed of their Inca heritage. Mestizo people, who look physically more like their European ancestors have an easier time and are generally considered superior to Indigenous people. Similar to racism that occurs all over the world, the lighter the skin the easier it has been to make your way in society and gives you a higher status. Today in Ecuador, racism is less intense then in the 1950’s but its presence is still a cruel and harsh reality that millions of Indigenous people face.

With the breaking of international borders and the unification of all Indigenous groups in Ecuador, the power and spirit of the Indigenous movement has become increasingly more and more powerful. Today, for the first time in Ecuadorian history an Indigenous woman is a Minister of Foreign Affairs. In May of 1998 Nina Pacari, an Indigenous woman from Cotacachi, a lawyer, and former leader of the CONAIE land and territory commission, was elected a national legislator and Vice President of Congress. Nina Pacari’s powerful political position symbolizes power and success for the Indigenous people. In Kintto Lucas’ essay The Indigenous Movement: Past, Present & Future, an interview is featured with Nina Pacari as she talks about the strength of her people:

Within the indigenous movement, we began to recover our collective self-esteem. We became aware that we are many, but we can unite and make political proposals. Our peoples have rediscovered one another in a way that allows us to recognize our vitality and our limitations: vitality in our organization and proposals, weakness in the terrible economic conditions in which we live. Recognizing this gave the movement greater strength to fight to solve our peoples problems. We realized we couldn’t do this by remaining isolated. We had to formalliances with groups that shared our ideas and respected the indigenous peoples viewpoints. By 1992, the 500th anniversary of indigenous resistance, the indigenous movement was more solid. We realized we could make the leap from protesting to proposing solutions not only for our own problems, but for those of Ecuadorian society in general(79).

In the last forty years Indigenous communities are also more unified nationally through their support of the arts and music within their communities. The Indian village of Otavalo is located in a narrow valley of the Andean highlands, 66 miles north of Quito and 90 miles south of the Colombian border. Otavalo is historically the main trading center of Ecuadorian goods, including artisans crafts and textiles, and is the heart of Ecuadorian Indigenous folk music. In the last forty years the Indigenous people from Otavalo and nearby Indigenous communities have essentially reclaimed power of the town that previously had been taken over by Mestizo people. Local highlands movements generally began as peasant groups but assumed a stronger cultural and then civil rights emphasis as they evolved during the 1980’s and 1990’s(Brysk 74). Today Otavalo is one of the most prosperous Indigenous communities in Ecuador and the country’s biggest Indian market. The Andean folk music of Otavalo has one of the longest music traditions in Latin America, dating back to the Inca empire. Today the musical tradition of The Incas is still very much alive and carried on by the Otavalenos, who are direct descendants of the Incas. The Otavalenos often speak and sing in both Spanish and their native language, Quichua.

The Cuban revolution of 1959 sparked international protest throughout Latin America and “opened a new era of social and political changes, and renewed aspirations for self determination. Cuba’s support to the arts of the Third World-caused a number of artists to consider Havana the “Paris” of Latin America(Goldman 7). Although Cuba was exclusively a Marxist revolution, Cuba influenced the emergence of political protest that lead to smaller grassroots uprisings in Latin America, Indigenous people, the poor and oppressed began to unite within their communities and by any means necessary used grassroots tactics to take a stand in the fight against social inequality.

Around the same time as the Cuban Revolution, Liberation Theology emerged throughout Latin America an ideology stemming from the Spanish-Catholic church. The Spanish- Catholic church that previously and directly benefitted from the Spanish Conquest and the massacre along with the displacement of millions of Indian people began to support and defend Indigenous people. In the 1960’s, before the rise of The Indian Rights movement, members of the clergy often were the helpers for Indian interests. In the 1960’s Liberation Theology helped to realign the agenda of the Spanish-Catholic church. Priests, bishops, and clergy began to reexamine the church’s values and many began to identify with the poor and oppressed whereas before they identified with the middle and upper classes. In Ecuador, the majority of the Indigenous people are Spanish-Catholic, and in some cases the church provided protection and respect for Indigenous people that other Mestizo institutions did not. Liberation Theology deeply impacted the Indigenous people and encouraged a renaissance of Indigenous traditions (http://www.brazil.org.uk/page.php?cid=1118).

During the 1970’s and 1980’s the resurrection of many Indigenous celebrations and the mixture of Indian tradition with the Spanish -Catholic church, sparked national celebrations that even Mestizo people became a part of. The biggest Indian/Spanish celebration in Ecuador is the Fiesta de Inti-Raymi, “Inti”, is the Inca word for “sun” and “Raymi” is Inca for “middle”. Inti- Raymi is the celebration of the summer solstice, also known as The Harvest Festival , “Fiesta de La Cosecha”. Inti -Raymi also coincides with the Spanish Catholic celebration of The Feast of St. John, “La Fiesta de San Juan”. During the month of June many Indigenous people refer to their festivities as both Fiesta de San Juan or Inti- Raymi. Popular Festive Andean rhythms, called San Juanitos, originate from this celebration and express a mixed feeling of both joy and sadness perhaps a narrative of the Indigenous struggle. Similar to many African-Americans prior to the Civil Rights Movement, the church served as a refuge or retreat where song and music united the people during difficult times.

During the 1960s another change came about as the result of ideas on education. The Brazilian educator, Paulo Friere, began to have a strong influence on the teaching of literacy, especially at the village level. His ideas were revolutionary in that they focused on drawing the
wisdom and traditions of ordinary people into the educational process, rather than imposing the language and ideas of the elite institutions. He taught that literacy must also foster self determination and involve people in the political process. Freires ideas branched out through Latin America and were adopted by educators in Ecuador as well. Many Indigenous people began to take more pride in their native language, Quichua, as well as being encouraged to learn fluent Spanish in the schools (http://www.infed.org?thinkers/et-freir.htm).

The Indigenous people from Ecuador have not been passive in resisting oppression and from the time of the Spanish conquest in the 1500’s, there have been hundreds of uprisings by the Indigenous people. In 1944 different Indigenous regions began to unite and Dolores Cacuango and Transito Amaguena founded the country’s first farmer’s union and farmer’s strike. Kintto Lucas’ essay that was earlier mentioned, goes on to describe the biggest Indigenous uprising in Ecuadorian history:

Nearly half a century passed before the indigenous movement again arose with strength. In June of 1990, from the Amazon to Cotopaxi to the sea, Ecuador’s indigenous people renewed their strength when, united in the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), they staged the largest uprising in the country’s history. They blocked highways took over plantations, detained soldiers, occupied public buildings, held marches and meetings and refused to take products to the market. The army confronted the Indigenous people, entering communities, beating and shooting to defend the rights of large landowners. Four indigenous people were killed, several injured and dozens jailed. In October 1992, indigenous protesters again took to the streets, descending on Quito the capital, from all corners of the country to celebrate 500 years of indigenous resistance(74).

Throughout Ecuador it is now assumed that, on an annual basis, there will be some sort of Indigenous protest and highways will close and businesses will be forced to shut down. “The Indigenous movement has become Ecuador’s most important social movement, the only one capable of calling a strike that paralyzes the country(Lucas 74) ”

The Indigenous folk music from Otavalo has served as a political tool for the Indigenous people. Through their travels they have branched out on an international level, gaining respect and recognition for their music and the preservation of their Inca tradition. Although globalization has had many negative effects on Indigenous people, it has created job opportunities and provided international networking. “Globalization creates new institutional links across borders, such as international organizations, integrated markets and transnational social movement networks that cut across levels of analysis.(Brysk 29). Many Indigenous musicians from Otavalo and nearby communities have, through their music, had the opportunity to travel nationally and internationally. Marginalized Latin American Indians, who are excluded from national power, can exercise global influence when they project meaning across borders, contesting and reconstructing the character of international forces(Brysk 29).


Today, Otavalo is a Indian village full of wealth, including all the latest technologies and internet cafes. Otavalenos and their political and musical agendas can be contacted via the world wide web at www. otavalos.com. Groups of pipe playing Indian musicians, their hair traditionally tied in a ponytail, are a common sight in the streets and shopping centers of almost every European City(Roos.29). Andean musicians are increasingly more common in the United States and Ecuadorians are now the largest number of immigrants in New York City. The Indigenous music from Otavalo also attracts tourism. “Tourism is a leading source of revenue for many countries with large Indian populations(second for Mexico, fourth for Ecuador) Ecuador receives almost half a million tourists each year. Visitors are often attracted, at least in part, by Indigenous culture; many focus on Indian Zones(Brysk 14). Indigenous musicians often attract a lot of tourism at the traditional “Penas”, small music bars in Otavalo. There they publicize their music and can sell their CD’s.

It is interesting to note that with the increasing popularity of Indigenous music many Mestizos are now growing their hair long and beginning to identify with their Indian-Inca heritage and form their own groups that play traditionally Indigenous music. Along with the Indigenous people’s own pride and respect for their cultural identity, it seems as though they have taught the Mestizo’s a great lesson. Mestizo people are now not only learning to value and respect the Indigenous people from Ecuador but are now learning to embrace the part of themselves that is Indigenous. Music has been a key element in bridging the gap.

Daniel 9
“With a single life
I will not learn enough
With the light of other lives,
many lives will live in my song.”
-Pablo Neruda

Daniel 10

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