Alex Llumiquinga Perez
Andean Instrument Maker
Otter Rock, OR
“It was just a hobby when I started… I never thought I’d do this as a career.”
Alex is a master artist of crafting and playing Andean folk instruments. Growing up in Ecuador, Alex was surrounded by music and remembers his grandfather plucking leaves from trees and using them as instruments. He received his first flute at the age of 11 and his first charango (ten-stringed guitar) at the age of 12. Traditionally made from armadillo shells, Alex fondly recalls that his first charango had a panther carved into it.
Through performance, Alex immediately fell in love with Andean folk music. He formed a 5 piece band called Chayag and landed his first professional music performance at the age of 17. The band soon started spreading his love for Latin American folk music by touring the world. As he grew older, he became interested in learning how to craft Andean instruments himself, like the charango, bamboo flutes and river cane flutes. Over the last decade, Alex has developed his instrument-making techniques and now owns his own workshop. He loves teaching instrument-making skills to children, but when it comes to his own children, Alex says “I’m waiting for them to tell me they want to learn.”
Alex Llumiguinga Perez earned Oregon’s Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program award in 2012. For more information about traditional arts in Oregon, visit the Oregon Folklife Network at ofn.uoregon.edu.
Oregon Folklife Network:
Making a meaningful difference in Oregon communities by empowering our tradition-keepers to pass on their skills and knowledge.
For more information about the artist and his craft, visit www.andeanmusic.org