Comunidad Anqari performs music of the Kollao Altiplano, a culturally rich region in the heart of the Andean High Plateau (which touches modern day Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru and Ecuador). A group of musicians dedicated to the performance of traditional music and dances, Comunidad Anqari is named after the Aymara, deity of the wind. The name is reflective on the repertoire which is played upon indigenous wind instruments and corresponds to the seasons and festivals during which they perform.

Program

Selections to be announced from the stage.

Free

This Shinkoskey Noon Concert is made possible with support from the Joy S. Shinkoskey Series of Noon Concert Endowment and the Al McNeil Fund for Non-Western Music.

About the Ensemble

Formed in 2012 by artists in the Bay Area with different backgrounds in Andean music and dance, Comunidad Anqari focuses on the instruction, practice, and promotion of traditional and understudied dance and music of the Kollao Altiplano, a culturally rich region in the heart of the Andes mountains. A group of musicians dedicated to the performance of traditional music and dances, Comunidad Anqari is named after the Aymara deity of the wind. The name is reflective on the collective’s repertoire which is played upon indigenous wind instruments and corresponds to the seasons and festivals during which the repertoire is played.  Among its accomplishments, in 2013 Comunidad Anqari qualified for the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival and in 2014 and 2015, respectively, it won first place in the folkloric category and the Grand Prize at the San Francisco Carnaval parade. The organization has also performed at various cultural centers and community events, including at La Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley, Bayview Opera house, and the annual Watsonville Peace and Unity March; sharing in each their ancestral art. In addition, Comunidad Anqari provides a cultural home and community for a diversity of people in the Bay Area who share a love of Andean music. Current members include artists from Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, El Salvador, and the USA. Every Sunday, they get together to practice and share these traditions. Some of its members come to Oakland from as far away as Sunnyvale and Antioch just to spend a couple hours in the practice. The organization believes more people in the Bay Area will benefit from connecting to these cultural traditions.