Charangos are new to me; what my post offers, comes from "La Cancion en el Sombrero," memoirs about Chile's group, Inti-Illimani, written by its musical director, Horacio Salinas Alvarez.

The book volunteers some general remarks about what life is like, performing and touring all over the world, with all those Andean folk instruments. It seems that the "bomba", the drum from a hollow log, is one of the most temperamental of instruments!

Salinas is a guitarist and does not himself play the charango; that is the province of fellow Inti-Illimani member, Horacio Duran. On Duran's behalf, he volunteers some remarks about life with charangos.

"Quirquincho" is the name for the hairy, high-altitude breed of armadillo whose armored shell is used for the backside of the charango. Salinas does not even use the word "armadillo," but only "quirquincho." Duran, he states, only uses charangos made by Orozco in Bolivia, and only charangos made the traditional way, which includes the "quirquincho" shell in the back.