Ati Cachimuel | K'acha Willaykuna Indigenous Performance Past, Present and Emerging
Ati Cachimuel, an Ecuadorian-born, Kichwa Otavalo musician and composer, comes from a family with a rich musical legacy that has been instrumental in strengthening the artistic and cultural expressions of Kichwa communities in Ecuador for 40 years. His practice draws from the sounds emerging in the landscapes of the Andean moors, integrating them into both academic and popular compositional contexts.
Ati is working with Ohio State’s Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) and the collective of researchers at ACCAD’s Motion Lab in a one-year Artistic Residency, funded by the GAHDT Collaborative Centers Grant (ACCAD/CLAS): K’acha Willaykuna: Indigenous Performance Past, Present, and Emerging.
Ati visited OSU's Columbus campus from April 8-24, 2024 to work on the culmination of his multidisciplinary, sensorial musical piece titled YANA. Learn more about Ati's project, his background, the GAHDT Collaborative Centers Grant (ACCAD/CLAS) below.
Ati Cachimuel, músico y compositor Kichwa Otavalo nacido en Ecuador, viene de una familia con un profundo legado musical que ha ido fortaleciendo la expresión artística y cultural de las comunidades Kichwas por más de 40 años. Sus prácticas derivan de sonidos emergentes del paisaje andino, los cuales integra en contextos académicos y de música popular.
Ati está trabajando con el Centro de Estudios Latinoamericanos (CLAS) en la Universidad de Ohio State y con un equipo de investigadores en el Centro de Computación Avanzada para el Arte y el Diseño (ACCAD Motion Lab) para una residencia artística financiada por una beca de Artes Globales y Humanidades (GAHDT).
Ati visitará la Universidad de Ohio State del 8 al 24 de abril, 2024 para la culminación de su proyecto multidiciplinario, sensorial titulado YANA.
Project Proposal
YANA (darkness) is a musical piece written by Kichwa Otavalo composer Ati Cachimuel. This piece reflects, from a sonorous perspective, the musical tradition from the Andes which combines everyday sounds and noises. The use of traditional instruments such as wind instruments made from bamboo reeds and ceramic pre-Columbian instruments interface with programmers to experiment with the creation of a new form of conceiving of Andean music.
YANA is based on a mythic being that exists in Kichwa culture as the foundation for the narrative thread behind the musical creation. This mythic being is present in the most important festivity for Andean populations—the Inti Raymi—as the spirit in charge of balancing the energies of this world.
As a musical proposal, YANA involves two primary contributors: an Andean musician (panpipes, wind instruments, pre-Columbian instruments, and synthesizer) and a programmer (MAX/MSP). The use of this instrumental format aims to create frequencies that generate regenerative and healing sensations, similar to those felt during the Inti Raymi celebration. Beyond this, working in collaboration with ACCAD, the goal is to expand YANA into a multidisciplinary and sensorial piece that includes visual projections, dance, and olfactory stimulation.
YANA (obscuridad) es una obra musical escrita por el compositor Kichwa Otavalo Ati Cachimuel. Esta obra, desde el punto de vista sonoro, refleja la tradición musical de los Andes combinada con sonidos y ruidos de la actualidad. El uso de instrumentos tradicionales, como vientos de bambú e instrumentos precolombino construidos a base de arcilla, se entrelazan con programadores para experimentar la creación de una nueva forma de concebir la música andina.
YANA se basa en un personaje mitológico que existe en la cultura Kichwa, como base para la construcción de un texto narrativo que servirá como de hilo conductor para la creación musical. Este personaje mitológico tiene presencia en la mayor festividad de los pueblos andinos, el Inti Raymi, y es el espíritu encargado de equilibrar las energías en este mundo.
La propuesta musical de YANA está conformada por dos integrantes: un músico andino (vientos bambú, instrumentos precolombinos y sintetizador) y un programador (MAX/MSP). El uso de este formato instrumental tiene el propósito de crear frecuencias que generen sensaciones curativas y regeneradoras, similares a las que se sienten en toda la celebración del Inti Raymi. Además, con el trabajo en conjunto a ACCAD, se pretende expandir YANA a una obra multidisciplinaria y sensorial que incluya visuales, danza y estimulaciones del olfato.
Biography
Ati Cachimuel, born in Ecuador, is a Kichwa Otavalo musician and composer. He comes from a family with a rich musical legacy that has been instrumental in strengthening the artistic and cultural expressions of Kichwa communities in Ecuador for 40 years. He pursued his higher education in Contemporary Music Performance at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito and is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Musical Composition at the Universidad Internacional de La Rioja. In the Ecuadorian music scene, he is part of significant groups that promote Andean music from a contemporary perspective, such as Yarina, Los Nin, Urkumanda, Chuskupura, and Awak Taki.
Creative Practice
His creative process draws from the sounds emerging in the landscapes of the Andean moors, integrating them into both academic and popular compositional contexts. As a composer, he has created works such as:
- "El Despertar Andino" in 2017, an interactive sensory concert premiered in collaboration with the Confundamiento collective;
- "Sara Pamba" in 2018, premiered by the chamber ensemble Awak Taki;
- "Killa Raymi" in 2019, a concert for Andean ensemble and choir premiered by Urkumanda and the Mixed Choir Ciudad de Quito;
- "Faccha Suite" in 2019, a composition performed at the 4th Meeting of the Young Orchestra and Choir Mitad del Mundo;
- "Kacharisha" in 2023, an innovative concept of experimental Andean music also premiered by Urkumanda.
- Additionally, he is working on "Yarina Sinfónico" during 2024, a work in progress that will be premiered towards the end of this year.
Academic and Research Practice
In the academic and research sphere, he is the founder and musical director of the Yarina Music School, an institution that promotes artistic education among indigenous girls, boys, and young people in rural areas of Imbabura. In 2021, he released the book "Andean Violin Method", the result of several years of research in which he compiles empirical learning methods of the violin in Andean music, to integrate them into an academic context through original compositions that facilitate the development of the technique of this instrument at an initial level.
Ati Cachimuel, nacido en Ecuador, es un músico y compositor Kichwa Otavalo. Proviene de una familia con un amplio legado musical, que durante 40 años ha impulsado el fortalecimiento de las expresiones artísticas y culturales de las comunidades Kichwas del Ecuador. Realizó sus estudios superiores en Ejecución de Música Contemporánea en la Universidad San Francisco de Quito y actualmente está cursando una Maestría en Composición Musical en la Universidad Internacional de La Rioja. En la escena musical ecuatoriana, forma parte de importantes agrupaciones que promueven la música andina desde una perspectiva contemporánea, tales como: Yarina, Los Nin, Urkumanda, Chuskupura y Awak Taki.
Su proceso creativo se nutre de las sonoridades que surgen en los paisajes de los páramos andinos, integrándolas tanto en contextos compositivos académicos como populares. Como compositor, ha creado obras como: "El Despertar Andino" en 2017, un concierto sensorial interactivo estrenado en colaboración con el colectivo Confundamiento; "Sara Pamba" en 2018, estrenada por el ensamble de cámara Awak Taki; "Killa Raymi" en 2019, un concierto para ensamble andino y coro estrenado por Urkumanda y el Coro Mixto Ciudad de Quito; "Faccha Suite" en 2019, una composición interpretada en el 4to Encuentro de la Joven Orquesta y Coro Mitad del Mundo; "Kacharisha" en 2023, un innovador concepto de música andina experimental también estrenado por Urkumanda. Además, está trabajando en "Yarina Sinfónico" durante el 2024, una obra en proceso que será estrenada hacia finales de este año.
En el ámbito académico e investigativo, es el fundador y director musical de la Escuela de Música Yarina, una institución que promueve la educación artística entre niñas, niños y jóvenes indígenas de las zonas rurales de Imbabura. En 2021, lanzó el libro "Método de Violín Andino", fruto de varios años de investigación en el que recopila formas de aprendizaje empíricas del violín en la música andina, para integrarlas en un contexto académico mediante composiciones originales que facilitan el desarrollo de la técnica de este instrumento a un nivel inicial.
Our Research Ayllu
Residency Artist
Ati Amaru Cachimuel
ACCAD Team
Norah Zuniga Shaw, ACCAD/Dance, Professor, Director for Dance and Technology and Chair of the Motion Lab
Co-Sponsor Livable Futures project
Vita Berezina Blackburn, Motion Capture Specialist, Motion Lab, ACCAD
Alex Oliszewski, Associate Professor, ACCAD/Theater
Jean-Yves Münch, Sound Associate, ACCAD
Elaine Smith, Administrative Manager, ACCAD
Michael Hesmond, Production Manager, ACCAD
Nina Wolf, ACCAD Graduate Associate, MFA Candidate, Design
Humanities
Faculty:
Michelle Wibbelsman, Associate Professor, Department of Spanish and Portuguese
Laura Siragusa, Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies
Brad Dubos, Department of English
Elvia Andia Grageda, Department of Spanish and Portuguese (Quechua language)
Carlos Rivas, Department of History of Art
Students:
Victor Vimos, Department of Spanish and Portuguese
Ivan Ng, Department of Art
Cameron Logar, Kawsay Ukhunchay Andean and Amazonian Indigenous Art Collection, Andean Music Ensemble, and Bio Chem Department
Arvcuken Noquisi, Sonic Arts
John Hurtado Cadavid, Department of Spanish and Portuguese
Rob Lassche, Department of Spanish and Portuguese
Zahra Rahnamaei, Department of Spanish and Portuguese
Daphne Amir, Andean Music Ensemble and Math Department
Micah Unzueta, Kawsay Ukhunchay Andean and Amazonian Indigenous Art Collection and Quechua Language Scholar
Anaís Fernandez Castro, Kawsay Ukhunchay Andean and Amazonian Indigenous Art Collection, Quechua Language Studies
Josh Mink, Stamps Eminence Scholar (Spanish, Film, Theater)
Claire Kovchegov
Alberto Vega Rivera, MFA Candidate, Design
Emma Burns, MFA Candidate, Design
Paitton Lewis, MFA student
Louis Polien, Andean Music Ensemble
Brenna Miller, Andean Music Ensemble
Justin Borden, Andean Music Ensemble
Ryan Christensen, Andean Music Ensemble
Singers:
Anais Fernandez Castro
Cameron Logar
Daphne Amir
+ 2 OSU choir
Dancers:
Jiara Sha
Jackie Coucherne
Elizabeth Sugawara
Mercedes Hicks
Musicians:
Paitton Lewis, MFA Student, Drumming
