Who are Los Mapaches?
Los Mapaches was founded in 1998 as a spontaneous after-school class with teacher and Latin American musician Lydia Mills. One day, Lydia brought zampoñas (panpipes) to school and began teaching traditional songs of the Andes. Children and parents alike were drawn to the music, and Los Mapaches enrollment soared.
Over time, the group began performing at schools, libraries, retirement homes, and cultural centers around the Bay Area.
Today, Los Mapaches includes more than forty young musicians, ranging from kindergartners to high school students, who study and perform locally with Lydia. The group's focus has expanded to include traditional music not only from the Andes, but from other regions of Latin America as well.
Members of Los Mapaches are proficient on a variety of panflutes, including the paya, antara, and zampoña. They also play the tarka (a wooden flute from the Andes), the quena (bamboo flute), and percussion instruments from the Venezuelan and Colombian coasts.
Vocal numbers are sung in Spanish, with some bilingual arrangements as well.
Classes
Los Mapaches classes meet one afternoon a week at Berkwood Hedge School in Berkeley. Students receive instruction in zampoñas and other Andean flutes, Latin American percussion, and singing.
Recordings
Los Mapaches recorded their first album of traditional music from Latin America in 2003. A second album will be released in December, 2006.
About Lydia
Lydia grew up in a family of folk musicians and a community rich in musical culture. At age eighteen, with guitar in hand, she traveled for the first time to Latin America to pursue studies of traditional and regional music.
Since then, she has lived in Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru and Chile, bringing regional music straight back into the classroom and onto the stage. Lydia has performed solo and with several ensembles over the years, including, at present, Altipampa. In addition to teaching Los Mapaches, she provides music instruction at Berkwood Hedge, and leads workshops on incorporating Spanish music into the classroom curriculum.
Los Mapaches is available to perform at your school, community center, theater, or special event on weekends and evenings during the school year. Limited summer performances may also be arranged.
For booking, please email Director Lydia Mills, or contact her by phone at 510.684.9741