An Andean 10-string (5 doubles) form of mandolin, baritone or bass charango, this beautiful instrument of longer sustain was invented in the 1980s by Gonzalo Hermosa González, co-founder of the group Los Kjarkas from Cochabamba, Bolivia and has been used in acclaimed film scores. Sometimes also known as a charangón, tunings vary across the region but with the ronroco generally lower than the charango – a fourth lower (Argentine tuning); a fifth lower (Bolivia; Chile); or an octave lower (alternative Bolivian tuning). Original versions used an old armadillo shell for the soundbox, but now all are made of wood, and have nylon strings.
It has been extensively used in the music of Argentinian composer and player Gustavo Santaolalla, who has won awards for many film soundtracks, including Brokeback Mountain, Babel and The Motorcycle Diaries, and also scored the acclaimed new HBO TV series The Last of Us.
First, here’s a demonstration of the instrument by player Dale Turner of a song called Bolivian Cascade:
And here’s the beautiful number, De Ushuaia a la Quiaca, by Gustavo Santaolalla, played by Tony Zender:
Now, Gustavo Santaolalla himself, playing and talking about how the ronroco is his instrument, mixing arpeggios and melodies with finger techniques and demonstrating with his theme from various film scores, working with Alejandro González Iñárritu on his first feature, Amores Perros, as well as the inspiration behind Santaolalla’s 1998 album, Ronroco which is also below:
And playing his theme from The Last Of Us with orchestra:
Finally, going back to the instrument’s origins, Los Kjarkas in concert, mainly with guitars, on the left there’s a ronroco in the line-up:
To find out more about on finger patterns, techniques and other information about th ronroco, check out this detailed overview.
So then, any more to share in relation to the ronroco, in music or wider culture? Feel free to suggest examples, or even from film, art, or other contexts in comments below.
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