Canto!
Charo Durán
South-American passion sung in Spanish & Dutch
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In the 1970's lots of South American people fled their countries, because of the unsafe environments due to dictatorships and civil wars. They were in search of a new and safer home in other parts of the world. One Bolivian man ended up in The Netherlands and found love in the capital Amsterdam.
As a child of two worlds, with a Bolivian father and a Dutch mother, Charo is always researching an essential human principle: where is my home and what does it mean to be home, where do I belong? Who am I, am I defined by my DNA, the culture I was brought up in, the country I was born in? Am I defined by my gender or age, the (un)conscious choices I make, what I (don't) believe? What defines a human being, where do we differ from each other and what connects us to one another?
After Charo graduated from the Musicaltheatre department of the Conservatory in the Netherlands, she eventually found what touches her heart and fits her like a glove: the South American music she grew up with as a child in her own special way.
In search of her musical identity, Charo traveled the South American continent, which resulted in an online documentary series featured on YouTube: The South-American Dream. Watch it here.
Charo was inspired to introduce the rich musical folklore tradition of South America, into The Netherlands and the Flemish part of Belgium in her very unique way: she not only sings the songs in the original Spanish lyrics, but writes her own poetic Dutch lyrics to the music.
Her first solo performance "Como un río - Like a river" (2012) featured on many festivals, in small theatres and private events. Charo's second show 'Op zoek naar mi hogar - In search of my home' (2016) was successfully performed on festivals, up until the birth of her son Maël in the beginning of 2017.
Ten years after the death of the most iconic South-American Folklore singer, Charo performed "An hommage to Mercedes Sosa - The voice of South America" (2019-2020) together with Chilean guitarist/singer Alvaro Pinto Lyon.
Charo toured The Netherlands with her show "Un Amor Revolucionario - Latin American Folklore songs about a Revolutionary Love" (2021) in unexpected outside locations.
In 2022 Charo was a finalist of the Dias Latinos Award, where she performed with a mix of Spoken Word about her bi-cultural identity and folklore songs of Bolivia and Argentina.
Since 2023 she performs her concert "Alma Andina", a celebration in honor of the most beautiful songs of the soul of the Andes. Together with her musical partner Alvaro Pinto Lyon, she interprets the soul of the folklore songs of the Andean region in her very own special way, sung in Dutch, Spanish and Quechua, interwoven with storytelling and Spoken Word. Read more about it down here.
In June 2024 Charo launches her new project, A new Nation of Unity. This is an interactive performance about Belonging and Unity. Curious? Read more about it and how to participate or organize this for your event here!
If you are interested in the concerts Charo gives or would like to acquire more information for a performance for your event, please contact through the form on the bottom of the page.
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Alma Andina
De ziel van de Andes / The soul of the Andes
Music, Storytelling and Spoken Word
Het hooggebergte de Andes wordt wel eens de ruggengraat van Zuid-Amerika genoemd.
De muziek uit die Andes kunnen we dan misschien wel zien als het ruggenmerg: het draagt de ziel
van het continent in zich. Daar waar de Europese invloeden zich hebben vermengd met de
inheemse Zuid-Amerikaanse rijkdommen, en nu de identiteit van de Andino cultuur vormen.
Boliviaans-Nederlandse zangeres Charo Durán maakt een vergelijking met de ziel van de Andes en haar eigen ziel, ook een mix van Europese en Zuid-Amerikaanse culturen, in haar nieuwe programma “Alma Andina”. Samen met Chileens gitarist en zanger Alvaro Pinto Lyon, laat zij de stem van haar ziel horen, in oude en nieuwe folklore muziek uit de Andes. Langs de turbulente geschiedenis van onderdrukking en een hedendaagse renaissance van inheems wijsheid en trots. De zang, Storytelling en Spoken Word is in het Spaans, Quechua én Nederlands.
Laat je meevoeren langs de rijke muzikale cultuur van de Andes, in dit muzikale portret van de ziel
van twee continenten vermengd met elkaar: Alma Andina.
Zang, Nederlandse teksten en percussie: Charo Durán
Gitaar, Charango en zang: Alvaro Pinto Lyon
English:
The high mountains of the Andes are sometimes called the backbone of South America.
We can perhaps see the music from the Andes as the spinal cord: it carries the soul
of the continent. Where the European influences have mixed with the
indigenous South American riches, and now form the identity of the Andino culture.
Bolivian-Dutch singer Charo Durán makes a comparison with the soul of the Andes and her own soul, also a mix of European and South American cultures, in her new program “Alma Andina”. Together with Chilean guitarist and singer Alvaro Pinto Lyon, she lets the voice of her soul be heard, in old and new Andino folklore music. We move through the turbulent history of oppression and result in a contemporary renaissance of indigenous wisdom and pride. There is singing, Storytelling and Spoken Word in Spanish, Quechua and Dutch.
Let yourself be transported through the rich musical culture of the Andes, in this musical portrait of the soul
of two continents mixed together: Alma Andina.
Vocals, Dutch lyrics and words, percussion: Charo Durán
Guitar, Charango and vocals: Alvaro Pinto Lyon