Abstract

This article explores the particular characteristics of the musical practices deployed by the musicians of the brass band Alcones del Folklore, with special emphasis on their repertoire. To this end, a review was made of the historical evolution of brass bands in the Norte Grande de Chile and field work was done with that band. In addition, archaeological, ethnohistorical and ethnographic data dealing with the association between music and ritual in religious ceremonies of the Central-South Andes from pre-Hispanic times to the present were considered. It is argued that through their musical practices, the Andean brass bands participate in the continuity and change of a framework of musical, devotional and spatio-temporal relationships, of identities and collective memories, which persist from pre-Inca times and have tenaciously incorporated recent sounds and devotions. These practices interweave versatility, tradition and modernity in correspondence relationships, as we will review for the case of Alcones del Folklore, during the festivity of Espíritu Santo, in the town of Jaiña (Tarapacá, Norte Grande de Chile), the years 2014 and 2015.