South American Indigenous Music

This album rescues the culture of the Guarani people with the children's songs evoking the ancestral spirit in each one of us and, making clear the importance of songs in each situation of our existence. The songs are sung by groups of children from four Guarani villages: Sapucai, in the city of Angra dos Reis; Rio Silveira, in São Sebastião; Morro da Saudade, in the city of São Paulo and Jaexaá Porã, in Ubatuba. The recordings were made in the village of Jaexaá Porã. All songs are themed around spirituality. The Guarani Indians say that children are pure and their God, Our Father Nhanderu, sends these songs directly to them."

"The term Guaraní refers to one of the most representative indigenous ethnicities in the Americas, having, as traditional territories, a broad region of South America that covers the national territories of Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay and the central-southern portion of the Brazilian territory.
They are called 'folks', as their large population is divided into several ethnic subgroups, of which the most significant, in population terms, are the Caiouás, the Embiás, the Nhandevas, the Ava-Xiriguanos, the Guaraios, the Izozeños and the Tapietés. Each of these subgroups has dialectal, cultural and cosmological specificities, thus differentiating their Guarani 'way of being' from the others.

Music and dance are intertwined among South American Indians, and music is central to native South American healing practices. While each community has its own preferred vocal sound, many South American Indians use special techniques to alter or mask the natural voice. Repetition is an important design element in South American Indian musics and may involve the repeat of small motifs within a melodic phrase as well as the repetition of an entire section within a piece. South American Indian musics fall into four main geographic areas: Andean Highlands, Tropical Forest, Southern Cone, and circum-Caribbean.