Conversations with Raquel: Shuar Sound Archive
Keywords:
ethnomusicology, music, shuar, Ecuador, soundSynopsis
Conversations with Raquel: Shuar Sound Memory (Juan Carlos Franco and Luis Eguiguren, 2026) is the visual record of the documentary of the same name. The work compiles the in-depth interview conducted in 2020 with Raquel Yolanda Antún Tsamaraint, a singer, poet, composer, music educator, and Shuar uwishin from the Ecuadorian Amazon.
Through her testimony, Raquel shares the Shuar worldview: the sacred relationship with Arútam (spirit of the waterfall and power), Nunkui (mother of the garden), Tsunki, and entheogenic plants; the musical genres anent (sacred prayers), nampet (festive songs), and ujáj; rituals such as the Nua tsaankram and the tsantsa ritual; and traditional instruments such as the kaer and the tuntui, now at serious risk of disappearing.
The book includes photographs, musical transcriptions, and the educational process behind the creation of the First Shuar Children’s and Youth Choir “Tsuntsu/Caracol” in Tuna Chiwias, directed by Raquel with support from Hemisferios University.
This sonic memoir invites intercultural dialogue and affirms the importance of preserving the Shuar language, music, and ancestral knowledge in the face of globalization.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
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