OXFORD – InkasWasi Peru visited the Boxberry School recently to teach the students to play the siku (a traditional Andean flute made of bamboo).

Sergio Espinoza of Saco is the producer and artistic director of the group, InkasWasi Peru. He organized the group in 2003, which is made up of musicians from several countries in South America who perform the music of the indigenous peoples of the Andes Mountains. They travel to schools and other areas all over New England to teach Andean music and dance workshops for students of all ages.

Espinoza wore traditional Andean dress, and he taught the students how to play a song on the sikuwith. He conveyed the importance of practice, trying harder and not giving up, and by the end of the workshop, the students actually played a song with him.

Espinoza explained how the Andean people made instruments by using things like dried fruit and seeds. “They don’t have a Toys-R-Us down the street like you do,” he told them.

Boxberry students displayed their knowledge of Spanish, to which he added a few new words. Boxberry students were left with some food for thought, spoken in the native Andean language Quechua: “Ama sua, ama llulla, ama kella.” (Don’t lie, don’t steal, don’t be lazy.”)

For more information on InkasWasi Peru, visit www.inkaswasi.com. For more information on the school, visit www.boxberryschool.org.


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