How to tune a quena

Talking to our friend, musician and maker of wind instruments, José Chacón. He explained us how to tune a quena, the first thing to do is a hole in the bottom end of the quena. It should expand and refine the hole to achieve the note pitch. If quena we are making is in the scale of SOL, to make this hole should give us the note SOL. Master Chacón uses to tune quenas a diapason. Then he proceed to open the second hole. This hole is the first hole near the bottom hole of the quena. We have to tune it until we reached to the note LA. And so, we continue with the other holes from the bottom to the top, Si, Do, Re, Mi, Fa #, and finally the thumb hole, Sol Some tips from our friend Chacón for the care of our quena are: be sure to dry before storing. Avoid putting in extremely hot, no place in the sun, it can crack the quena. we should keep our quena in a case to avoid damage and lose pitch. Also this will prevent the dust from quena, which can be sucked at playing quena. In cold weather, the pitch of quena will be a little lower. It is advised that accompanying zampoñas and antaras are also a slightly lower tone. Here we can see Master José Chacón playing a quena tuned in FA.

Cusco School. Colonial Paintings with 24 karat Gold

The Cuzco school is characterized by being original and its great artistic value. Began in the city of Cusco, Peru.

It is a fusion of European art and artistic expression of the mestizos and Indians to incorporate their vision of the world.

This school begins during the Viceroyalty of Peru with a predominantly European style but the participation of Indian and mestizo painters by the end of the seventeenth century, makes the Cuzco school to take its own characteristics. This painting is called "Cusco School", because it was by made hands of local artists, and especially because it distances itself from the influence of prevailing currents in European art and follows his own path.

This art of Cuzco , in the thematic issues of interest in local customs, such as the procession of Corpus Christi, and the presence for the first time of the Andean flora and fauna. Also, a series of portraits of Indians and caciques of heraldic and genealogical tables. With regard to technical, there is a misunderstanding of the perspective with a fragmentation of space in multiple concurrent places or compartmentalized scenes. New solutions to the color era, with the preference for the colors are another typical feature of this painting style.

In our store we have reproductions of paintings from the Cuzco school made in gold leaf. The technique of gold leaf is the application of pieces of 24 karat gold on the image of the painting.

We have themes such as the virgin milk, virgin tenderness, the virgin of the spoon, Santa Rosa de Lima and many more.

About us

We are a Peruvian company dedicated to the manufacture of andean music instruments and articules made from alpaca skin.

We also wish to promote the crafts which are made in different states of our country, keeping ancient techniques inherited from a rich culture, Inca Empire, and using natural fibers, natural inks and other natural material that it let us to market a high quality ecological product.


You can contact us at:
sales@alcasami.com