Wiñay Taki Performance

From Iain: Last night we were invited by Fielding and Roman (one of the founding families of Kusi Kawsay) to a performance by Wiñay Taki, a traditional Andean musical group of families and friends who are all connected in some way or other with the school. The performance took place at the Pisac Inn and we were part of a small, select audience of supporters of the school.  Roman introduced and explained each of the pieces of music and dance, which followed the Andean calendar through the seasons and various local festivals and celebrations.  The instruments included all manner of flutes as well as some drums and stringed instruments.  Each new piece involved changes of costume and interchanging roles of playing instruments, dancing, or singing.  It was all thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable.

Wiñay Taki

After six or seven pieces spanning the Andean year, the audience members were invited/cajoled to get up and dance with various members of the group.  In the spirit of the evening we were duly persuaded and even managed to enjoy this part too.  To round off the evening, Fielding and Roman acknowledged everyone's support of the school, including Bethany and Sierra's participation over the last three months, Tanya's guidance on painting through the grades and hands-on assistance with the kindergarten, and my technical help with the recent redesign of the school's website.  You can see the results of my efforts at http://kusikawsay.org/ (while you're there, please consider making an online donation to the school since many of their start-up funding sources have dried up now and they desperately need your support for their growing operating costs).