Andres (Andy) Davalos lucked out when he was putting together Andino Suns.
The group is currently on tour through Organizations of Saskatchewan Arts Councils and was in Melfort March 4 promoting their third album, Madera, and performed their traditional Latin American sound for a full house.
The prairie-born front man, who is also the son of a Chilean political exile, was looking to get back to his roots of Latin American music and he was lucky enough to find others who felt the same, especially members who could sing in Spanish, play traditional instruments and dance traditional dances.
Culture and language is not a barrier between the band and the audience, said Davalos, but opens up a unique way of connecting with them.
This uniqueness in sound brings something different to Saskatchewan. It is a niche, said Davalos, which means there’s little competition since not a lot of bands go the world music route.
“We get to play a lot of shows because people are seeking something different.”
Darlene Cocks with the Melfort Arts Council said that even with the final regular Mustangs game, a steak night and Telemiracle, Andino Suns was well-received.
With Spanish singing as well as traditional Andean and South American instruments, the music was different but much enjoyed by those who had the chance to come out.
“It was a nice change for some of our patrons.”
Even though the band calls Saskatchewan home, this tour has been an adventure in small-town Saskatchewan, said Davalos.
“When you’re stuck in Regina, you think got to go to the gigs in Manitoba, we’ve played in Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver, we’ve been to the east coast and Kansas. But this tour, we’ve been dropped into small-town Saskatchewan and we’ve found amazing gems.”
Small-town Saskatchewan shows are filled with attentive, gracious people who are so welcoming, said Davalos.
“That part is an amazing experience connecting with Saskatchewan. We city folk don’t venture out much.”
Davalos said they built the band from jamming in the living room by striving to be better.
After every set, Davalos said that they have a 30 second talk about where they went wrong and how to get better.
“That constant seeking of perfection makes me want to continue to do this.”
The rhythms and the instrumentation with charango and the quena gives the Andino Suns that Latin American feel, specifically, said Davalos, Andean music from countries that run along the Andes Mountains, like Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, Chile and Ecuador.
With the exception of Justin Hauck, the drummer, the members of the band, including Andres Palma and Cristian Moya, have one unfortunate commonality: they are sons of Chilean political exiles who escaped to Canada. Davalos’s nephew, Antonio, is also a member of the band so he has ties to Chile through his grandfather.
Davalos’s father was imprisoned for 18 months for being a professor at a southern Chilean university who supported democracy during a fascist dictatorship in 1973.
“People who were sympathizers of the [elected] government were in trouble, they were being sought after, especially intellectuals and teachers and people who could spread the message of democracy.”
That is how they arrived on the prairies and they never left, said Davalos.
