Horacio “Chango” Spasiuk plays chamame, a music style born in an area composed by Northeast of Argentina and south of Brazil.
Chango Spasiuk was born on September 23, 1968 in Apóstoles, Misiones. His Ukrainian grandparents immigrated to the Misiones province of Northeast Argentina in the late 19th century, bringing with them the accordion music and dances of Eastern Europe, particularly the schottis, polka, and waltz.
Chango Spasiuk spent his childhood in a highly stimulating environment. His childhood was centered around the carpenter’s shop managed by Lucas, his violinist father, and Marcos, an uncle who sang. The singing duos playing in red earth patios, the unrelenting subtropical climate, a terrain of jungle and wide rivers, of laborers working with hoes and machetes on the yerba mate plantations – this is the world that underlies the powerful texture and mysticism of his music.
“I’ve learned to play accordion away from conservatories,” he says. “The day my father gave me my first instrument, I’ve never stopped playing it.”
He plays with a memory of the informal rural polkas, performed by the whole family, that were such a special feature of his home in Misiones. He produces a rich mix of contemporary sound and tradition, where one can also find Schotis, rural Polkas, Rancheras and Rasguidos Dobles.
Until this day Chango has composed music for films, played with rock, jazz, folk and classical musicians. His music has been arranged to play with one of the main Chamber Orchestras in Argentina. He performs with the most traditional musicians as well as with the most avant-garde.
Chango has had a career of more than twenty years, in spite of his relative youth today. He started playing in local dances; and after a presentation in the main folk festival of Argentina, he started to tour all over the country. His music went through changes throughout these years, but it has always kept the roots essence of where he came from: the red lands of the northeast of Argentina.
Although he had already played beyond Argentina, it was his participation in WOMEX 2003 and in Mercado de Bahia in 2001 that opened a new direction for his career. Since then, Chango has traveled to Germany, the Netherlands, France, Spain and to Great Britain.
His first international release, Tarefero de mis Pagos, won the BBC Award for World Music (Best Newcomer 2005).
Chango Spasiuk Orquesta: Chango Spasiuk – accordion, composer and director; Chacho Ruiz Guiñazu – percussion and drums; Sebastian Villalba – guitar and vocals; Pablo Lopez – Violin; Hernan Prado – electric bass and double bass.
In 2005, he received the prestigious Konex Platinum Award for Male Folklore Soloist of the Decade.
In 2015, Chango received the title of Doctor Honoris Causa from the National University of Misiones Argentina for his cultural work.
Discography
* Chango Spasiuk (M&M, 1989)
* Contrastes (M&M, 1990)
* Bailemos y… (M&M, 1992)
* La ponzoña (BMG Argentina, 1996)
* Polcas de mi tierra (BMG Argentina, 1999)
* Chamamé crudo (BMG Argentina, 2001)
* The Charm of chamamé (Weltwunder, 2003)
* Tarefero de mis pagos (Sony BMG Argentina/Piranha, 2004)
* Pynandi – Los Descalzos (Sony BMG Argentina/World Village 2008)
* The Very Best of El Chango (Nascente, 2010)
* Tierra Colorada En El Teatro Colón (2014)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.