Dúo Salteño, an interview

Chacho Echenique del Duo Salteño was born on July 21, 1939 in Salta. He was not only a famous singer, poet and songwriter, but also a professional soccer player in his youth.

At the age of 22, the Atlético Lanús club in Buenos Aires signed him, and later he played in Tucumán. From 1967, he devoted himself mainly to music. He founded the Dúo Salteño with Patricio Jiménez under the musical direction of the extraordinary pianist and composer Gustavo “Cuchi” Leguizamon.

Chacho Echenique del Duo Salteño was born on July 21, 1939 in Salta. He was not only a famous singer, poet and songwriter, but also a professional soccer player in his youth.

At the age of 22, the Atlético Lanús club in Buenos Aires signed him, and later he played in Tucumán. From 1967, he devoted himself mainly to music. He founded the Dúo Salteño with Patricio Jiménez under the musical direction of the extraordinary pianist and composer Gustavo “Cuchi” Leguizamon.

They developed a completely new way of singing duet for the time: two voices in counterpoint instead of the traditional thirds and sixths. Chacho Echenique sings the melody with his countertenor, Patricio Jiménez with his baritone as the second voice. And they accompany themselves on the guitar.

In 1969 they won the Revelation prize at the Cosquín Folklore Festival and became famous right away. Starting in the 70s, the Dúo Salteño performed throughout Argentina and made this new type of Canto de Salta known beyond the country’s borders. They won numerous awards, including the Earth Prize for cultural development, which UNESCO awarded them in 1990.

In 1992 Chacho and Patricio took different paths. So in December 1993 I could only interview Chacho Echenique. After a 13-year hiatus, in 2005 the Dúo Salteño returned to the stage with great success. Unfortunately, Patricio Jiménez passed away from a stroke in November 2009.

Therefore, he could no longer personally receive the award from the Buenos Aires Legislature as Cultural Personalities, which was awarded to the Salteño Duo shortly before. Chacho Echenique told me in our conversation how much the landscape of Salta and the Andes inspires him for his songs.

He spoke of his collaboration with the wonderful poet Manuel Castilla. From the dreams of the people of Salta and its surroundings. And how important it is to resist so as not to lose their cultural identity.

Listen for yourselves to everything that this great singer-songwriter Chacho Echenique told me in December 1993.