Bamboo quena flute, 'Andean Dance'

Product Review

NOVICA, in association with National Geographic, offers thousands of limited edition and one-of-a-kind gifts, jewelry, and home decor treasures handmade by master artists and artisans throughout the world. Hand-crafted of smooth bamboo, the quena flute is a legacy of the Inca. Today it remains an indispensable instrument in traditional Peruvian music. Benito Tito perforates holes of different widths to ensure a professional sound, tuned to 440. A case of synthetic fabric emulates pre-Hispanic textiles. Artisan Info: Benito Tito, known to his friends as Tito Peru is an expert at crafting traditional Peruvian musical instruments. The artist uses a variety of natural materials to make the different instruments, including bamboo reeds, Castilian cane and goat skin. Every instrument he makes is hand-crafted with rustic tools. Among the instruments he creates are the zampona and quena flutes, antara, roncadora, tamasca tambourines, taymuro, and cane ocarinas. Tito is very keen to preserve Peru's musical traditions. One of his goals is to equip his workshop better tools so he can make more instruments to sell. "Aiding in the preservation of our musical heritage is my family's legacy. We have carefully crafted traditional instruments for generations. My greatest goal is to best provide for my family, and to send my five children to college," the artist notes. Tito says, proudly, "I had abandoned this craft for some time, and when I decided to take it up again the first trials resulted