A small, high-pitched stringed instrument with a guitar-like body originating from the Andes mountains in South America, traditionally made with 10 strings arranged in five pairs.
From Spanish, possibly derived from Quechua origins, though the exact etymology is debated. The instrument evolved in colonial Latin America, blending indigenous and Spanish musical traditions.
Charangos were allegedly invented by enslaved indigenous people who crafted guitars from armadillo shells during Spanish colonization—turning a symbol of hardship into one of Latin America's most beloved instruments.
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