Humazapas – Micro Concert
{{ time.start_TS | TS2dateFormat('MMM') }}
{{ time.start_TS | TS2dateFormat('YYYY') }}
| free admission |
| 2nd floor, room 207 |
| Part of: Micro Concerts of the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin |
| Belongs to: Durchlüften 2026, Humazapas (Ecuador) |
As a special addition to Durchlüften, the Ecuadorian group Humazapas performs an acoustic live set in the Mesoamerica room of the Ethnological Collection at the Humboldt Forum – right among the objects that resonate with the cultural worlds their music emerges from.
Their sound grows out of traditional Kichwa rhythms such as Churay, Saruy, Danzante, and Yumbo: pulsating, cyclical forms that do not simply “perform” but rather narrate – of maize fields, rainy seasons, community life, and a cosmic sense of order. Vocals, ocarinas (flutes), and cajón (percussion) interweave into an intensely physical sonic language that moves between ritual, memory, and the present.
Humazapas was founded in 2010 as a youth initiative of twelve Kichwa from communities at the foot of the Imbabura volcano. Their aim was not museum-style preservation, but the return of music into everyday life – as social practice, as language, as a bridge between generations. Their album Sara Mama (“Mother Corn”) follows this approach: the maize cycle becomes a musical dramaturgy of birth, growth, harvest, and renewal.
For nearly two decades, ZZK Records has supported artists who translate Latin American traditions into contemporary sound. Humazapas represents a rare acoustic intensity within this movement – raw, direct, and closely tied to the lived reality of the Andes.
Followed by a discussion with the artists, moderated by Melissa Perales (festival curator) and Solvej Helweg-Ovesen (program curator at the Humboldt Forum), with translation into German by Clara Vinnemeier.
Free admission | 2 × 20 min | Conversation in Spanish with translation into German