Charango

The charango is a small Andean stringed instrument of the lute family, which probably originated in the Quechua and Aymara populations in post-Columbian times, after European stringed instruments were introduced by the Spanish in the times of the colony. The instrument is widespread today throughout the Andean regions of Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, northern Chile and northwestern Argentina, where it is a popular musical instrument which exists in many variant forms.