Moisés Inostroza, a musician, composer and guitarist, writes
pop music songs with folk roots.
“I’m not a folk musician, much less a conservatory-trained musician, but I like to honor the roots of Latin American music. So I make what I call little tributes,” he said.
Originally from the “land of dreams” in Iquique, a city in the north of Chile, Inostroza has lived in the United States for seven years and currently teaches Spanish at Glenwood Springs High School. Rather than viewing
his connection with music as a job or as a hobby, he sees it as his “social function.”
This special connection was formed when Inostroza was just 6 years old. Sitting in front of a little music box decorated with Christmas lights, he watched as the pattern of the lights changed according to the rhythm of each carol. Once he had the melodic sequences of the songs memorized, he began to harmonize naturally. Inostroza said that this is the earliest memory he has of music.
“Later, when I was in school, my teachers would always tell me ‘Inostroza, stop!’ because I was tapping the table, always to a beat,” he said.
Inostroza began to write original songs at age 14, looking for music in everything. His initial obsession was rock, which he listened to almost exclusively. Then he discovered folk.
“I started to play folk music because it connected more to a story, a story of a people, and I thought: ‘This is it. Music should be identity,’” he said.
For Inostroza, the importance of identity comes from a long history of struggle, protest and resistance that is “etched in the memory of the [Latin American] people, especially in the memory of Chileans.” He said figures of Chilean folk music such as Violeta Parra and Víctor Jara were voices of such inspiration because they sang the stories of the people. “And that, I think, inspires any Chilean,” Inostroza said. “The power that your music can tell a story
and people can identify with it. It can be any style or genre, but it tastes Latin American.”
Inostroza has no intention of competing or earning large sums of money with his music. He simply wishes to continue to sing and write. “What’s most meaningful to me about sharing a song is when it represents someone else or resonates with them, when it speaks to them and holds meaning,” he said. “That in itself is its own reward.”
During Noche Latina, on Oct. 3 in Glenwood Springs, Inostroza sang an original song titled “Árido.” You can listen to more of his original tracks on Spotify at tinyurl.com/AbstraCL He also has a music video published on YouTube, which you can watch at tinyurl.com/elimaginario
Translated by Owen McArdle