Las Tres Marías were an

Afro-Ecuadorian Afro-Ecuadorians or Afroecuatorianos (Spanish), are Ecuadorians of predominantly Sub-Saharan African descent. History and background Most Afro-Ecuadorians are the descendants of enslaved Africans who were transported by Spanish slavers to Ecuad ...

musical trio.

History

Las Tres Marías were made up of sisters Rosa, Gloria and María Magdalena Pavón, recognized for their ability to perform musical ensembles imitating the sounds of trumpets, drums and cornets. They did it with both a cappella, or with elements of nature such as leaves, roots, fruits, trunks, hides and pumpkins, especially La Bomba. This is how they traveled for more than 60 years in Ecuador making their audience dance to the traditional music of

Chota Valley The upper valley of the Mira River, called the Chota River in its upstream portion, in northern Ecuador, and the small villages in it are usually referred to as 'El Chota', and it runs east–west between the two ranges of the Andes. It lies in ...

. The sisters were born in the community of Chalguayacu (El Juncal), located in Pimampiro-Imbabura, and came from a family of musicians. Their father, a member of the Banda Mocha, inherited their musical taste mainly from the bomba. The trio began singing at a festival in El Juncal and with the passage of time, they were combining this art with the daily activities they carry out for a living. Rosita, Gloria and Magdalena Pavón - a midwife, farmer and healer - lived in an adobe house in the Chalguayacu neighborhood,

Pimampiro Canton Pimampiro Canton is a canton of Ecuador, located in Imbabura Province. Its population in the 2001 census was 12,951 and 12,970 in the 2010 census. Pimampiro is located in the Andes of northern Ecuador. Its capital is the town of Pimampiro whic ...

Imbabura Province Imbabura () is a province located in the Andes of northern Ecuador. The capital is Ibarra. The people of the province speak Spanish, and a large portion of the population also speaks the Imbaburan Kichwa variety of the Quechua language. The s ...

. María Magdalena Pavón died in Ibarra on 14 September 2018 at the age of 77.

Awards and honors

*Las Tres Marías were recognized by the Ministry of Culture and Heritage, as Living Heritage of Ecuador. *The National Institute of Cultural Heritage (INPC) awarded them a recognition in the category Carriers of Knowledge, for contributing to the strengthening and safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ecuador. *They are part of the Taitas y Mamas project that brings together icons of Ecuadorian music. *Las Tres Marías received the ovation of the intercultural festival held in

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans with of urban area, making Cali the second ...

, Colombia in 2009; they stated that "there were thousands of people who stood up and applauded us for more than five minutes".

References

{{reflist Ecuadorian musical groups Women in Latin music