Horacio “Chango” Spasiuk spearheads the contemporary revival of chamamé. This traditional music from Argentina’s wild west, an indigenous region bordering Brazil and Paraguay, is built around the accordion, and Chango Spasiuk is the genre’s acknowledged virtuoso. Chamamé is a social music, traditionally heard at weddings and dances. But the charismatic Chango Spasiuk has taken it to major concert stages from South America to Europe and now North America.

Grandson of Ukrainian immigrants, Chango Spasiuk grew up surrounded by eastern Europeans musical influences combined with chamamé. His father, a violinist, and his brother, a guitarist and singer, used to host wedding receptions and other balls in their hometown. He received his first accordion as a gift from his parents at the age of 12. “I’ve learned to play accordion away from conservatories,” he says. “The day my father gave me my first instrument, I’ve never stopped playing it.” Soon recognized as a virtuoso, Spasiuk could have settled for week-end dances, where he would have made a pretty decent living. He rather chose, while fully embracing the tradition, to break through stylistic limits. He is now a regular guest to Argentinean rock stars and is a worldwide performer who has overcome Argentina’s cliché as a land only for tango.

Chango Spasiuk has performed extensively in Europe, and in Asia and the United States, in venues ranging from theaters including Carnegie Hall to world music and jazz festivals. He has collaborated with a wide range of artists, including Kronos Quartet, Cyro Batista, Kepa Junkera, Carlos Nunez, Lila Downs, Bob Telson, Bobby Mc Ferrin, Raul Barboza and Mercedes Sosa. He has recorded about a dozen albums, including live at Teatro Colon, the famous opera house in Buenos Aires.