Name: Alonso Quijano
Originally from: Ecuador
Occupation: Economist / Ocarina musician
Years in China: 5
How did your China journey begin?
My journey began in 2011 when I started studying at the Confucius Institute of Ecuador. I fell in love with the language right away and committed to studying Mandarin Chinese until I could speak the language perfectly. This started a journey that will last forever.
In 2012, I got a scholarship to study Chinese in Beijing for a year. In my year as a Chinese language student, I fell in love with Chinese music, and started to learn how to play the Chinese ocarina––a ceramic vessel flute––from Lai Dafu the president of the Chinese Ocarina Association. How lucky I was! I was invited to be his student without free of charge! That is how cool Chinese people are.
That year in China changed who I was and were my career was going. I was originally an Economics-major student, and suddenly, my focus changed to Chinese traditional music.
In 2013, I came back to participate in the Chinese Bridge Competition broadcasted on CCTV and got second place! One year later, I was invited to come on a music tour and performed in various cities. Finally, in 2016 I came to record my ocarina music album and study a Master’s degree in music in Xiamen University. A realized dream!
What fascinates you about China or Xiamen?
As a music major student, I spent a lot of time attending and performing in concerts and recitals. What I love the most about Xiamen is its connection with music. Gulangyu––an island located East of Xiamen––is known as the “piano island”. It boasts the only museum dedicated solely to pianos and one of the most beautiful concert halls I have ever been to.
Gulangyu is also home to some of the best musicians in China, so come here if you are a music lover like me!
What is your unique China story?
One memory that I hold close to my heart is a concert I performed in 2017 at Xiamen University for the launch of my music album. I performed with some of my closest friends––people who I have met through music and share wonderful experiences with. I will never forget the joy and fun I had on that day.
One of my favorite tunes in the album is called ‘Waves of Gulangyu’––the most representative song of Xiamen. If you ever come to Xiamen, you will hear this song everywhere.
A fun fact about Ecuador
El Diablo Huma or Diabluma is a folkloric character which is part of the customs and legends of the northern highlands of Ecuador. The Haya Huma, in Kichwa language, is considered the leader of the community and a powerful warrior, possessing the vital energy of nature. For this reason, he appears symbolically in the festivities related to the harvests, such as the Festival of the Sun or the Inti Raymi, the festivities of San Pablo, San Juan and San Pedro.
Information about Diabluma translated from Spanish from this source.
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