The charango is a small Andean stringed instrument of the lute family, which probably originated in the Quechua and Aymara populations in the territory of the Altiplano in post-Colonial times, after European stringed instruments were introduced by the Spanish during colonialization.

What does charango mean in Spanish?

: a small guitar of Spanish America with a body typically made of an animal shell.

Where does the charango come from?

The charango is the Spanish guitar's little South-American brother. The instrument is thought to have originated some three hundred years ago in the "silver city" Potosi, in what is now Bolivia. It may have been devised by Indian musicians after the example of the guitars or mandolins of the Spanish conquistadors.