Mariela Paz is a Chilean composer of music for orchestra, wind bands, chamber ensembles, and more. Her music combines traditional Latin American influences with contemporary musical ideas. Her works have been performed on several continents, including at two WASBE conferences in South Korea and Brazil. See her website for more about her and access to her entire musical catalog (and maybe also head to her Instagram).
Paz wrote Pochito in 2025 as a birthday present for Polish conductor Jarosław Ignaszak on a commission from several conductors and ensembles. From her score:
Pochito is a work inspired by the vibrant brass bands of northern Chile, where syncopated rhythms and bright, piercing metal winds dominate the sonic landscape. The title comes from the Quechua word pocha (a vessel used by ancestral indigenous people to store food), evoking the feeling of being happily satiated–like after a shared feast.
The piece begins with a delicate huayno rhythm, where the winds paint the vast, serene beauty of the Atacama Desert. Suddenly, the explosive energy of the diablada takes over, with its bold brass lines echoing the sounds of La Fiesta de La Tirana in the Chilean Pampa between the Atacama Desert and the Andes, where music plays nonstop for days, filling the streets with devotion and joy.
Balancing tradition and modernity, Pochito captures the communal spirit of these celebrations–that moment when music, dance, and collective emotion leave us “pochitos”: overflowing with happiness.
Read more at Paz’s website. Here is a performance of Pochito in Poland, conducted by the birthday boy himself, Jarosław Ignaszak:
The huayno comes in several different flavors. Here is just one example of a huayno from Chile:
Here’s what that diablada sounds like, according to the composer herself!
Finally, here’s a taste of la Fiesta de la Tirana, which happens every July in northern Chile: