Devil Horn Salute at Yamor Rock Otavalo

Crowd-Favorites, Los Astra hit the stage in Otavalo at Yamor Rock music festival

Rolling into Otavalo, we found a relaxed town in the Ecuadorian Andes, a drizzle dampening our backpacks.  Anxious to see if any events remained during the famed Yamor Festival and summoning our best Spanish, we asked our hostess Adriana about the annual two-week celebration.  Turns out we’d missed the festival but if we could handle the volume we could catch Yamor Rock, an all-day heavy metal concert featuring fifteen bands from Ecuador.  Due to the prevalence of metal t-shirts donned by Otavalenos we figured this market-town was serious about its hard rock.

Inferyus was the youngest band at Yamor Rock

Saturday morning we hit the sights most travelers had on their itineraries.  At the animal market sheep, pigs, cows, puppies, fowl and guinea pigs squealed and squirmed as potential owners and diners eyed them for purchase.  We hit the Plaza de Ponchos for some street-side window-shopping.  Then we trekked to the metal show at Estadio Municipal de Otavalo and shelled a measly $3 per person for a full day of ear-splitting relaxation.

The familiar chorus of Judas Priest’s Painkiller welcomed us to Yamor Rock as the leather-clad front-man of Aztra screeched.  The five-piece band moved on to an original song as camera wielding friends clustered onstage blocking the crowd.  The lead-guitarist had a workout playing a 3-part Metallica medley, mixing Am I Evil, Master of Puppets, and Creeping Death.  The crowd ran circles in front of the stage in a frenzied carousel as the singer sprayed a large bottle of Pilsener beer to cool them.

A volcano looms over the stage in northern Ecuador

Members of the following band were not even of drinking age, as concert organizer Gonzalo explained, “Ellos son diez y seis”.  Apparently sixteen years is old enough to rock Yamor.  The group Inferyus were not hindered by their youth or phased by technical problems that cut their set.  With a backdrop of the Andean Mountains and a daytime moon peeking down toward Volcano Imabura, the singer erupted with grunts en Espanol.  His bandmates thrashed in unison.  They weren’t the youngest ones on the football pitch.  Little kids, some propped on shoulders dangerously close to blaring speakers, ensured metal relevance for future generations.

Fans flowed to the stage to sing along when the next band played their opening notes.  Los Astra seemed comfortable in the darkness that crept fast over Otavalo.  Playing lenghty anthems with diverse melodies and eclectic harmonies the band featured a keyboardist that doubled on flute.  Able to go

Aztra rocking a Metallica medley at Yamor Festival in Otavalo

behind the stage we watched the drummer hammer away.  The bassist provided a groove absent during the mostly thrash sets we heard throughout the day.  Some songs rocked as long as six minutes.

The moon showed up early for Yamor Rock

Seemingly the only foreign tourists in the crowd we felt at home amongst Ecuador’s metalheads.  There was a relaxed atmosphere and freedoms not afforded to North American concert goers.  We were able to leave the venue and return with our stubs and beers were reasonably priced at $1.25.  Locals circulated through the crowd selling snacks and we could mingle side-stage with bands and video record the event.  We even captured appropriate middle finger and devil horn salutes.

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