Charangos originated in the northern Andes mountains, specifically thought to be the Bolivian city of Potosi, during the early 18th century. It was invented by the Aymara and Quecha peoples living there, traditionally made of shells from armadillos called “quirquincho” and wood from the few trees in the area. Currently, quirquincho are listed as an endangered species, so modern charango resonators are made of wood in the shape of an armadillo shell.

The birth of the charango was generated by contact with colonizing Spaniards, who brought an ancestor of the guitar, the “vihuela de mano,” or “hand flute,” across the seas with them to South America. Quechas were thought to have mimic this stringed instrument, thus creating the charango. Prior to the arrival of Europeans in the Americas, there were no string instruments there at all, so the charango is thought to be one of the very first invented in the western hemisphere.