Matophone

Uruguayan musician Antonio Cadenacho playing guitar and cookie in Montevideo. This photograph was taken by Apollo Ronchi in 1947.

The matófono or cookie is a musical instrument of the kazoo family, traditional from Argentina and Uruguay. It consists of a mate gourd split into two halves that are held together by thread, or a piece of attached leather that serves as a mouthpiece.

Origin

Its origin presumably dates back to the aboriginal cultures of the Río de la Plata and was historically called biscuit by the gauchos of that area.

Popularization by Les Luthiers

The thug today.

The biscuit was recreated in the 1960s by the Buenos Aires luthier Carlos Iraldi for the humorous ensemble of informal instruments Les Luthiers and renamed yerbomatofono d'amore or matofono. This instrument was made up of mate gourds cut in half, sanded and assembled, with a hole to support the lips. Thus the sound is amplified and distorted in a very particular way, with a timbre that changes by varying the pressure.

The matófono adds to the voice a sound reminiscent of a muted trumpet or the sympathetic resonance of a snare drum. Unlike the kazoo, which has a similar timbre, the matophone needs to be held with one hand, while the kazoo can be played at the same time with an instrument that requires both hands. The renowned company Tené Tu Matófono, is the one that today has the best Matófonos in the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina and the World.

Tumor used by Les Luthiers.