Among the stacks of albums Venezuelan cuatro master Cheo Hurtada has appeared on, only one of these was billed to “Bandolas de Venezuela.” This was a quartet that included, along with Hurtada, three bandola players: Javier Sosa on bandola central (8 doubled-up strings, triangular pear-shaped), Gerson Garcia on bandola llanera (4 strings, traditional pear shape), and Ricardo Sandoval on bandola oriental (8 doubled-up strings, pear-shaped with squared-off corners at the top). Hurtada, in addition to cuatro, plays bandola guayanese (almost identical to the bandola central). The title of this particular specimen of organic energy translates to “little bird scrambled” (scrambled egg?).
By the way, a cuatro differs from a bandola in terms of string texture and tuning, but the obvious difference is in shape: cuatros take the curvy shape of a guitar while bandolas, as you’ve gathered from the above, resemble pears.