The relationship between the Chilean national school system and Indigenous peoples has long been characterized by denial and invisibilization, largely shaped by developmentalist and progressive ideologies. Since the late 20th century, official education policies have sought to transform this relationship. In the current national music curriculum, students are encouraged to engage with “diverse” repertoires, including those from oral traditions and folklore (MINEDUC, 2017). However, despite these inclusions, aesthetic hierarchies continue to privilege Western art-music paradigms as the ideal for musical training.In contrast, non-formal educational spaces have emerged as significant alternatives for the transmission of popular and Indigenous musical knowledge. Particularly relevant are community-based ensembles and dance groups that participate in street carnivals across major Chilean cities such as Arica, Santiago, and Valparaíso (Benavente, 2023). These initiatives promote new pedagogical practices centered on oral tradition, tutorial videos, collective and intergenerational learning, and the democratization of musical and artistic knowledge. The formation of brass bands, sikuri ensembles, and other performance collectives exemplifies the recovery and social validation not only of repertoires largely absent from the official curriculum, but also their decolonising epistemologies (Castelblanco, 2020).This study analyzes the current curricular frameworks and programs, alongside the 2024 proposed curriculum reform, to examine how cultural diversity and interculturality are addressed within music education. Special attention is given not only to the inclusion of popular and Indigenous repertoires, but also to their underlying epistemologies and alternative understandings of sound. Drawing on fieldwork, interviews, and participation in non-formal artistic education projects, this paper explores how these “other” presences inform and transform formal educational practices.The participation of school-aged students and music educators in these non-formal spaces has gradually influenced formal teaching contexts. Although often incorporated through a “folklorizing” and therefore colonizing lens, such interactions nonetheless open pathways for epistemic decolonization. By recognizing different worldviews and sound practices, intercultural music education in Chile may move beyond token inclusion toward a deeper rethinking of what constitutes legitimate musical knowledge and pedagogy.