The original group was formed in April 1937 by Carlos Morgan, the brothers Pedro and Ernesto Amenábar, and Mario Besoaín.

The four friends, who at the time were students at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago, styled themselves as Los Quincheros;[1] in English their name means "those who use the quincha," a construction of wood and cane used to contain the livestock during a rodeo.

These have included the brothers Hernán and Raúl Velasco (who had previously founded Los Cuatro Huasos, another music group), Aníbal Ortúzar, Javier Campos, Jorge Montaldo (lead vocalist from 1952 until he left in 1965 to form another group, Voces de Tierralarga), brothers Sergio and Alfredo Sauvalle and Héctor Inostroza.

According to the Chilean National Institute of Industrial Property (INAPI), the name Los Huasos Quincheros is currently registered to Carlos Mackenna, Patricio Reyes, Antonia Antoncich and José Videla.

In February 1973, during their performance at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival, the group was booed strongly by a large part of the public, while the other half applauded wildly, practically starting a battle in the stands.

After 11 September 1973 the group quickly began to represent the military dictatorship, including performing at the request of Augusto Pinochet at the opening of the German World Cup in 1974.