Quiénes somos

Yapa! (Quechua: 'an extra gift' ) is a Kentucky-based high energy ensemble blending cumbia, Andean folk, and funk into irresistible dance grooves. Our collective (Ecuador, Mexico, Canary Islands, US) is rooted in creativity and friendship, while individuals add musical expertise from jazz, bluegrass, world music and African traditional rhythms.

Our Latin sound captivates audiences through rhythms and lyrics that speak to the humanity within the immigrant experience. A Yapa! dance floor is where people come together to celebrate our beautifully diverse world. Music that inspires a movement.

From izquierda to derecha:

Blakeley Burger - violin (Lexington, KY)

Gregory Acker - flute/panpipe/saxophone (USA)

Luis de Leon - percussion/ harmonica (Mexico/Guatemala)

Angela Scharfenberger - bass/marimba (Louisville, KY)

Fernando Moya - flute/panpipe/guitar/charango (Quito, Ecuador)

Joe Watts - guitar/banjo (Versailles, KY)

Beatriz Perez - lead vocals/guitar/timple (Canary Islands, Spain)

Pete Jones - drum kit (New Hampshire, USA)

Group of eight diverse adults smiling and posing outdoors on steps with trees and a building in the background.

Two men playing pan flute instruments in an outdoor setting with trees in the background.

Group of five people standing on stage, with the woman in the middle holding a microphone and the woman next to her holding an award, at a music venue.

Historia

Yapa!’s story was born in 2014, when two flute players, Fernando Moya and Gregory Acker, intersected in a moment of interpersonal generosity. Gregory was in need and called his then acquaintance Fernando out of the blue, who was happy to help. Gregory came across a New Orleans newspaper called Lagniappe, French for a little gratuity, a “good measure,” and its origin is yapa in Quechua. Back in Louisville, Gregory engaged Fernando, who is Ecuadorian Quechua. “That’s my people! That’s what we do!” And then came the famous words in the world of music: “We should form a band!”

That night, they began to build Yapa! Fernando brought out his bass case full of flutes - quenas, zampoña, siku, rondador – and Gregory played classical flute, bamboo flute, and other world winds. In close proximity to two flutes, the instruments create an intense extra sound, a high-pitched pleasant buzz, a resultant sonic vibration. They added some percussion, including construction cardboard flooring tubes, and African drums that Gregory had studied in Togo and later in graduate school. Fernando sought to explore traditional music from his Andean mountain home, influenced by the powerful social movements inherent to the sounds of groups such as Inti-Illimani and Ilapu. This became Yapa!’s musical mission: to engage the social protest musics of Latin America, while creating original music that is deeply rooted in community.

Many musicians have graced Yapa! performances, a sharing of sounds from Latin America, West Africa and the US. Yapa! creates a movement in its hometown of Louisville, by creating a sense of home for the local Latinx community, many of whom are new Americans, while engaging native born Kentuckians who share in the vision of a world beyond artificial borders.

Our songwriting process has evolved from imitation to imagination, while engaging African and Latin rhythms such as cumbia, with American influences such as rock'n'roll, Appalachian music, and bluegrass.

Beatriz brings poetic vision that imagines a world where hummingbirds are messengers, love is comparable to flying, life is a board game, and the unique personal and collective identity of the immigrant experience is described in vivid detail.

Joe Watts contributes guitar excellence as well as a strong musicality that helps give shape and structure to the songs. Soloists like Gregory, Fernando, and highly accomplished classical and old time violinist Blakeley Burger add iconic riffs and melodies that weave and embody the meanings with catchy and dual melodies.

Luis de Leon, a longtime Latinx journalist, further adds creative flair with percussion and harmonica. Pete Jones and Angela Scharfenberger, with deep roots in African music studies create a syncopated rhythm section landscape, while all members add harmonies to the songs.

Yapa! covers are chosen from both the Andean traditional repertoire as well as popular folk and cumbia favorites, and political statements from artists like Manu Chao, Mercedes Sosa or Inti-Illimani.