Miami Raymi Video for Kuyayki

If you like discovering the art and music of different cultures then we would like to introduce to Kuyayky, a group of five siblings who along with their parents and friends create more than just that. Kuyayki, is not only the name of their music project, it is also the name of their foundation that is dedicated to the preservation of Andean culture through charitable work and music education for young children. When Kuyayky comes together in one of their efforts it is always a joyous occasion and we had the pleasure of capturing highlights of one of their shows: Miami Raymi.

We wanted to get know them a little bit more and asked Candy and Rubi, both singers and multi instrumentalists within the group, some questions:

Who is Kuyayky?
Candy: Kuyayky was started by our parents Edda and Jose back in the 70s, it started as a musical group of five siblings but it has evolved into a cultural arts collective. It functions as a non-profit foundation that works to promote the research and development of Andean culture, through practice, study and performance of Andean traditions.
Rubi: I think it is our “ayllu,” a traditional form of community that has existed in the Andes for a long time that we imported to Miami. So here it started with our family but now includes many more people.

What is Miami Raymi?
Candy: Miami Raymi literally translates to party in Miami, we wanted to celebrate the solstice as a new beginning of life- following the traditions of our Andean ancestors. The project progressed from that initial idea into an all encompassing celebration of culture in Miami, that of-course had to feature our children in both the Kuyayky Children’s Orchestra and Sumaj Tusuy as well as people who we thought they could see as mentors.
Rubi: The name we gave our last concert in Miami as a way to continue the tradition that began long ago with the Inti Raymi, a way of conscious partying in which you celebrate life and give thanks for everything that makes up this whole universe.

Future Plans for Kuyayky:
Candy: We have plans to grow, and work to obtain outside public and private funding for our many projects both here in the U.S. and in Peru. We have started to fund some academic research of Andean studies and our long-term plan is to establish a museum space in Kukally, Jauja which is our MAHAC project (Museum of Andean History and Culture).
Rubi: Get funding so we can materialize the many plans and dreams we have like more concerts, music albums, documentaries, etc.

Who is your favorite sibling?
Candy: Tough one can’t pick, but my favorite niece is Paz
Rubi: Hmmm hardest question ever and I can’t come up with an answer.

If you could only pick one album to listen to for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Candy: We actually did not have a radio growing up and only one tv channel reached our town, the only radio we could hear was that of our neighbors which was local talk radio. So we really grew up listening to my dad conduct his choirs and my mom and her siblings sing traditional music from Jauja, mostly of their own authorship. That coupled with some classical music records and the traditional music played during the festivals by folkloric orchestras. So its a little tough, maybe the albums recorded by our aunt of her and my mother singing- which are kept under lock and key somewhere in Lima.
Rubi: My mother’s.