Festejo. Not just the name of the album's opening track, but Festejo, meaning celebration, encapsulates Novalima's spirit and their energy onstage. We take you inside the band's soundcheck before their end-of-the-year concert last Friday, December 23, at La Noche. Check out the video below! It was a night to celebrate. Not just the arrival of Christmas, or bidding farewell to 2011 and welcoming the new year.

For the band, it also meant celebrating their homecoming and reuniting with their audience in Lima; celebrating a successful international tour with their album Coba Coba and celebrating ten years together creating, experimenting, researching and ultimately establishing an unique and identifiable Novalima sound. It was a night of festejo and we weren't disappointed.

What's beautiful to see is that their music can gather and captivate such a diverse crowd, spanning all ages and cultures. Many at La Noche grew up listening to the Afro-Peruvian classics that Novalima adapt and re-interpret (like Machete or Camote) but it's precisely that fusion with futuristic, dub and lively beats that appeals to an expansive audience.

The whole house broke down to sing along with the band, invited by the energetic lead singer Milagros Guerrero; and to dance, inspired by the spirited movements of bassist Alfonso Montesinos. The live band is a force to be reckoned with, their synergy is palpable and it's a true delight to experience a performance where such modern beats fuse with the raw sounds of the quijada de burro brought to life by Juan Medrano Cotito or the cajón played by both Juan and Marcos Mosquera. Check out the photos below.

Novalima founders - Ramón Pérez Prieto, Rafael Morales, Grimaldo del Solar and Carlos Li Carrillo - share a passion for reviving the musical gems of Peru's African roots. Their newest creation, Karimba, introduces traditional rhythms like the Panalivio, Zamacueca, Ingá and Tondero, and takes their modern sound to new heights. They're taking their show to the U.S., with future locations and dates to be determined, giving you enough time to listen to the album and prepare to celebrate with them live when they come your way!

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