Percance, which means ‘mishap’ or ‘accident’ in English, is a hugely popular Costa Rican ‘Latin Rock Fusion’ band. Their versatile combinations of rhythms and sounds are certainly no accident, however: Percance’s creative mix of traditional Latin American music, pop, ska, salsa, merengue, reggae and rock is something completely unique. The band formed in 2007, and has been gaining popularity ever since.

The 11 band members are: Esteban Ramirez (vocals), Maurizio Luconi (bass), Dennis Vargas (guitar), Felipe Ortiz (trumpet), Luis Valenzuela (keyboard), Jonnathan Naranjo (saxophone), Jorge Novoa (trombone), Felipe Sandoval (trumpet), Marcos Novoa (drums), Luis Solis (drums and low percussion) and Andres Patino (congas and bongos).

Percance’s first album, ‘Soñar es Gratis’ (‘Dreaming is Free’) was released in 2007, including the hit singles ‘Sin Pensarlo’ (‘Without Thinking’), ‘Me lo Tomo Todo’(‘I Took It All’) and ‘No Vuelvas’ (‘Don’t Come Back’). That year, the band won the ‘Best Ska music video’ award from the Costa Rica’s main music channel, VMLatino. In 2008, the band won the first prize of the ‘40 Principales’ awards as ‘Best Costa Rican Artist’, proving that the band was gaining popularity fast.

In 2010, the band’s second album, ‘¿Dónde iré a Parar?’ (‘Where Can I Go to Stop?’), was released. Its launch in the Plaza de la Democracia (San Jose, Costa Rica) was attended by nearly 10,000 singing and dancing fans – a record for a launch of this kind. The album includes charts hits like ‘Gira El Mundo’ (‘Tour the World’), ‘El Tiempo’ (‘Time’) and ‘¿Dónde iré a Parar?’. The latter placed first in the MTV Central Latin America’s rankings, something never achieved by a national band before.

Percance’s success continued to grow throughout 2011, when they won three ACAM awards (Asociación de Compositores y Autores Nacionales de Costa Rica – Association of Costa Rican Composers and Authors): ‘Best National Band’, ‘Best Ska Artist’ and ‘Artist with International Outreach’. During 2012, the band toured Latin America, playing in Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Colombia and Mexico. They are planning to release a third album in 2013.

Aside from dazzling in the Latin American music scene, Percance is deeply engaged in promoting world peace, human equality and environmental sustainability. The Costa Rican police force has named them ‘National Ambassadors of Peace’, and the Costa Rican President herself, Laura Chinchilla, has called them “an example of social consciousness”. Seeing the band’s impact, especially on young people, we are proud to announce that Percance are Ambassadors for YUNGA.