Yolanda Pérez (born May 20, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter who specializes in

banda music Banda is a genre of Regional Mexican music and type of ensemble in which wind (mostly brass) and percussion instruments are performed. The history of banda music in Mexico dates from the middle of the 19th century with the arrival of piston br ...

. She is sometimes known by the stage name "La Potranquita", (Spanish: "little

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

"), a name taken by her father from his home city of

Zacatecas , image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg , map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type ...

, Mexico. Pérez was born in Los Angeles, California. Her family later moved to Montclair, California. She graduated from Montclair High School in 2001. When she was 11 years old, Pérez won a music contest held in the Los Angeles-area Lynwood. As part of the prize package, she recorded an album that launched her musical career. She has since recorded several more albums. Her career was especially enhanced when she signed with the Fonovisa label, part of the

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...

Music Group. Pérez followed in the footsteps of her father and grandparents who were also exponents of banda music. Her minor-label albums exhibited all the traditional characteristics of banda, but from ''Déjenme Llorar'' (2003) onwards she has combined the banda sound with modern elements such as

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

as well as introducing set-piece dialogues into some tracks. Her music also shows other influences from hip hop and R&B artists – this has led her to include

Spanglish Spanglish (a portmanteau of the words "Spanish" and "English") is any language variety (such as a contact dialect, hybrid language, pidgin, or creole language) that results from conversationally combining Spanish and English. The term is mos ...

phrasing in some lyrics, such as in the duet ''Estoy Enamorada'' with

Don Cheto Don Cheto (born 1942 in Municipality of Zamora de Hidalgo, as ''"El Hombre del Vozarrón"'' ("the loud-voiced man"), is a fictional Mexican American radio and television personality widely known in Mexican American pop culture. Contrary to popular ...

. Pérez therefore, while continuing to exemplify traditional banda, has placed her own stamp and interpretation on this genre. In 2005, Pérez was nominated for an Urban Artist of the Year award at the 17th Lo Nuestro Awards. Pérez has also performed public service announcements and has been involved with other charitable work. In 2006 she volunteered to help with the "Got Milk" campaign, explaining that Latin American women tend to worry about outer beauty but need to also focus on their diet. Latin Music New
''Yolanda Perez (Hip Hop y Banda) con Got Milk''
Retrieved on September 4, 2009

Discography

* La Cojelona * El Hombre Que Yo Amo *''Con la Banda Costa Grande'' *''La Potranquita de Zacatecas'' (Kimo's Music, 2001) *''Exitos: La Basurita / Cuentas Claras'' (2002) *''Dejenme Llorar'' (Fonovisa Records, 2003) *''La Potranquita Con Banda'' (Kimo's Music, 2004) *''Aquí Me Tienes'' (Fonovisa Records, 2004) *''Esto Es Amor'' (Fonovisa Records, 2005) *''Te Sigo Amando'' (Fonovisa Records, 2007) *''Todo De Mi'' (Fonovisa Records, 2008) *''Con Mariachi'' (Potranquita Music, 2010)

References

American women singer-songwriters American banda musicians Latin pop singers Living people American musicians of Mexican descent Hispanic and Latino American musicians Singers from Los Angeles 1983 births 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American women singers Musicians from Long Beach, California Hispanic and Latino American women singers Singer-songwriters from California Women in Latin music {{US-singer-stub