Yolanda Pinares is a Peruvian singer and songwriter from Cusco who became one of the defining voices of contemporary Andean huayno and Andean pop, building her career from the 1990s onward through a series of independent releases that drew on the musical traditions of southern Peru. After early recognition at the Ibero-American Song Festival in Ecuador, where she performed her composition "Maíz," she issued her debut album Fuego Eterno in 1997, followed by Noche Serena in 1999, establishing a repertoire rooted in Andean folk and romantic canción. Her 2001 album URPI marked a key artistic milestone, featuring signature songs such as "Alma Mia," "Dulce Ausencia," "Pañuelo Blanco" and "Lejos de tu Amor," which later became staples of her live shows, while the 2004 live set Atempo en Concierto and the studio album En mi Soledad (2005) expanded her catalog with tracks like "Qué Será." Yolanda Pinares continued to explore Andean sounds in Hatun Machupicchu (2007) before returning in 2018 with Vuelvo, then re-framing her classic material on the 2021 releases Qoya Vuela Alto and Warmy Vuela Alto, where she revisited pieces such as "Río Grande de Chalhuanca," "En Mi Soledad" and "Dulce Ausencia" in new arrangements. That same year she documented her stage work on the EP Atempo en Concierto, and in 2024 she presented her first Andean symphonic concert and prepared the “Q’Pop Raymi” show in Cusco ahead of an Asia tour. In 2025 she released the album WARMY RESILIENTE, featuring songs like "Déjame ser y florecer," "Soy la luz (CALANDRIA)" and a new version of "Río Grande de Chalhuanca," reaffirming her position as a central figure in the evolution of Andean music.
