In late August, Pascuala Ilabaca y Fauna returned to Sala Master in Providencia, Chile, for a filmed concert celebrating Ilabaca’s Pulsar Award for Intérprete del Año. Before a small audience of 180, the Valparaíso-born singer and accordionist turned the room into a compact laboratory of rhythm and voice. Among the night’s highlights was “¡Juegue!”, a charged reinterpretation of one of her most playful recent works.

The song first appeared on Poética Bailable Vol. 1, the five-track EP that marked Ilabaca’s first step into electronic rhythm programming. Co-written with Edén Carrasco and mixed by Colombian engineer Juan Esteban Duque, it combined sequenced percussion with live brass arranged around cumbia and timba patterns. In performance, those elements are intensified: trumpet, trombone, and saxophone cut sharper figures over djembe and congas, supported by electronic beats that maintain tempo. Ilabaca leads with alternating chant and melody, directing Fauna through a version that amplifies the song’s playfulness while keeping its rhythmic design exact.

In the wider context of her catalogue, “¡Juegue! (En Vivo)” shows how Ilabaca reshapes her own material once it reaches the stage. Set alongside “Cumbia de los vientos” and “Carnaval de San Lorenzo de Tarapacá”, it traces a line from sequenced rhythm to collective performance, where brass, percussion and voice take command. The Sala Master recording captures that exchange — music built in the studio finding new life in the room.

Watch the Sala Master performance HERE