Perla was born in the green rolling hills of Alejandria, Colombia—a childhood spent
climbing under waterfalls, chasing chickens off the porch and playing echo with the mountains. She moved to America as a pre-Olympian basketball player on a scholarship to Albertus Magnus College. It was during this era that she was exposed to the art of belly-dance and the ethnic rhythmic beats that guided it. Her journey with the Egyptian drum began there, the instrument she continues to experiment and grow with today in Brooklyn.

 

Perla soon began traveling to New York City to study with renowned rhythmists who she followed on drumming retreats around the world—gaining experience and honing her unique style in places like Egypt and Turkey. Perla believes that drumming connects us with the internal drumming of our hearts; that through focused intention we might access and alter deeper planes of emotions and consciousness. No matter her venue or audience, she’s constantly experimenting with using rhythm to build human connections and alter energy or mood.

During events, retreats and festivals, she collaborates with DJs to add a rhythmic live element to electronic sets—spontaneously giving and receiving, playing with the crowd’s energy. She brings rhythm into her work as a visiting nurse, helping patients in hospice use soundwaves as meditation. She works intuitively with the alchemy of drumming, collaborating with fellow healers and teachers in using rhythm to direct energy to specific chakras for healing and transcendence. She is continuously innovating new ways to use the Egyptian drum for connection, spiritual
exploration and dance.