Sol de Misiones arpa duo
Profile (in English)
Sol de Misiones
Harp and Vocal duo composed by José Luis Barboza and Wakana Iwasaki, formed in May 1999 in Paraguay, currently based in Sendai Japan.
The name of the duo "Sol de Misiones" originates from the spanish words "Misiones" which is the name of a southern province of Paraguay, where they met, and "Sol" (Sun in spanish) because the warmth of the melody of the harp captives and shines as the king of the sky.
His repertoire includes a variety of music, specially Latin American music, movie themes, popular music, Japanese music and above all Paraguayan music.
They participate in concerts, festivals, private parties, social and charity events and also cultural activities in schools.
Jose Luis BARBOZA
Born in the city of San Juan Bautista, Misiones, Paraguay in 1961. He started studying guitar and harp when he was 9 years old and began his artistic carrier in 1974. He performed several presentations as a harpist and singer in folk groups, bands and trios. In 1986 he started his international solo tour touring Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Europe. Finally settling in Japan since 1999.
He was honored to be chosen to sing the Paraguayan national anthem during the soccer match of the Kirin Cup between the national teams of Japan and Paraguay in July 2001, June 2003 and May 2008.
For his cultural work he has received awards such as "The most beloved Son of his hometown San Juan Bautista" in 2002 and " The most Beloved Son of the Province of Misiones" in 2006.
Wakana IWASAKI
Born in Fukushima Japan in 1965 where she began studying piano at an early age. She graduated from the music department of "Miyagi-Gakuin" Women's College in 1988. She began teaching music in junior high school in Fukushima. In 1994 she traveled to Paraguay as a member of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency and spent two years teaching at the Teacher Training Insutitute San Juan Bautista, Misiones. During her stay in Paraguay she had interest in Paraguayan harp and began to study with José Luis Barboza. Soon after they formed the duo "Sol de Misiones".
