Los Appalachianos Songbook

In the Los Appalachianos song book, you will find charts, lyrics, and introductions to all of the songs we have recorded. These songs reflect insights and inspirations from a multitude of oral histories and interviews of individuals and families of Latine origin in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, which we have conducted over the last several months. These interviews and stories from their family history inspired a family of songs about specific people, and songs that address common themes in our discussions.

We are so grateful to all the people that have taken time out of their lives to share their stories, and the journey of their lives, so that we can have the honor and opportunity to paint a portrait, through music and song, of the emerging story of the AppaLatine people of this region. 

We are so privileged to do this work, and sincerely hope we have the opportunity to continue with this work, of sharing stories and elevating voices, so that the peoples of many lands can feel at home here in this region, and can look inside themselves with pride and belonging, at what they bring to the table, as they and their children become a part of the tapestry of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and of Appalachia.

~Estela Diaz Knott & David Berzonsky, May 2024~

Estela Knott: vocals, guitar, jarana, foot percussion, hand claps

David Berzonsky: upright & electric bass, requinto, banjo, cajon, vocals

Luna Berzonsky: violin, vocals, jarana, ukulele

Christen Hubbard: fiddle, guitar, upright bass, banjo

Matty Metcalfe: accordion

Bob Holub: banjo

Will Roman: barril, percussion

Mareana Berzonsky: vocals

At the heart of this project is a recording of songs, written by the Lua Project extended family– Estela Diaz Knott and Dave Berzonsky, their children, Luna and Mareana Berzonsky, and Estela’s mother, Guadalupe Diaz Knott. The goal of the recording is to paint a portrait of an emerging confluence of cultures, Latine and Appalachian, in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. The songs are a reflection of our family history, but also the story of Latine immigrants who have settled in this part of the world, nestled as it is, in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains, on the frontier of Appalachia and the wider world. And so we have endeavored to lift up their stories, while also sharing a bit of our family story, as it weaves together with the larger story of America, a constantly evolving tapestry of cultures, material and metaphorical. 

The core of the process is one of an oral history collection–interviews with individual people, photos, video of the nature of the Appalachian Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley. Estela identified and contacted many people to see if they would be willing to be interviewed to share their story. When we identified subjects, we engaged them in either an audio or video interview. We also took photos of the subjects, and their surroundings, house, yard, knick knacks, photos, and lots of video b-roll of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley, some of the most beautiful mountain scenery anywhere in the world. 

After we collected stories, we began to make basic sketches of the songs. This followed a few routes. During the interviews, we asked our subjects a lot of questions about place of origin, music that they listened to, that their parents and family listened to, what was the folk culture where they grew up. We then narrowed this frame to identify styles of folk music from the region of origin of the subjects, and began to build playlists of those folks styles, whether mariachi or norteño from Mexico, criolla music from Peru, afro-ecuadorian instrumental music from the Andean highlands and Amazon jungle of Ecuador, cumbia, and vallenato music from Colombia, bomba and plena from Puerto Rico.  We listened to this music for months, gradually incorporating ideas and musical tropes into our way of envisioning the songs, but also deconstructing song forms, chordal structures, harmonic tonalities. 

Eventually we sketched out about 14-16 different song ideas, including songs that we had written from scratch specifically for this project, like Corrido de Cesar, Puya Appalata, and Familia Mia, and others which had been in development for some time, but which resonated with the themes of this project, and which we were able to fully develop for this recording, such as Montañita and La Llorona. And of course, we had Lupe’s ranchera, Vengo de muy Lejos,  which she had written over 30 years ago, and had shown us many years ago, but which we felt we could fully develop as a mariachi, including Appalachian elements. In many ways her beautiful lyrics really capture the core themes of this project, and her song serves as a kind of signature piece for the album. And so we created a map of the recording, which had the core information for each sketch: it’s tonality, rhythm, chordal structure, set of themes, and stylistic influences. 

From this outline, we chose the pieces that we were going to record, and then Estela went away for a week to work on the lyrics and core song forms. 

When she returned, Dave began to organize the arrangements, and rehearse with the band. Some of the pieces have very meticulous organization, with harmonic passages fully composed, and in other spaces, the arrangements are left so that the band can accompany as they see fit. Part of the arrangement process is understanding that the musicians have their own very unique individual musical voices, which Dave was focused on highlighting throughout the recording. It needs to be said that this recording would not be possible without the amazing and unique talents of Christen Hubbard, who has a truly authentic Appalachian musical voice, and Matty Metcalfe, whose virtuosity and expertise in a huge variety of global folk styles has been a joy to unearth and record. They have been an indispensable part of the evolution of this music. 

This recording would also not have been possible without the incredible work done by Luna Berzonsky, who really stepped up to the plate and leveraged her lifelong immersion in the music of her parents, along with an incredible amount of effort, focus, and patience, to record truly amazing performances on violin and jarana, as well as harmony and lead vocals.

Jacob Loya: trumpet, vocals

Carl and Danny Loya: vocals

Sophia Enriquez: vocals

Engineered by: Graeme Rosner, at McGuffey Art Center, Charlottesville, Va and in Richmond, Va June-July, 2024

Additional engineering by Matty Metcalfe, Charlottesville, Va (Montañita, Puya Appalata, Memories of Riobamba) July, 2024

Norberto Estudio, Xico, Veracruz, Mexico (Sophia’s vocals on Vengo de Muy Lejos) July, 2024

David Berzonsky, McGuffey Art Center (Mommy & Her Fuzzy Fleece Pants) July, 2024

We offer the deepest appreciation and amazement to all of you for the care and love which you have given to these songs.

Vengo de Muy Lejos is a heartfelt ranchera written by Guadalupe Diaz Knott, reflecting on the immigrant experience — the joy of new opportunities and the sorrow of what is left behind. As the matriarch of her family and a guiding light for immigrants in Luray, VA, Lupe’s story and music embody resilience and cultural pride. The song paints dreamlike memories of her childhood in Mexico, blending nostalgia with a wish that her life be remembered as a celebration. Recorded as an Appalachian mariachi waltz, the arrangement fuses mariachi trumpets and violins with Appalachian fiddle, guitar, and bass, bringing together talented musicians across borders, including remote contributions from Mexico. The result is a vibrant homage to Lupe’s legacy and the rich intersection of cultures.

I’ll Smile When I See You, written by high school junior Luna Berzonsky, is a poignant country gospel ballad that speaks to the longing and nostalgia at the heart of the immigrant experience. As the daughter of musicians Estela Knott and David Berzonsky, she has grown up surrounded by music and performs with Lua Project on multiple instruments. The only fully English song in this collection, its intentionally vague lyrics reflect the universal ache of missing someone—whether a child, a parent, or a loved one left behind or lost along the journey. As Luna says, “It is my hope that when I sing it, at least they will have someone that comes to mind.”