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El coro fue lamentable y encima la gente bostezaba.

El coro fue lamentable y encima la gente bostezaba.
The choir was pitiful, and on top of that, the people were yawning.
From Lesson 429:Additive connectors (es más, encima)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about El coro fue lamentable y encima la gente bostezaba.

How does encima change the meaning compared to just using además (besides/also)?
Encima carries a stronger emotional weight, often used to complain or stack negative events. While además just adds information, encima translates closer to 'to make matters worse' or 'on top of that,' escalating how bad the pitiful choir (lamentable) really was.
Why do we use the preterite (fue) for the choir but the imperfect (bostezaba) for the people?
Fue evaluates the choir's performance as a single, completed event in the past. Bostezaba, however, describes an ongoing background action. The people were in the middle of yawning while that terrible performance was happening.
Is encima only used for negative situations like this one?
Mostly, yes. It is highly common in complaints. If you want to escalate a positive point (like if the choir was great and the tickets were free), you would usually use es más (what's more) or además instead of encima.
Since 'the people' means multiple individuals, why isn't the verb plural (bostezaban)?
In Spanish, the word gente is a singular feminine noun, even though it refers to a group. You must always use singular verbs and adjectives with it, which is why it is la gente bostezaba rather than bostezaban.

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