Friday, January 12, 2007

Yma Sumac

Peruvian exotica diva, Yma Sumac, was a phenomenon in the music world during the early 1950's. With an amazing vocal range of four octaves, this attractive, mysterious woman with a voluptuous figure catapulted onto the American music scene with a 10" album "Voice Of Xtabay" that topped the US charts in 1950. Everything surrounding Yma Sumac had an air of mystery about it, she was said to have been born in a tiny village in the Peruvian high Andes and was a descendant of the Inca Kings and her exotic repertoire was said to be based on Inca legends.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, best of the best! Nice track.

Anonymous said...

Yma Sumac was said to have lived amongst/around various farm animals as a child, replicating their sounds. Amazing voice!

Anonymous said...

Wild, men... just wild!
Gracias amigo.
Jorge


Lima, Perú

Anonymous said...

I heard that her name was really Amy Camus and that she was from Jersey

Dansmoncafe said...

Yeah that story is a hoax.

Read here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yma_S%C3%BAmac


There is so many stories and tales about her, shes a true legend and a mystery.

Gavin Elster said...

I used to catch her "farewell performances" at the cinegrill in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel back in the day. She was a true entertainer and a diva well into her 70's. Her costumes were amazing. I recall a gold number that had a diamond shaped cut out exposing her midrif that had become a grandma belly. Not something you'd expect to see on a woman of her age but then again it was all about the voice.