Yma sumac double voice
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On the trail of Yma Sumac: The exotica legend came from Peru, but her career was all Hollywood
As a Peruvian kid growing up in Southern California, I’d pick through my father’s record collection, between the LPs of Peruvian creole waltzes and Mexican ballads, to admire a strange album by an alluring woman dripping in jewelry, posing before an erupting volcano.
The album was “Voice of the Xtabay.” And the woman was Yma Sumac, the Peruvian songstress with the four-octave voice that launched the musical genre known as exotica, a cinematic fusion of international styles that allowed mid-20th century audiences a taste of the mysterious and the remote.
Sumac was the imperious, raven-haired Inca princess — “descendant of the last of the Incan kings,” according to lore — who maintained an extensive wardrobe stocked with sumptuous gowns, her crimson lipstick always applied to perfection. It was this Peruvian girl’s ultimate fantasy.
It was also a piece of fiction. Yma Sumac may have been from Peru. But her exotic Peruvian persona was invented in Los Angeles.
“Hollywood took t
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Yma Sumac
Peruvian-born American vocalist (1922–2008)
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Chávarri and the second or maternal family name is Castillo.
Yma Sumac | |
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Sumac in Italy in 1954 | |
| Born | Zoila Emperatriz Chávarri Castillo (1922-09-13)September 13, 1922 Callao, Peru |
| Died | November 1, 2008(2008-11-01) (aged 86) Los Angeles, United States |
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| Occupations |
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| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instruments | Voice |
| Years active | 1938–1976, 1984–1997 |
Musical artist | |
Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chávarri del Castillo (born Zoila Emperatriz Chávarri Castillo; September 13, 1922[1][2][3] – November 1, 2008), known as Yma Sumac (or Imma Sumack), was a Peruvian vocalist, composer, producer, actress and model. She won a Guinness World Record for the Greatest Range of Musical Value in 1956.[4] "Ima sumaq" means "how beautiful" in Quechua.[5] She
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Opera Profile: Tang Xianzu’s ‘The Peony Pavilion’
Yma Súmac was born in Sept. 13, 1922 as Zoila Emperatriz Chávarri Castillo. She was worldwide known for her five octave vocal range. She was a true diva, also known as the “Incan Princess.”
She was born in El Callao, a city next to Lima, but grew up and spent her childhood in Ichocán, a district of the region Cajamarca in the north of Peru, where her father was born. There, she grew up in nature and began to imitate the birds. Her mother was descendant of Atahualpa, the last of the Inca lords (hence the “Incan Princess” moniker).
She began to sing in the church and local radio. After moved to Lima, she sang in the Teatro Segura and Teatro Municipal de Lima. She met Peruvian composer Moisés Vivanco who invited her to his folkloric group. They married in 1942. They went on tour to Argentina with great success. They performed folkloric Peruvian music. Vivanco began to change the original music and make arrangements for her voice: deep low tones and astonishing high notes.
She began to reco
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