Yma Sumac

Yma Sumac
Sumac in 1947
Sumac in 1947
Background information
Birth nameZoila Emperatriz Chávarri Castillo
Born(1922-09-13)September 13, 1922
Callao, Peru
DiedNovember 1, 2008(2008-11-01) (aged 86)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer, actress, model, dancer, composer and musical producer
Years active1938–1976, 1984–1997

Zoila Emperatriz Chávarri Castillo (September 13, 1922 – November 1, 2008), known as Yma Sumac,[1] was a Peruvian-born American singer, actress, model, musician, composer, dancer and producer. She won a Guinness World Record for the Greatest Range of Musical Value in 1956.[2] She has also been called Queen of Exotica.[3][4] She has been called a "pioneer of world music".[5]

Early life

Sumac was born Zoila Emperatriz Chávarri Castillo on September 13, 1922 in Callao, Peru.[6][7][8] She was raised in Cajamarca. In 1934, she traveled to live in Lima with her relatives.[8]

She married Moisés Vivanco on June 6, 1942.[9] In 1946, Sumac and Vivanco moved to New York City. In 1949, Yma gave birth to their only child, Carlos.[10]

Career

Sumac began performing in 1938.[11] She took the stage name Yma Sumac which means "how beautiful" in Quechua.[12]

Her first album, Voice of the Xtabay (1950), reached number one in the Billboard 200,[13] selling a million copies in the United States, and its single, "Virgin of the Sun God (Taita Inty)", was a big seller in the United Kingdom,[14] She became an international success in the 1950s. Her other albums like Legend of the Sun Virgin (1952),[15] Fuego del Ande (1959)[16] and Mambo! (1955), were also popular.[17]

In 1951, Sumac became the first Latin American and Peruvian female singer to appear on Broadway.[5] She also created her own technical singing,[18] named "double voice".[19] She also performed in Carnegie Hall[20] and Lewisohn Stadium.[21]

In 1960 she became the first Latin American woman to get a phonograph record star[22] on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[23] Afterwards she toured the Soviet Union,[24] selling more than 20 million tickets.[24]

Sumac had more than 3,000 concerts "covering the entire globe",[17] breaking any records by a performer.[17] She was also called a fashion icon during her career.[25] She sold over 40 million records, making her the best-selling Peruvian singer in history.[26][27][28]

Death

In February 2008, Sumac was diagnosed with colon cancer. She died from the disease on November 1, 2008 in Los Angeles, California at the age of 86.[29]

Awards and honors

Year Ceremony/Award Category/Notes Result Ref.
1993 Diamond Halo Contributions to entertainment
Awarded
[30]
1968 Golden Disc of Hollywood Award Best Latin American Singer Won [30]
1960 Guinness World Records Greatest Range
Awarded
[31]
1960 Hollywood Walk of Fame Walk of Stars
Awarded
[30]
1997 Life Achievement Award N/a
Awarded
[30]
2006 Order of the Sun of Peru Presented by Republic of Peru
Awarded
[32]

References

  1. ↑ "Imanay". www.runa-simi.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-01-26.
  2. ↑ Records, Guinness World (2017-11-07). The Guinness Book of Superlatives: The Original Book of Fascinating Facts. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-945186-45-5.
  3. ↑ "Google Doodle honors Peruvian soprano Yma Sumac". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
  4. ↑ Yma Sumac [exotica vocalist]: Musician Snapshots. SBE Media. 2015-09-11.
  5. 1 2 "El regreso de Yma Sumac, la soprano inca que cantaba en cinco octavas y se adelantó 70 años a Rosalía". abc (in Spanish). 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
  6. ↑ "Documentos legales de Yma Súmac y Moisés Vivanco". Galeria La Sumac. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
  7. ↑ Martin, Douglas (November 4, 2008). "Yma Sumac, Vocalist of the Exotic, Dies at 86". The New York Times. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  8. 1 2 "The Yma Sumac Timeline". yma-sumac.com. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Moisés Vivanco". SunVirgin.com. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  10. ↑ Yma Sumac [exotica vocalist]: Musician Snapshots Volume 3 of The Music You Should Hear Series by Stone Blue Editors, SBE Media, 2015.
  11. ↑ "YMA SUMAC by ignacio tomaylla – Issuu". issuu.com. January 20, 2009. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  12. ↑ "Imanay". www.runa-simi.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-01-26.
  13. ↑ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1951-04-28. p. 24.
  14. ↑ "Barry's Hits of All Decades Pop rock n roll Music Chart Hits". hitsofalldecades.com. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
  15. ↑ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1952-02-23.
  16. ↑ YMA SUMAC – HOLLYWOODS INKAPRINZESSIN, retrieved 2023-01-27
  17. 1 2 3 "Periódicos y revistas (Década 1970)". Galeria La Sumac. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  18. ↑ PERÚ, NOTICIAS EL COMERCIO (2016-09-05). "Freddie Mercury: solo dos peruanos podrían competir con su voz | LUCES". El Comercio (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  19. ↑ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1953-10-03.
  20. ↑ "People, Mar. 1, 1954". Time. 1954-03-01. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  21. ↑ B, J. (1953-06-26). "YMA SUMAC STARS IN LATIN CONCERT; Produces Variety of Coloristic Effects at Lewisohn Stadium – Segall in Piano Concerto". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  22. ↑ "La inigualable y exótica Yma Sumac, primera iberoamericana en el Paseo de la Fama de Hollywood". www.notimerica.com. Europa Press. 2016-11-01. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  23. ↑ Chad (2019-10-25). "Yma Sumac". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  24. 1 2 "Yma Súmac, la princesa inca que hechizó al mundo con su voz | Radiónica". www.radionica.rocks. June 20, 2020. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  25. ↑ Vildoso, Tilsa Anahi Otta; Granda, Teresa Fuller; Medina, Elbio Ademir Espíritu; Coronado, Eloy Jáuregui; Benito, Zoila Rosa Antonio; Alegre, Raúl Horacio Cachay; Cabrera, Luis Alexander Pacora; Barbès, Olivier Conan; Buritica, Jaime Andrés Monsalve (2021-11-05). Sabor peruano: Travesías musicales (in Spanish). Editorial Universidad de Guadalajara. ISBN 978-607-571-298-7.
  26. ↑ Mendoza, Zoila S. (2021-06-28). "Yma Sumac: The Extraordinary Peruvian Singer and Her Paradoxical Career". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Latin American History. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199366439.013.980. ISBN 978-0-19-936643-9. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  27. ↑ "Yma Súmac: the greatest Peruvian voice of all time featured on the new iPhone12". peru.info. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  28. ↑ "Yma Súmac, la última princesa inca". Fundación BBVA Perú (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-12-25.
  29. ↑ Andrew Dalton (November 3, 2008). "Peruvian-Born Singer Yma Sumac Dies At 86". CBS News. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
  30. 1 2 3 4 "YMA SUMAC, la cantante peruana llamada «Princesa inca exótica»". El Café Latino (in Spanish). Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  31. ↑ "Greatest Range". Guinness World Records. 1956. p. 15. Retrieved November 14, 2024. GREATEST RANGE: Yma Sumac of Peru. She is reputed to have a range of five octaves from A # to B.
  32. ↑ "Gobierno peruano condecorará a Yma Sumac con Orden del Sol" (in Spanish). Radio Programas del Perú. Archived from the original on February 6, 2006. Retrieved November 14, 2024.

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