Colombian folk music singer Totó La Momposina, known as the 'Queen of Cumbia,' died May 19 at the age of 85.
The Colombian Ministry of Culture announced the lauded vocalist’s death Tuesday morning.
“Today we bid farewell to the eternal Totó. To the eternal teacher who traveled the entire world to the rhythm of cumbias, porros, mapalés, and bullerengues born in the heart of our land,” the ministry wrote in.
“To the eternal Momposina who spoke of the traditional music of the Caribbean, empowered it, and enriched it for decades to write an entire chapter in the cultural history of our country. ”“With profound sorrow, we, her children Marco Vinicio, Angelica Maria, and Euridice Salome Oyaga Bazanta, announce the passing of our mother, Sonia Bazanta Vides, better known as Totó la Momposina, surrounded by her family in Celaya, Mexico, on Sunday, May 17.
Cause of death: myocardial infarction,” the post read. Jan. 27, 2012“Totó was a woman who, with her voice and extraordinary dedication, carried the culture and memory of the Colombian people to the far corners of the world. Her joy, light, wisdom, talent, generosity, and many other virtues touched the lives of countless people,” they continued in the post.
“She shared with the world the music, culture, dances, and essence of Colombia’s Caribbean coast. Her name will forever remain in the memory of those who admired her, accompanied her and loved her. ” Born Sonia Bazanta Vides in 1940 in the Colombian town of Talaigua Nuevo, Totó la Momposina was born to a family with Afro-Colombian and Indigenous roots. Her music was renowned for incorporating the percussive and melodic instruments unique to her cultural identity.
Both of her parents were amateur musicians and she began performing on stage at the age of six. Her musical taste and sound was informed by the Afro-Indigenous rhythms of the traditional mapalé, chalupa, porro, bullerengue and cumbia genres that originated in Columbia and which she studied by visiting musicians in neighboring villages throughout her youth.
Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “Love in the Time of Cholera,” about a man who has waited more than 50 years to redeclare his passion for a beautiful woman widowed at last, has won the fiction award in the ninth annual Los Angeles Times Book Prize competition. After moving to the Colombian capital of Bogotá in the 1960s, she immersed herself in the city’s music scene and began performing as part of a group.
Totó la Momposina moved to Paris in the 1980s to study music at the Sorbonne University. Hot on the heels of some international recognition, Totó la Momposina released her debut solo album “La Verdolaga” in 1983. She would later catapult to greater worldwide fame after she formed an artistic relationship with English musician Peter Gabriel.
Under Gabriel’s Real World Records label, Totó la Momposina released her 1993 album “La Candela Viva,” which received international acclaim and a formative text in the cumbia and bullerengue genres. In 2011, she was award record of the year at the 12th annual Latin Grammy Awards, alongside Calle 13, Susana Baca and Maria Rita for the track “Latinoamérica. ” The singer also received a Latin Grammy lifetime achievement award in 2013.
Carlos De Loera is a reporter with De Los, the Los Angeles Times vertical that explores Latino culture and identity. He previously worked at The Times as a reporter with the Fast Break team, a member of the 2022-23 Los Angeles Times Fellowship class, as an editorial assistant and intern with Arts and Entertainment and at the Houston Chronicle as a features intern. De Loera is a L.A.
County native and a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where he majored in history and minored in journalism, ethics and democracy.
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