Yma Sumac

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Chávarri and the second or maternal family name is Castillo.

Yma Sumac
Sumac in Italy in 1954
Born
Zoila Emperatriz Chávarri Castillo

(1922-09-13)September 13, 1922
Callao, Peru
DiedNovember 1, 2008(2008-11-01) (aged 86)
Los Angeles, United States
Citizenship
  • Peru (until 1955)
  • United States (from 1955)
Occupations
  • Singer
  • model
  • actress
  • composer
  • record producer
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentsVoice
Years active1938–1976, 1984–1997
Signature

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-born American-naturalised 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 has also been called Queen of Exotica[6][7] and is considered a pioneer of world music.[8] Her debut album, Voice of the Xtabay (1950), peaked at number one in the Billboard 200,[9] selling a million copies in the United States, and its single, "Virgin of the Sun God (Taita Inty)", reached number one on the UK Singles Chart,[10] becoming an international success in the 1950s. Albums like Legend of the Sun Virgin (1952),[11] Fuego del Ande (1959)[12] and Mambo! (1955),[12] were other successes.

In 1951, Sumac became the first Latin American female singer to debut on Broadway.[8] In "Chuncho (The Forest Creatures)" (1953), she developed her own technical singing,[13] named "double voice"[14] or "triple coloratura".[13] During the same period, she performed in Carnegie Hall[15] and Lewisohn Stadium.[16] In 1960 she became the first Latin American woman to get a phonograph record star[17] on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[18] Afterwards she toured the Soviet Union,[19] selling more than 20 million tickets.[19] According to Variety in 1974,[20] Sumac had more than 3,000 concerts "covering the entire globe",[20] breaking any previous records by a performer.[20] Fashion magazine V listed her as one of the 9 international fashion icons of all time in 2010.[21][3] She has sold over 40 million records, which makes her the best-selling Peruvian singer in history.[22][23][24]

  1. ^ "Documentos legales de Yma Súmac y Moisés Vivanco". Galeria La Sumac. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  2. ^ Martin, Douglas (November 4, 2008). "Yma Sumac, Vocalist of the Exotic, Dies at 86". The New York Times. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  3. ^ a b "The Yma Sumac Timeline". yma-sumac.com. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  4. ^ Records, Guinness World (November 7, 2017). The Guinness Book of Superlatives: The Original Book of Fascinating Facts. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-945186-45-5.
  5. ^ "Imanay". www.runa-simi.org (in Spanish). Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  6. ^ "Google Doodle honors Peruvian soprano Yma Sumac". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  7. ^ Yma Sumac [exotica vocalist]: Musician Snapshots. SBE Media. September 11, 2015.
  8. ^ a b "El regreso de Yma Sumac, la soprano inca que cantaba en cinco octavas y se adelantó 70 años a Rosalía". abc (in Spanish). January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  9. ^ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. April 28, 1951. p. 24.
  10. ^ "Barry's Hits of All Decades Pop rock n roll Music Chart Hits". hitsofalldecades.com. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  11. ^ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. February 23, 1952.
  12. ^ a b YMA SUMAC – HOLLYWOODS INKAPRINZESSIN, retrieved January 27, 2023
  13. ^ a b PERÚ, NOTICIAS EL COMERCIO (September 5, 2016). "Freddie Mercury: solo dos peruanos podrían competir con su voz | LUCES". El Comercio (in Spanish). Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  14. ^ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. October 3, 1953.
  15. ^ "People, Mar. 1, 1954". Time. March 1, 1954. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  16. ^ B, J. (June 26, 1953). "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 January 27, 2023.
  17. ^ "La inigualable y exótica Yma Sumac, primera iberoamericana en el Paseo de la Fama de Hollywood". www.notimerica.com. Europa Press. November 1, 2016. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  18. ^ Chad (October 25, 2019). "Yma Sumac". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  19. ^ a b "Yma Súmac, la princesa inca que hechizó al mundo con su voz | Radiónica". www.radionica.rocks. June 20, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  20. ^ a b c "Periódicos y revistas (Década 1970)". Galeria La Sumac. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  21. ^ 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 (November 5, 2021). Sabor peruano: Travesías musicales (in Spanish). Editorial Universidad de Guadalajara. ISBN 978-607-571-298-7.
  22. ^ Mendoza, Zoila S. (June 28, 2021). "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 January 9, 2022.
  23. ^ "Yma Súmac: the greatest Peruvian voice of all time featured on the new iPhone12". peru.info. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  24. ^ "Yma Súmac, la última princesa inca". Fundación BBVA Perú (in Spanish). Retrieved December 25, 2021.