Remembering Yma Sumac

Yma Sumac: September 13, 1922 – November 1, 2008
On November 1st, Yma Sumac passed away peacefully at the age of 86. Yma Sumac was a soprano with an amazing five octave vocal range. She embodied "exotica" in the 1950s lounge music scene with her mambo beats, big band accompaniments, and Peruvian princess persona. Yma was confident, beautiful and mysterious. Most amazingly of all, she had a voice to back up her eccentric facade. In her popular albums she would sing with operatic timbre, imitate the melody of a songbird, or offer deep throaty growls and rise to impossibly high trills all in the same song! Many people found her weird, or didn't care for her music, but everyone had to admit the woman could sing.

This song called "Bo Mambo" and it's fantastic.
In the 50s when all the cool suburbanites had tiki bars, you could bet to find an Yma Sumac album on the wifi. She was an icon of exotic tiki culture. When people started tearing out the bamboo and laying shag rugs, Yma's career faded into nostalgic camp. She was a woman of a certain time; a genuine Inca Goddess for the basement rec room. Although her music transcended pure kitch appeal, it was, at its heart, most at home during cocktail hour while you sipped something accompanied by a small, paper umbrella.

These days hipsters my own age usually no nothing of Yma Sumac, although I bet they would recognize some of her arrangements from hip hop music or movie soundtracks. If you're one of those people nuts about The Big Lebowski, you really need to look into Yma Sumac. The Coen Brothers have long used her to underscore their bizarre and trippy scenes.

Even the young Yma had a lot of sultry attitude
Like all great eccentrics, Yma was subject to gossip and popular rumours. One of the best is that she was not in fact Yma Sumac, but Amy Camus (see what they did there?), a housewife from Brooklyn New York. My own dad told me that she sang in a made up language that "sounded like Spanish". Turns out she was singing in Jivaro, an obscure native Peruvian language. I think, amazing as it sounds, that Yma Sumac actually was a descendant of ancient Peruvian Emperors. Even if she wasn't, she had the fortitude and attitude to pull it off. How often do you come across a talent or a life such as hers?

Last year in an inspired bout of procrastination I found Yma Sumac's official website, and from there found the address where I could write to her and (with a $25 money order) receive my own autographed photo. I used a card with a photo of a dog on it for my letter, because Yma liked animals. I wrote that I was a big fan, and that I have always loved her music. I thanked her for being so unique and wonderful. It was a strange thing to do, I admit. I had never written a "fan letter" before, and I'm not sure I ever will again. I just was so amazed that she was still alive, still available to read my letter and send me her photo. The beautiful photograph I received is still carefully tacked up to my bulletin board, awaiting an exotic vintage frame worthy of her image. I'm so glad I wrote to her when I had the chance. Rest in peace, Yma.