Vintage style icon: Yma Sumac
November 6, 2009 by Lena
Yma Sumac was a Peruvian singer and Fifties star whose wide vocal range and exotic Peruvian background made her an international phenomenon of her time. With her striking looks and eccentric fashion style she took America by storm and was known as the ‘Peruvian songbird’.
Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chávarri del Castillo was born – as far as we know- in 1922 in Ichocán, Peru. Stories published in the Fifties claimed that she was an Incan princess, directly descended from Atahualpa.
She took on a stage name shortly before she left for the US in the Forties and by the time she was signed by Capitol Records in 1950 her stage name became Yma Sumac.
During the Fifties, Yma Sumac produced a series of legendary lounge music recordings featuring Hollywood-style versions of Incan and South American folk songs, working with the likes of Les Baxter and Billy May.
The combination of her extraordinary voice, exotic looks and stage personality made her a hit with American audiences.
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Great article! Yma Sumac is one of my favorites.
Yma Sumac literally blew my mind as a young lad watching SECRET OF THE INCAS at my local cinema. Her amazing vocals combined with her exotic Andean allure made it a most unforgettable cinematic experience. We will never see her like again.