Yma Súmac was born in Callao, El Callao, Peru. Other dates mentioned in her various biographies range from 1921 to 1929. Some sources claim that she was not born in Ichocán, but in a nearby village or possibly in Lima, and that her family owned a ranch in Ichocán where she spent most of her early life. Stories published in the 1950s claimed that she was an Incan princess directly descended from Atahualpa. A story claiming that she was actually born Amy Camus (Yma Sumac backwards) in Brooklyn or Canada was fabricated while she was performing in New York City in the early 1950s. She adopted the stage name of Imma Sumack (also spelled Ymma Sumack and Ima Sumack) in South America before she went to the U.S. The stage name was based on her mother's name which was derived from Ima Shumaq, Quechua for "how beautiful!" although in interviews she claimed it meant "beautiful flower" or "beautiful girl".
Imma Sumack first appeared on radio in 1942, and married composer and bandleader Moisés Vivanco on June 6 the same year. She recorded at least 23 tracks of Peruvian folk songs in Argentina in 1943 . These early recordings for the Odeon label featured Moisés Vivanco's group, Compañía Peruana de Arte, a group of 46 Indian dancers singers and musicians. In 1946, Sumack and Vivanco moved to New York City, where they performed as the Inca Taky Trio: Sumack herself singing coloratura soprano, Vivanco on guitar and her cousin Cholita Rivero singing contralto and dancing. Sumack bore a son, Charles, in 1949, and was signed by Capitol Records in 1950, at which time her stage name became "Yma Sumac".
During the 1950s, 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. In 1951, she popularized Jorge Bravo de Rueda's classic song Vírgenes del Sol. The combination of her extraordinary voice, exotic looks and stage personality made her a hit with American audiences. Sumac even appeared in a Broadway musical, Flahooley, in 1951, as a foreign princess who brings Aladdin's lamp to an American toy factory to have it repaired. The show's score was by Sammy Fain and E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, but Sumac's four numbers were the work of Vivanco. Capitol Records, Sumac's label, recorded the show. Flahooley closed quickly but the recording continues as a cult classic, in part because it also marked the Broadway debut of Barbara Cook. During the height of Sumac's popularity, she appeared in the films Secret of the Incas (1954) and Omar Khayyam (1957). She became a U.S. citizen July 22, 1955
In 1957, Sumac and Vivanco divorced, their dispute making news in Los Angeles.[10] They remarried that same year before divorcing again in 1965. Apparently due to financial difficulties, Yma Sumac and the original Inca Taky Trio went on a world tour in 1961, which lasted for five years. They performed in 40 cities in the Soviet Union, and afterwards all over Europe, Asia and Latin America. Their performance in Bucharest, Romania was recorded as the album Recital, her only 'live in concert' record. Yma Sumac spent the rest of the 1960s performing sporadically.
In 1971, she released a rock album, called Miracles, and returned to live in Peru. She performed in concert from time to time during the 1970s in Peru and later in New York. In the 1980s, she had a number of concerts both in the U.S. and abroad . She sang Ataypura during a March 19, 1987 appearance on Late Night with David Letterman, appearing alongside actor-comedians Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Murray.
In 1989, she sang once again at The Ballroom in New York. In March 1990, she played the role of Heidi in Stephen Sondheim's Follies, in Long Beach, California, her first attempt at serious theater since Flahooley in 1951. In 1992, Günther Czernetsky directed a documentary titled Yma Sumac - Hollywoods Inkaprinzessin (Yma Sumac - Hollywood's Inca princess). She also gave several concerts in the summer of 1996 two more in Montreal, Canada in July 1997 as part of the Montreal International Jazz Festival.
Sumac's profile rose again when the song Ataypura was featured in the Coen Brothers' film The Big Lebowski. Her song Bo Mambo appeared in a commercial for Kahlua liquor, and was sampled for the Hands Upsong by the Black Eyed Peas. The song Gopher Mambo was used in the films Ordinary Decent Criminal and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. The songs Goomba Boomba and Malambo No. 1 appeared in Death to Smoochy.
On May 6, 2006, Sumac flew to Lima, where she was presented the Orden del Sol award by Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo, and the Jorge Basadre medal by the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos.
Yma Sumac recorded an incredible vocal range of more than four octaves, from B2 to C♯7 (approximately 123 to 2270 Hz). She was able to sing notes in the low baritone register as well as notes above the range of an ordinary coloratura soprano. Both low and high extremes can be heard in the song Chuncho (The Forest Creatures) (1950)
Yma Sumac passed away at an assisted living facility in Los Angeles, California on November 1, 2008.
==Discography==
*At least eighteen tracks of Peruvian folk songs in Argentina in 1943 for the [[Odeon Records]] label, with Moisés Vivanco's group, Compañía Peruana de Arte—a group of forty-six Indian dancers, singers, and musicians. (Three additional tracks from these sessions are instrumentals or feature other vocalists.)(10" 78 rpm)
* ''Voice of the Xtabay'' (1950), Capitol Records 10" LP H244 (33 1/3) CD-244 (78 rpm set)
* ''Flahooley'' (1951), Capitol DF-284 (78 rpm set)
* ''Legend of the Sun Virgin'' (1952), Capitol DDN-299 (78 rpm set)
* ''Inca Taqui'' (1953), Capitol L-243 (10" LP)
* ''Mambo!'' (1954), Capitol T-564 (10" LP)
* ''Voice of the Xtabay & Inca Taqui'', (1955) Capitol W-684 (both on one 12" LP)
* ''Legend of the Jivaro'' (1957), Capitol T-770 (12" LP)
* ''Fuego Del Ande'' (1959), Capitol T-1169 (Monophonic); ST 1169 (Stereo) (mono and stereo versions were separate recordings) (12" LP)
* ''Recital'' (1961), Electrecord EDE-073 (12" LP) — reissued on CD, ESP-DISK' 4029 (2006)
* ''Miracles'' (1971), London XPS 608 (12" LP) — reissued with two additional tracks as ''Yma Rocks!'' (1998), ShamLys JOM-1027-2 (CD)
* ''I Wonder'' on [[Stay Awake (album)|Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films]], 1988 (one of Various Artists)
* ''Mambo ConFusion'' (1991), Deutsche Schallplatten Berlin (Germany CD Maxi-Single), DSB 3025-5 (CD Maxi-Single contains 'Radio Version,' longer 'Maxi Version,' and 'Mambo Hip' version)
Melgar
Yma Sumac Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Puro sol, montañas de mi lar
Donde nací, en donde me crié
Para amar
Aquí dejo mis sueños,
Aquí dejo mi amor,
Aquí dejo mi sueño,
Aquí dejo mi amor,
Aquí dejo mis lágrimas,
De eterno desconsuelo,
Porque mi estrella triste fue cruel.
Silvia adiós, ya perdida
La esperanza de tu amor mi fe
Al partir por mi patria sometida
Y por ti mi bien,
Voy adiós, voy adiós, adiós, adiós.
Silvia adiós, ya perdida
La esperanza de tu amor mi fe
Al partir por mi patria sometida
Y por ti mi bien,
Voy adiós, voy adiós, adiós, adiós.
The lyrics of Yma Sumac's song Melgar are reflective of the singer's deep love for her homeland, as well as the pain and sadness she feels over a lost love. The first stanza of the song describes the beauty and natural wonders of Melgar, a white city with an eternal blue sky, pure sun, and mountains. The singer talks about how Melgar is where she was born and raised, and where her capacity to love was shaped.
In the second stanza, Yma Sumac expresses her sadness, heartbreak, and disappointment over a love that did not work out. She talks about leaving her dreams, love, and tears behind in this white city of eternal desolation. The mention of losing hope and faith in love because of her star that was cruel, indicates that she is singing about a relationship or a significant other that caused her pain and anguish.
Lastly, the song ends with a farewell to Silvia, the name of the lost love, and Yma Sumac declares that she has lost hope in finding love with her. She says goodbye to her lover as she leaves her homeland for her country, which is struggling with submission or perhaps a place of political unrest or under oppression.
Overall, Melgar is a song that speaks to the beauty and pain of love, and the deep connection that people can feel to their homeland.
Line by Line Meaning
Blanca ciudad, de eterno cielo azul
I come from a beautiful city with never-ending blue skies
Puro sol, montañas de mi lar
There are pure rays of sun shining on the mountains of my homeland
Donde nací, en donde me crié
I was born and raised here
Para amar
To express my love for this place
Aquí dejo mis sueños,
I leave my dreams behind in this place
Aquí dejo mi amor,
I leave my love behind in this place
Aquí dejo mi sueño,
I also leave my dreams behind in this place
Aquí dejo mi amor,
I also leave my love behind in this place
Aquí dejo mis lágrimas,
I leave my tears behind as well
De eterno desconsuelo,
Because I am perennially heartbroken
Porque mi estrella triste fue cruel.
My luck was cruel because of my sad star.
Silvia adiós, ya perdida
I say goodbye to Silvia, who I have lost
La esperanza de tu amor mi fe
The hope of your love strengthened my faith
Al partir por mi patria sometida
I am leaving for my home country, which is under submission
Y por ti mi bien,
And for your wellbeing
Voy adiós, voy adiós, adiós, adiós.
So, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.
Contributed by Sydney G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Estelí Vela
Blanca ciudad,
de eterno cielo azul
puro sol,
montañas de mi lar
donde nací, en donde me crié
para amar.
Aquí dejo mis sueños,
aquí dejo mi amor,
aquí dejo mi sueño,
aquí dejo mi amor,
aquí dejo mis lagrimas,
de eterno desconsuelo,
porque mi estrella triste fue cruel. Silvia adios, ya perdida
la esperanza de tu amor mi fe
al partir por mi patria sometida y por ti mi bien,
voy adios, voy adios, adios, adios. Sonó el clarín, voy hacia allá
a defender mi patria
mi adorada Silvia, mi amor.
Sonó el clarín vamos allí,
Oh Patria por ti morir quiero
yo y todos con honor.
Oh Arequipa, ciudad de mis ensueños, coloso Misti, guardián de mi ciudad, ansío libertad y amor, amor y libertad Señor.
Beatriz Zevallos Rodriguez
Fantástico! escuchar esta canción tan típica de Arequipa interpretada por Yma Sumac, me llena de orgullo, felicidad y alegría 😋
Carlos Jhoel Portocarrero Q.
es un gran honor, me llena de alegría mi corazón, al escuchar a la maestra Yma Sumac, cantando una canción tan arequipeña, Gracias maestra!!😂😭😭😂
PukllaYvoy Puklla Munay
Es impresionante, como Una Sumac llega al mismo tono de la Quena, insuperable Yma Sumac
Estelí Vela
Blanca ciudad,
de eterno cielo azul
puro sol,
montañas de mi lar
donde nací, en donde me crié
para amar.
Aquí dejo mis sueños,
aquí dejo mi amor,
aquí dejo mi sueño,
aquí dejo mi amor,
aquí dejo mis lagrimas,
de eterno desconsuelo,
porque mi estrella triste fue cruel. Silvia adios, ya perdida
la esperanza de tu amor mi fe
al partir por mi patria sometida y por ti mi bien,
voy adios, voy adios, adios, adios. Sonó el clarín, voy hacia allá
a defender mi patria
mi adorada Silvia, mi amor.
Sonó el clarín vamos allí,
Oh Patria por ti morir quiero
yo y todos con honor.
Oh Arequipa, ciudad de mis ensueños, coloso Misti, guardián de mi ciudad, ansío libertad y amor, amor y libertad Señor.
Bogotá
Qué maravilla!!! La parte instrumental es bellísima, y no bastando eso, la voz de yma es preciosa, ni se hable de esa guitarras.... Agradezco al existir porque antes de marcharme pude escuchar obras como está!!
Mariano Alberto Torres Vera
Yma Sumac tenia maravillosa voz ...pero era tambien muy hermosa ....que bonita era...
Mauricie Barrionuevo
Simplemente épico.
Bertín A.
Beautiful song from my Arequipa, the "White City", in Peru
Jose Antonio Sanchez - Pagina Oficial
Vals "Melgar", composición de don Benigno Ballón Farfán.
Deben poner los créditos del compositor de ésta y todas las canciones.
benigno maximo sora luis
Que hermosa voz y que tal manera de interpretar esta canción, por un momento me hizo recordar los buenos momentos que pasé en esta orgullosa tierra de Arequipa y de mis numerosas amistades.