Yma Súmac (born in 1922), is a Peruvian singer with one of the most
spectacular ranges and styles ever heard (an amazing four-octave range). She mixes Hollywood pizzazz
with indigenous Incan songs splendidly.
Yma Sumac, from Ima Shumaq, Quechua for "beautiful flower" or "how
beautiful!", was born in Cajamarca, Peru as Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chavarri
del Castillo.
Sumac was said to have been a descendant of Inca kings, an Incan princess
that was one of the Golden Virgins.
El Condor Pasa is a typical
Inca dance, based on authentic Incan folk melodies. Around 1916,
Peruvian composer Daniel Alomia Robles
notated this popular traditional melody and used it as the basis
for an instrumental suite. The English Lyrics, 'If I could, I
surely would' words, are by Paul Simon (Simon & Garfunkel)!
