Susana Baca

Susana Baca
in Santa Cruz, 2010

Susana Esther Baca de la Colina (born May 24, 1944 in Chorrillos near Lima , Peru ) is an Afro-Peruvian singer. Since the inauguration of the Peruvian President Ollanta Humala on July 28, 2011 , she has been part of his cabinet as minister of culture . On December 10, she resigned with the entire cabinet.

life and work

Susana Baca grew up in a small family in the fishing town of Chorrillos near Lima and studied music and singing in Peru. During her first appearances, the Peruvian singer Chabuca Granda became aware of her and promoted her career. Their first recordings were made in the 1980s; She achieved her international breakthrough in 1995 when the Luaka Bop label released her collective CD The Soul of Black Peru under the direction of former Talking Heads singer David Byrne .

Susana Baca uses Afro-Peruvian instruments, melodies and rhythms in her music, which she combines with modern stylistic elements. Her accompanying instruments include the cajón , the guapeo , a clay bowl, and the quijada , a percussion instrument made from the cheekbones of a donkey. In addition to her own compositions and traditional songs, she also set texts by César Vallejo and Pablo Neruda to music . In 1992 she and her husband, the Bolivian musicologist Ricardo Pereira, founded the Instituto Negro Continuo in their hometown of Chorillos , which aims to document and promote Afro-Peruvian art and culture.

Minister of Culture of Peru

On July 25, 2011 it was announced that Susana Baca would take up the post of minister of culture in the government of Ollanta Humala, who was sworn in on July 28, 2011 . She resigned with the entire cabinet on December 10th of the same year. She was no longer a member of the two following Ollanta Humala cabinets.

Awards

In 2002 Susana Baca received the Latin Grammy in the "Best Folk Album" category for the new recording of the 1986 CD Lamento Negro .

Discography

1987: Color de Rosa Poesia y Canto Negro
1991: Vestida de Vida, Canto Negro de las Americas!
1992: Fuego y Agua
1997: Susana Baca
2000: Eco de Sombras
2001: Lamento Negro
2002: Espíritu Vivo
2004: Lo Mejor de Susana Baca
2006: Travesías
2009: Seis Poemas
2011: Afrodiaspora

Individual evidence

^ Gerhard Dilger: Cabinet falls over mining conflict. In: the daily newspaper . December 12, 2011, accessed December 13, 2011 .
↑ Susana Baca becomes Humala's minister of culture. El Comercio, July 25, 2011 (Spanish)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Baca, Susana
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Baca de la Colina, Susana Esther
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Afro-Peruvian singer
DATE OF BIRTH	May 24, 1944
PLACE OF BIRTH	Chorrillos near Lima , Peru

[TAZBerg-1] Gerhard Dilger: Cabinet falls over mining conflict. In: the daily newspaper . December 12, 2011, accessed December 13, 2011 .

[2] Susana Baca becomes Humala's minister of culture. El Comercio, July 25, 2011 (Spanish)