Send "Susana Baca " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Popmatters |
 Ever since releasing her self-titled debut for Luaka Bop in 1997, Susana Baca has been on a recording frenzy. Afrodiaspora is her tenth album in 14 years, and as the name suggests, it explores the African diaspora, chiefly in Latin America, but also in other less-likely countries.The key to all of Baca’s work has been the passion she has for the music, as well as her distinctive voice. She has the ability to be sincere without being plaintive, and while her voice may not be the strongest of instruments, it purrs rhythmically, giving each song bounce and vigour that can quite often be lacking from world music. This is most prominent on the opening track “Detras De La Puerta” and “Baho Kende y Palo Mayimbe”, songs that use cumbia and bolero beats respectively, dancing along with intensity and energy. These are also good examples of the source material for the album. Normally, Baca chooses material from the catalogue of Afro-Peruvian music made famous by musicians such as Chabuca Grande and Nicomedes Santa Cruz. On this album, she has opened herself up to music from other countries where the mix of African rhythms, Spanish instruments, and indigenous culture produced a music similar to the Afro-Peruvian music with which she is commonly associated. On “Plena y Bomba”, she tackles Afro-Puerto Rican music. Plena and bomba are in fact two different styles of music found in the predominantly African regions of Puerto Rico, and are often referred to simply as one style: plena y bomba. The song even features a cameo from the hugely-popular hip-hop act Calle 13, a cameo that surprisingly doesn’t feel out of place. On “Takiti Taki”, Baca uses guatire drumming from Venezuela. “Que Lindo tu Vestido” is a Mexican waltz in homage to Amparo Ochoa....full text |
| Crawdaddy |
| Susana Baca has one of the most unique and instantly recognizable voices in pop music. David Byrne introduced her to American audiences when he included “Maria Lando”, one of her signature tunes, on The Soul of Black Peru, the first collection of Afro-Peruvian music widely available in the States. Byrne signed Baca to his Luaka Bop label, and Afrodiaspora is the seventh CD she’s put out on the logo since 1997. Baca’s American releases have mostly concentrated on the traditional music of Afro-Peru, a sound that’s hard to describe but instantly recognizable with its loping polyrhythms and intricate guitar work. Afro-Peruvian music is traditional in the same way that modern American folk music is traditional. It may be based on rhythms and styles that are a century old, but it’s infused with an artistic approach that makes it totally modern. Baca is also an expansive artist. She’s covered tunes by Caetano Veloso, Björk, and dozens of Cuban artists; she cut an album with Cuban musicians in Havana called Lamento Negro, which won a Best Latin Folk Album Grammy when it was finally released in the US in 2001. As the album title indicates, the material on Afrodiaspora is from all over South America and the Caribbean, coming from countries with a strong African element in their music due to the slave trade. Baca infuses every song and style with her own understated elegance, adding elements of son, cumbia, plena, son jarocho, and other types of music to her own Afro-Peruvian style. Baca’s extensive liner notes add to our understanding of the traditions she’s drawing on, but the review copies were short on musician credits, which is a shame. She’s obviously drawn on the talents of some first class players for her arrangements on these tunes....full text |
| Rockol |
| Susana Baca Afrodiaspora (Luaka Bop, 2011) Susana Baca has one of the most unique and instantly recognizable voices in pop music. David Byrne introduced her to American audiences when he included “Maria Lando”, one of her signature tunes, on The Soul of Black Peru, the first collection of Afro-Peruvian music widely available in the States. Byrne signed Baca to his Luaka Bop label, and Afrodiaspora is the seventh CD she’s put out on the logo since......full text |
Susana Baca lyrics
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