Susana Baca

With a splendid voice and equally impressive interpretive gifts, Susana Baca is a primary exponent of the Afro-Peruvian musical tradition. Baca came to world attention in 1995, when her rendition of "Maria Lando," a heartbreaking ballad of Third World worker oppression, was included on David Byrne's The Soul of Black Peru compilation. Since then, she has toured the United States several times and released numerous albums, including several for Luaka Bop: 1997's Susana Baca, 2002's Espíritu Vivo, and 2006's Travesías. She followed with Seis Poemas in 2009. After a tour in support of 2010's Mama, Baca re-entered the studio and released Afrodiaspora in 2011. She recorded A Capella: Grabado en Casa Durante la Cuarentena alone at home during the pandemic, and returned to recording with a band for 2021's Palabras Urgentes.