Yma Sumac was a Peruvian vocalist, actress, composer, producer and model. She spent her childhood in the Andes Mountains imitating the birds and the animals, unintentionally making her vocal range wider and wider.



    by Majoodeh

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    1. Yma Sumac was a Peruvian vocalist, actress, composer, producer and model. She spent her childhood in the Andes Mountains (a rumor says she’s a descendant of the last Incan emperor), imitating the birds and the animals, unintentionally making her vocal range wider and wider.

      She started her singing career as a Peruvian folk singer in the 1940s but truly gained success in the 1950s when she performed at Carnegie Hall and later won a Guinness World Record for the Greatest Range of Musical Value in 1956.

      People started calling her the Queen of Exotica and the pioneer of world music. According to some reports, she had five octaves (a trained singer usually has three).

      In 1956 she won a Guinness World Record for the “Greatest Range of Musical Value”.

      In 1960 she became the first Latina to get a phonograph record star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

    2. randomcharacters3 on

      I’ve never actually heard or seen her before but the name has been showing up in crossword puzzles for years.

    3. yamimementomori on

      I wanna hear her singing “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “I Will Always Love You,” “The Phantom of the Opera”—both the Christine and Erik parts—and “Pow R. Toch H.”

    4. I always thought she was a guy, just assumed for some reason…. Thanks for opening my eyes!

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