“Is it rhythm, merely rhythm, that
moves my heart? Is it merely the rhythm of the words, the cadence of
falling notes that floods me with longing, calling to me?
Does rhythm have memory, can it
travel through time and make the old forever new? Can it tell us of
other nights, caress us? Does it have a feeling, to make us dance alive
in our skin?” – Susana Baca, in her introduction to her self-titled album
I immediately fell in love with her voice – a beguiling voice with a
plaintiveness, expressiveness, soulfulness that comes only with a deep
attachment to what she is singing.
Heard two of her songs on two separate Putumayo albums, I didn’t
immediately recognize that the same voice sang two of my favorites –
Maria Lando and
Valentin – until I sat down to read the liner notes.
Maria Lando got Susana
noticed. She appeared in the 1955 Luaka Bop album “The Black Soul of
Peru” produced by David Byrne. The song is a lando, a mournful
Afro-Peruvian rhythm that’s a cross between the samba and cha cha.
Susana’s voice aptly captures the “sufferation” of a working woman in
the big city.
Valentin, meanwhile, is an
Afro-Peruvian classic. Sung from the point of view of a man about to
fight Valentin, he complains because his foe is armed with a stick.
These two songs led me to search for her albums and I finally decided
upon her self-titled album. (Well, there were only two albums
available, wasn’t really a tough choice! And I have put the other in my
“must buys.”)
The album is a beautiful selection of traditional (Molino Molero, Zamba
Malato, Enciendete Candela), ballads (Negra Presuntuosa, Heces, Tu
Mirada y Mi Voz), and even the pasyon-like song Señor de los Milagros.
The themes are varied yet are very Filipino! Quite a few deal with love
– a hidden love, unrequited love! You can’t get bored, wondering what’s
next in her line-up.
But behind the voice is an activist at heart. Recognized as one of the
greatest divas in South America, Susana is a dedicated researcher,
working tirelessly to revive many forms of Afro-Peruvian folklore (song
and dance). She and her husband have set up a cultural center and
school dedicated to preserving Afro-Peruvian traditions.
“Our greatest challenge is to find
the one true rhythm of freedom – something like the wind that allows a
bird to fly, or a new language more powerful than speech, that holds
you.”
Valentin 
Maria Lando
Go buy Susana Baca's album's online!
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