Susana Baca

Susana Baca ranks among the foremost interpreters of the Afro-Peruvian musical tradition, her exceptional vocal timbre matched by a profound capacity for expressive delivery. Global recognition arrived in 1995 when her version of the poignant “Maria Lando,” depicting the hardships faced by laborers in developing nations, appeared on David Byrne’s compilation The Soul of Black Peru. Multiple U.S. tours followed, along with a series of recordings that encompassed her self-titled debut for Byrne’s Luaka Bop imprint, Del Fuego y del Agua issued by Tonga Productions, the 2002 release Espíritu Vivo, 2006’s Travesías, and the 2009 collection Seis Poemas. After touring behind 2010’s Mama she returned to the studio for Afrodiaspora in 2011. Peru honored her career contributions by appointing her Minister of Culture, and in November 2011 she was chosen by the Organization of American States to chair its Commission of Culture through 2013. Two tracks on Snarky Puppy’s Family Dinner, Vol. 2 featured her voice in 2016. During the pandemic she captured A Capella: Grabado en Casa Durante la Cuarentena entirely alone at home, later resuming group sessions for 2021’s Palabras Urgentes.

Born in Chorrillos, the historic Black coastal district near Lima whose residents trace their lineage to the Spanish colonial era, Baca grew up in a household steeped in music: her father played guitar, her mother danced, and Cuban artists such as Pérez Prado and Beny Moré filled the family’s listening sessions. Public notice first came while she was still a student; she assembled an experimental ensemble that fused poetry with song and secured grants from both Peru’s Institute of Modern Art and the National Institute of Peruvian Culture. Composer and singer Chabuca Granda became her mentor and urged her to record, yet a 1983 contract dissolved after Granda’s passing. Baca then devoted herself to documenting Afro-Peruvian heritage. Together with her husband, the internationally acclaimed musician Ricardo Pereira, she established the Instituto Negrocontinuo in Lima to safeguard that cultural legacy.

The Seis Poemas EP appeared in 2009, followed by the widely praised full-length Afrodiaspora in 2010, the same year Baca received her appointment as Peru’s Minister of Culture—the second Afro-Peruvian to occupy the post. November 2011 brought her election as President of the Organization of American States Commission of Culture, a role she held for two years. Live performances resumed in 2014, and two cuts on Snarky Puppy’s Family Dinner, Vol. 2 again showcased her contributions in 2016. When the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted an ongoing band project, her husband suggested she record A Capella: Grabado en Casa Durante la Cuarentena solo at home; the resulting set comprised standards she had often performed unaccompanied in concert. Ensemble work returned with Palabras Urgentes in 2021. Marking five decades in music, Baca enlisted Snarky Puppy’s Michael League as producer and revisited material with deep roots, among them “La Herida Oscura” by her longtime associate Chabuca Granda, the 1937 tango “Milonga de Mis Amores” by Pedro Laurenz, the salsa staple “Sorongo” by Tite Curet Alonso, and a fresh version of “Vestida de Vida,” the title track from her 1997 album of the same name.