Susana Harp Iturribarria (born April 8, 1968) is a Mexican singer of traditional music. She currently serves as a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in the

LXIV Legislature of the Mexican Congress The LXIV Legislature of the Mexican Congress was the meeting of the Mexican Congress of the Union that convened on 1 September 2018 and ended on 31 August 2021. It is composed of the 500 federal deputies and 128 senators elected in the 2018 Me ...

, representing the state of

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...

Biography

Born in

Oaxaca de Juárez Oaxaca de Juárez (), also Oaxaca City or simply Oaxaca (Valley Zapotec: ''Ndua''), is the capital and largest city of the eponymous Mexican state Oaxaca. It is the municipal seat for the surrounding Municipality of Oaxaca. It is in the Centro ...

, her mother is from Oaxaca and her father is Lebanese, from a very small community in Mexico. In her childhood she was a quiet girl, but always showed interest in music as she was influenced by her grandfather Jorge Fernando Iturribarria. At the age of 16 she started studying singing although she remained focused in her academic career until completing a degree in psychology. At the age of 22 she moved to Mexico City to continue her formal studies followed at Gestalt Psychotherapy and a Masters in NLP. Finally in 1996 she pursued a musical career with a project called "Xquenda" which was her first album with songs in two Mexican languages Otomi and Zapotec, and also in Spanish. As a result the "Xquenda Cultural Association" was founded to support indigenous cultural projects.

Career

Harp, has performed in major venues in America and Europe as well as major festivals in Mexico promoting traditional Mexican music. She performs songs in indigenous languages such as Zapotec, Mixtec and Nahuatl as well as Spanish, projecting the culture of marginalized communities through music. To this date she has eight studio recordings and supports more than 50 cultural projects, both for independent artists and indigenous communities.

Politics

Senator Susana Harp discussing intellectual property rights with WIPO in 2022 In December 2017, Harp accepted an invitation from the

National Regeneration Movement MORENA () is a major Mexican left-wing political party. It is described as an anti-neoliberal and populist party. It is the ruling party of Mexico since 2018. The name is an acronym for the Movimiento Regeneración Nacional (National Regene ...

to serve as the party's state coordinator in Oaxaca, a position that set her on the path to be on its Oaxaca Senate ticket in 2018. She was elected to the

and named president of the Culture Commission.

Discography

* 1997 ''Xquenda''. * 2000 ''Béele Crúu''. * 2002 ''Mi Tierra''. * 2003 ''Arriba del Cielo''. (Up the Sky) * 2005 ''Ahora''. (Now) * 2008 ''Fandangos de Ébano''. (Ebony Fandangos) * 2009 ''De Jolgorios y Velorios''. (Of revelry and Wakes) * 2010 ''Mi Tierra, Vol II''. * 2014 ''Misterios gozosos''.

References

External links

Susanaharp.comSusana Harp -Blog-
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harp, Susana 1968 births Living people People from Oaxaca City Mexican people of Lebanese descent Mexican women singers Singers from Oaxaca Mayan-language singers Mixtecan-language singers Nahuatl-language singers Zapotec-language singers Morena (political party) politicians Politicians from Oaxaca Members of the Senate of the Republic (Mexico) for Oaxaca Women members of the Senate of the Republic (Mexico) 21st-century Mexican politicians 21st-century Mexican women politicians