Sonia Bazanta Vides (born 1 August 1940), better known as Totó la Momposina, is a Colombian singer of

Afro-Colombian Afro-Colombians (), also known as Black Colombians (), are Colombians of total or predominantly Sub-Saharan African ancestry. Colombia has one of the largest African diaspora, Afro-descendant populations in South America, with government ...

and Indigenous descent. She reached international attention with the release of her 1993 album '' La Candela Viva'' on

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

's Real World Records label.Biography
at Real World. Totó accompanied

Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian writer and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th centur ...

to receive the

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

in 1982 as part of a Colombian cultural delegation performing during the award ceremony.

Biography

Totó was born in the northern Colombian town of Talaigua Nuevo near Mompox in the Bolívar Department. She is from the fourth generation of her family to be involved with music. Her father was a drummer and her mother was a singer and dancer. She studied at the

National University of Colombia The National University of Colombia () is a national public research university in Colombia, with general campuses in Bogotá, Medellín, Manizales and Palmira, and satellite campuses in Leticia, San Andrés, Arauca, Tumaco, and La Paz, ...

. She then studied for a year at the Sorbonne in Paris. She received the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013. In 2017, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from the National Pedagogic University in Colombia.

Discography

* ''Cantadora'' (MTM Auvidisc, 1983) * ''Colombia – Totó La Momposina y sus Tambores'' (Auvidis 4513, 1989) * '' La Candela Viva'' (Real World Records 31, 1992) * ''Carmelina'' (MTM, 1995) * ''Pacantó'' (Colombia: MTM/Europe:Nuevos Medios/USA: World Village, 2000) * ''Gaita y Tambores'' * ''Total'': 2-disc compilation *La Luna (Armada Deep, 2016) with Jude & Frank Notable usage * ''Michel Cleis feat – Totó La Momposina – La Mezcla'' – samples tracks "El Pescador" and "Curura" from the ''La Candela Viva'' album (2009) * Two songs from ''La Candela Viva'' were included on the soundtrack of the 1997 movie '' Jungle 2 Jungle''. * Her song "La Verdolaga" was sampled on Rich Boy's "Get to Poppin'" produced by Brian Kidd. It has also been sampled by Jay Z for the song "Blue's Freestyle/We Family" on his '' 4:44'' album. The song featured his daughter Blue Ivy Carter. The track was released as a bonus song several weeks after the albums original public release. * Two of her songs, "La Verdolaga" and "Mohana", were featured in the soundtrack for

John Sayles John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an American independent film director, screenwriter, editor, actor, and novelist. He is known for writing and directing the films '' The Brother from Another Planet'' (1984), '' Matewan'' (1987), ...

' 1997 movie, '' Men With Guns''. * Her song "La Verdolaga" was covered on P18 (band)'s "Urban Cuban'" in 1999. * Her 1993 Colombian cumbia classic "Curura" was sampled by

Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music and DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. They were founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after three years in 2011. He was the ...

featuring

J Balvin José Álvaro Osorio Balvín (born 7 May 1985), known professionally as J Balvin, is a Colombian singer. He is one of the best-selling Latin artists, with 35 million records sold worldwide. Balvin was born in Medellín. At age 17, he moved to th ...

in the song titled "Que Calor". * Her songs "El Pescador" and "Curura" were once again sampled in the 2023 song "Curura" released on Belgian label Smash The House by Wolfpack, Jaxx & Vega and DJ Junior. It was premiered by Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike four years earlier on

Tomorrowland Tomorrowland may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Tomorrowland (Disney Parks), a theme land at a number of Disney theme parks around the world * Tomorrowland (festival), an annual electronic dance music festival in Boom, Belgium * ''Tom ...

. * Her song "Rosa" was sampled in 2024 by Iranian-Dutch artist Sevdaliza in her songle "Alibi" also featured Brazilian singer Pabllo Vittar and French singer-songwriter Yseult.

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

, - ,

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, , ''El Asunto'' , , Best Tropical Latin Album , , , -

Latin Grammy Awards

Totó la Momposina has two Latin Grammy awards from four nominations for her collaboration with the urban group Calle 13 on their song " Latinoamérica", receiving in 2013 the lifetime achievement award. , - ,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, , ''Pacantó'' , ,

Best Folk Album The Grammy Award for Best Folk Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for releasing albums in the Folk music, folk genre. Honors ...

, , , - ,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, , ''Pacantó'' , , Best Traditional Tropical Album , , , - ,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, , ''La Bodega'' , , Best Traditional Tropical Album , , , - , style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2",

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, , " Latinoamérica" , ,

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...

, , , - , "Latinoamérica" , , Song of the Year , , , - ,

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, , Special Awards , , Lifetime Achievement Award , , , - ,

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, , ''El Asunto'' , ,

, , , -

Premios Nuestra Tierra

A Premio Nuestra Tierra is an accolade that recognize outstanding achievement in the Colombian music industry. Totó la Momposina has received a nomination. , - , style="text-align:center;" rowspan="1", 2014 , , "La Candela Viva" (with Jorge Celedón) , , Best Folk Performance of the Year , ,

References

External links

Totó La Momposina official website

Indigenous Cactus Flutes, Afro-Colombian Drums and Brass Bands – Totó La Momposina Puts Colombia's Soul on the World Stage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toto La Momposina Living people 20th-century Colombian women singers Cumbia musicians Real World Records artists 1948 births Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Sony Music Colombia artists Women in Latin music National University of Colombia alumni Colombian pop singers Colombian women pop singers Spanish-language singers of Colombia