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Toto La Momposina is the laughing synthesis of African drums and Cuban soneros, libertine dances and humble prayers. Toto sings like a live-wire, taking trumpets and bombos into a sarabande where tradition feeds on modernity.
Her repertoire is made up of multiple rhythms, as rich and varied as the sounds and colours that spring out of them. With her scenic spontaneity and power Toto has secured the respect and admiration of audiences across the whole world.
Photo : D.R
Both singer and dancer, Toto La Momposina has earned respect and admiration thanks to the power and the spontaneity of her performances. Calling on the music and the dances of Caribbean Colombia, her work is the result of the blending of the different cultures that make up the country. It is the expression of a culture, whose origins are from Africa (the slaves), Spain (the colonists) and South America (the indigenous Indians). On stage, the band is composed almost entirely of traditional instruments: drums, gaitas (flutes), brass (trumpet and bombardino), tiple (twelve-stringed guitar), bass and percussion. The repertoire is made up of a multitude of rhythms such as cumbia, bullerenge, chalupa, garabato and mapale from the Caribbean coast, but also of Cuban sounds, guaracha, rumba and bolero-son, which arrived in Colombia via the village of San Basilio de Palenque. Like her ancestors Toto comes from the village of Talaigua (situated on an island called Mompos, hence “Momposina”), which is on the Magdalena river. In the 15th century the Spanish invasions forced the Indians (indigenous inhabitants of Mompos) to flee into the thick forests. Later on they married with fugitive slaves. “The music that I play, explains Toto, has its roots in a mixed race, both African and indigenous, which means the music is based entirely on percussion”. Coming from a family of five generations of musicians, Toto learnt to sing and dance as a child. Her father played the drums and her mother was a singer and dancer.
As a young girl Toto travelled from village to village, learning the rhythms and dances, and the art of the “Cantandoras” (traditional village singers). In 1968 she formed her first group and commenced her professional career, her voice and her presence on stage very quickly secured her reputation, she then went on international tour in Europe and South America. In 1982, she accompanied Gabriel Garcia Marquez to Stockholm to play at the ceremony for his Nobel Prize. Not long after she set up home in France and Germany. She recorded two albums in Paris at this time, Toto La Momposina for Auvidis and La Colombie – Musique de la côte atlantique for ASPIC.
In 1987, she returned to Colombia, toured South America and the Antilles and studied Bolero in Cuba. In 1991, WOMAD (Peter Gabriel’s organisation) invited her to take part in a number of festivals throughout the world. She recorded “La Candela Viva” for Real World in 1992. Since then Toto has not stopped performing across the globe and has brought out her latest album Carmelina on Indigo.
“We are born to accomplish a specific task. Talent is enriched by everything life teaches us, time bringing the potential to maturity. I learnt to take all that into consideration and to canalise it through my work and to respect everything that touches my work, i.e. my voice. I rest after each performance and get ready for the following day’s performance, because that expresses respect; It is a way of respecting and of projecting this respect onto the people who come to see me and those who will hear of me, my future audience.
The drums make your body vibrate and make it react in an instinctive and spontaneous manner. That is when you come out of yourself and forget everything around you. Nothing matters anymore.
I do not want to become a star on Earth but rather a star of the Universe.”
Toto La Momposina.
Contacts
Agent
Country: Royaume-Uni
Name: John Hollis / Astar
Tel: 44 1225 319 944
Fax: 44 1225 319 229
E-mail: admin@astarmusic.co.uk
Website: www.astarmusic.co.uk
Adress: 95, Penn Hill Road
BA1 3RT Bath
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