"If they say I am a Legend, then maybe I am a Legend"
The Story of Yma Sumac will begin as a legend; On a stormy day long time ago high up in the Andes a strange bird suddenly materializes like a strike of a lightning and starts singing in the most wondrous tones.. This is Yma Sumac, a gift to the world and mankind from the Gods of Inca.
On the one hand the film is a personal documentary about. the mythical image of Yma Sumac from the perspective of the Director brought up on the tales of this fantastic musical being, how she ran with the wind, how she talked to the birds and sang tigers to sleep…
On the other hand Yma herself tells her own story, about how she learnt to sing by listening to the sound of animals and nature – how she was discovered at a young age and years later thrown onto the path of fame and glory, touring the world, about her family and marriage as well as her meetings with other celebrities. She reviews her music, from the roots of Peruvian folk music, how it developed and was modernized through the co-operation with American composers and musicians – and how her music influenced contemporary popular music, as it still does.
Documentary, by Cesar Galindo. Produced by Anna G. Magnúsdóttir.
“Yma Sumac was the shining star of my childhood. When I was a kid she once came with her husband Moises Vivanco, to visit my family in Lima. At that time her name was Emperatris Chavarri, her beauty and charisma set her apart from others and to me she was someone from another world. The memory has stayed with me as a dream and I wasn’t sure if it was real until years later when my aunt dug out some old photos and articles about her from that time and told me stories from Yma’s youth, already then a musical genius with a Diva temperament, and about her way to fame and glory. I set out to get in contact with the star from my childhood, and four years later, in 2003, she finally granted me an audience. I was picked up from the airport in LA and then stayed in my hotel room for two days waiting for the meeting to happen. When I met her for the first time, she was wearing a light green dress, a turban and sunglasses – and in spite of her age, looking every bit the Diva and Superstar I remembered.”