Totó La Momposina, Colombian Artist Who Elevated Caribbean Folk Music to Global Stage, Dead at 85
She "carried the culture and memory of the Colombian people to the far corners of the world," her family wrote.
Black News 
Totó La Momposina, the legendary Colombian artist who elevated Caribbean folk music to the global stage, died on Sunday (May 17) in Mexico at the age of 85.
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The passing of the singer was confirmed by her family, Colombia’s president and the Ministry of Culture.
“Farewell, dear Mother Totó la Momposina. With deep sorrow, we, her children Marco Vinicio, Angélica María, and Euridice Salomé Oyaga Bazanta, announce the passing of our mother Sonia Bazanta Vides, better known as Totó la Momposina, surrounded by her family in Celaya, Mexico, on Sunday, May 17. Cause of death: myocardial infarction,” her family shared on Totó la Momposina’s official Instagram page on Tuesday (May 19). “Totó was a woman who, with her voice and extraordinary dedication, carried the culture and memory of the Colombian people to the far corners of the world.”
“Today we bid farewell to the eternal Totó … To the eternal maestro who traveled the world to the rhythm of cumbias, porros, mapalés, and bullerengues born in the heart of our land,” posted the Ministry of Culture on X Tuesday. “To the eternal Momposina who spoke of traditional Caribbean music, promoted it, and enriched it for decades to write an entire chapter of our country’s cultural history.”
Colombian president Gustavo Petro also honored her memory, writing on X, “Toto la Momposina, my dear friend and a luminary of Colombian Caribbean art and culture, has passed away. May she soar high to the stars.”
Totó La Momposina achieved her first and only Billboard top 10 in 2011 through her featured role in Calle 13’s “Latinoamérica,” which also starred Susana Baca and Maria Rita; the song reached a No. 9 high on Latin Digital Song Sales.
Born in 1940 in Talaigua Nuevo, Bolívar, Totó La Momposina came from a musical family and began performing in the 1960s. She later studied music and folklore in Bogotá, Paris and Cuba. Her global breakthrough came in the 1993’s with La Candela Viva, released through Peter Gabriel’s Real World Records, which helped introduce Colombian folk music to the world.
According to her family’s Instagram post, her body will be transported from Mexico to Colombia on May 27. A posthumous tribute will be held to celebrate her life and work.
