Hailed as One of the Greatest Vocalists of Peru--Susana Baca to Perform in S.A.

Susana Baca, the internationally-recognized Afro-Peruvian performer, will debut in San Antonio on Saturday, September 25, 2010 at 7pm as part of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center's Encanto en la Lucha concert series. Opening for Susana Baca will be San Antonio’s own Trio Azul, including Azul and local jazz musicians Bett Butler & Joel Dilley. The concert will be at Our Lady of the Lake University’s Thiry Auditorium (411 SW 24th St). This is Baca’s ONLY Texas tour stop!


As a part of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center’s ongoing commitment to provide low-cost cultural programming for the San Antonio community, tickets prices will be: $8 for open seating (upstairs) and $10 for reserved seating (downstairs). Tickets can be purchased at the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, 922 San Pedro Avenue, San Antonio, TX. Ticket sales begin Wednesday, August 18, 2010. Special seating will be available upon request for elders and people will disabilities.

Hailed as one of the great voicalists of Peru, Susana Baca has also dedicated her life to the research and preservation of Afro-Peruvian music and dance, and is credited as a key figure in reviving the culture of her people and bringing Afro-Latino music and dance to the world stage.

Born in the small coastal village of Chorrillos, Peru, Susana Baca’s music reflects the history of Afro-Peruvians who were descended from slaves. Traditional musical forms, including festejo and landó, incorporate African instruments, rhythms, and the element of improvisation also found in jazz, marking the connection of Baca’s music to its African roots. "My repertoire is both old and new… I have traditional songs about the life of our grandparents in the countryside, others are more about rhythm and dancing… there are those which in their joy and pain share a diversity of rhythmic and interpretative aims; like Afro-Peruvian culture, they are mixtures of very different forms.”

In 1992, Baca and her Bolivian husband Ricardo Pereira founded the Instituto Negrocontinuo (Black Continuum Institute) for the study and preservation of Afro-Peruvian music and dance. The Institute continues to be a space for young people to experiment with new music in Peru, which she hopes will lead to a new musical movement. “I would like to be remembered for my voice, of course," Baca says. "But also for helping to spread the music of my ancestors—all those people who were never recognized for their work or for their beautiful culture.” Baca’s 2009 album Seis Poemas is a tribute to her great mentor, Chabuca Granda, an Afro-Peruvian folk singer & songwriter of the previous generation who was an icon of the progressive movements of Latin America.