Sonia Bazanta Vides (born 1 August 1940), better known as Totó la Momposina, is a Colombian singer of Afro-Colombian and Indigenous descent. She reached international attention with the release of her 1993 album La Candela Viva on Peter Gabriel's Real World Records label. Totó accompanied Gabriel García Márquez to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature 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. 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

Notable usage

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

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.

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.