Totó la Momposina
Sonia Bazanta Vides (1 August 1940 – 17 May 2026), better known as Totó la Momposina, was 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.
Also recorded as Toto la Momposina
Totó la Momposina
Ehollis1 · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Name
- Totó la Momposina
- Birth Name
- Sonia Bazanta Vides
- Born
- 1 August 1940
- Birthplace
- Talaigua Nuevo, Bolívar Department, Colombia
- Died
- 17 May 2026
- Place of death
- Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico
- Occupation
- Musician, songwriter
- Nationality
- Colombia.
- Fields
- cumbia.
- Education
- National University of Colombia.
- Honours
- Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
- Languages
- Spanish.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Sonia Bazanta Vides (1 August 1940 – 17 May 2026), better known as Totó la Momposina, was 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.
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q7828521 · wikipedia · Totó la Momposina
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Totó la Momposina • Birth Name — Sonia Bazanta Vides • Born — 1 August 1940 • Birthplace — Talaigua Nuevo, Bolívar Department, Colombia • Died — 17 May 2026 • Place of death — Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico • Instrument — Vocals • Genre — Cumbia, Bullerengue, Porro, Tambora Chalupa • Occupation — Musician, songwriter • Years Active — 1964–2022 • Label — Real World Records, Astar Artes Recordings • Website — totolamomposina.com
Life and career
Life and career
Totó was born in the northern Colombian town of Talaigua Nuevo, near Mompox in Bolívar Department, on 1 August 1940. She was part of the fourth generation of her family to be involved in 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. Totó received the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013. In 2017, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from the National Pedagogic University in Colombia. Totó la Momposina died in Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico, on 17 May 2026, at the age of 85.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1940
Totó la Momposina born at Talaigua Nuevo.
2026
Totó la Momposina died at Celaya.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Talaigua Nuevo.
Birth place
Celaya.
Death place
Discography
• Cantadora (MTM Auvidisc, 1983) • Colombia – Totó La Momposina y sus Tambores (Auvidis 4513, 1989) • La Candela Viva (Real World Records 31, 1992) • Carmelina (MTM, 1995) • Pacantó (Colombia: MTM/Europe:Nuevos Medios/USA: World Village, 2000) • La Bodega (Astar Artes 2010) • El Asunto (Sony Music Entertainment Colombia S.A.Bajo licencia de Sonia Bazanta 2014) • Tambolero (RealWorld Record 2015) • Compilations • Gaitas y Tambores (MTM 2002) • Tambores y Cantos (MTM 2013) Notable usage • Michel Cleis feat – Totó La Momposina – La Mezcla – samples tracks "El Pescador" and "Curura" from the La Candela Viva album (2009) • Two songs from La Candela Viva were included on the soundtrack of the 1997 movie Jungle 2 Jungle. • Her song "La Verdolaga" was sampled on Rich Boy's "Get to Poppin'" produced by Brian Kidd. It has also been sampled by Jay Z for the song "Blue's Freestyle/We Family" on his 4:44 album. The song featured his daughter Blue Ivy Carter. The track was released as a bonus song several weeks after the albums original public release. • Two of her songs, "La Verdolaga" and "Mohana", were featured in the soundtrack for John Sayles' 1997 movie, Men With Guns. • Her song "La Verdolaga" was covered on P18 (band)'s "Urban Cuban'" in 1999. • Her 1993 Colombian cumbia classic "Curura" was sampled by Major Lazer featuring J Balvin in the song titled "Que Calor". • Her songs "El Pescador" and "Curura" were once again sampled in the 2023 song "Curura" released on Belgian label Smash The House by Wolfpack, Jaxx & Vega and DJ Junior. It was premiered by Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike four years earlier on Tomorrowland. • Her song "Rosa" was sampled in 2024 by Iranian-Dutch artist Sevdaliza in her single "Alibi" also featured Brazilian singer Pabllo Vittar and French singer-songwriter Yseult.
Toto La Momposina in Bogota, 2010
Francois Viguie · own work / Hasselblad camera
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q7828521: Totó la Momposina
General reference · Wikidata
reference work
- “Totó la Momposina”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
References
Citations
References
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authority record
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
She also worked under the name Totó La Momposina. The authorities additionally record the heading Toto la Momposina. Her recorded language was Spanish. Recorded as having received Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Connected to 1 other published record in the VALÉORINE Encyclopedia.
Identity and origins
Within the Encyclopedia
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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