October 12, 2024
YMA SUMAC UPDATE
Almost as soon as the last surprise was announced (see Hollywood Heritage Museum post below), another Yma Sumac event took place only days later! After 17 years, we felt a change was necessary. The previous image on Yma Sumac's final resting place always seemed to convey a "she's gone" feeling. We decided that this picture, one of the Diva's favorite pictures of herself, was a better choice. She's looking right at visitors in all her heavenly splendor. It's how Yma Sumac saw Yma Sumac, so it seemed more appropriate.
Judy Garland, Rudolph Valentino, Pee Wee Herman, Tyrone Power, Douglas Fairbanks and son, Vampira, Hollywood designer Adrian, Janet Gaynor, Cecil B Demille, and many other legends share this beautiful place with Yma Sumac, among peacocks, a huge peaceful pond, and hummingbirds.
YMA SUMAC AT HOLLYWOOD HERITAGE MUSEUM
Out with the Stars: Hollywood’s Famous and Forgotten Haunts, a 10-week summer exhibit at the historic Hollywood Heritage Museum, celebrates L.A.'s most beloved haunts of yesteryear. Memorabilia and artifacts from the Cocoanut Grove, Mocambo, Ciro's, the unforgettable Hollywood Canteen, Perino's, the Brown Derby, and many more are on display.
After reading about such places as a young girl, Yma Sumac always dreamed of being a part of the glamorous Hollywood nightlife. She achieved that, and often frequented these places. She performed at the Cocoanut Grove and Mocambo to huge success after she reached America. In her personal archives are many photos of her posing with various stars at these places.
The Yma Sumac Archives loaned Yma Sumac's Inca cape and headpiece worn on the cover of Voice of the Xtabay for the exhibit, as well as paper memorabilia and photographs of Sumac out on several Hollywood hotspots that defined celebrity culture of the 20th century.
The exhibit opens June 29 and runs for 10 weeks. For more info visit:
Variety: Out With the Stars at Hollywood Heritage Museum
Hollywood Heritage Museum
2100 Highland Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90068, USA
EXOTIKON - SATELLITE CHRISTMAS SHOW at the historic Mayan Theater was a wild success. We were there and gave a symposium complete with our condensed documentary that had a profound effect on the audience. We are still looking for a reputable documentarian / producer to work with in order to create a feature length documentary. A proper Yma Sumac documentary cannot be done without us for innumerable reasons.
After the documentary, there was a question and answer session with Damon Devine of this website and Leonardo Baricala, assistant archivist of the Yma Sumac Archives. In the lobby was a beautiful display of never-before-seen Yma Sumac headdresses we brought with us. Sumac's peacock headdress, as well as the headdress from the cover of her Miracles album were featured. The centerpiece was the tiara from Sumac's performance on the Hollywood Palace TV show (1964). That performance can be seen on Miss Sumac's official YouTube channel. Watch here.
Damon Devine and Leonardo Baricala
YMA SUMAC AT EXOTIKON
The first ever Exotikon took place June 23rd to the 25th, 2023 at the Wisdome in Los Angeles, CA. Exotikon is an immersive festival celebrating Exotica Music and all that goes with it! Yma Sumac is the Queen of Exotica so it was only appropriate that she be a featured part of the event. Many pieces of Yma Sumac's most iconic wardrobe and jewelry (most never seen in public before) were on display all three days. We presented a symposium on Yma Sumac with never before seen images, film footage, and music directly from the Official Yma Sumac Archives. A very special performance by Mambo Diabolico took place on the evening of June 23rd. Their 12-piece band reprised their sold out Yma Sumac Tribute show from last September at the historic venue, El Cid. Here are some exclusive photos from the amazing event:
YMA SUMAC SQUARE IN HOLLYWOOD
At the beginning of 2022, we created a beautifully illustrated proposal to Los Angeles District 13 office in hopes of creating an Yma Sumac Square in Hollywood. We used vintage certificates, photos, awards, and other accolades directly from the Official Yma Sumac Archives in the proposal. Carmen Miranda and Celia Cruz have square dedications, so it seemed quite appropriate that Yma Sumac should have one, too.
Thanks to the dedication and support of Mitch O'Farrell's office, Hollywood, and the City of Los Angeles, it happened!
On September 22nd, 2022 at 10:30am, to wrap up almost 3 weeks of celebration of Yma Sumac's Centenary in Hollywood, the intersection of Wilcox Ave and Hollywood Blvd (right by Yma Sumac's star on the Walk of Fame) was officially - and permanently - named Yma Sumac Square. Because Yma Sumac was the first singer of either gender to give concerts in all 4 corners of the world, YMA SUMAC SQUARE plaques were placed (for the first time in the history of Hollywood) in all 4 corners of the intersection.
You can watch the unveiling ceremony here:
YMA SUMAC COMEMORATIVE STAMP
There is a bit of controversy in Peru about them not having done anything significant for Yma Sumac's 100th birthday, in comparison to all Hollywood has done for her. Well... Something beautiful was released in the form of a nationwide postage stamp! Me and my assistant created the images seen on the stamp and its colorful packaging. A Peruvian artist added some very nice embellishments and this is the result! The stamps were released in Peru by Serpost on September 30th and will be a limited edition of 5000.
YMA SUMAC STATUE AT HOLLYWOOD FOREVER CEMETERY
Here's a couple images of the Yma Sumac statue at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles. It will be a permanent addition to the iconic cemetery. The statue was made and donated by artist Martin Espinoza Grajeda and was brought all the way from France. We supplied around 50 images of Yma Sumac's face in every angle possible so the artist could sculp Yma Sumac's beautiful face and very recognizable make-up. This is the first statue of Yma Sumac to ever be installed for public viewing.
We were recently featured in a great article in the Los Angeles Times, you can read that here and in El Comercio from Peru, and you can find that here.
It should be noted Yma Sumac's Wikipedia pages (both in English and especially in Spanish) are filled with dubious sources and agenda ridden information written by a fanatical Yma Sumac "fan". Therefore, Wiki is not an accurate source of information. Please refer to our TIMELINE for real and verified information, taken from Yma Sumac's own documents.
