The Queen Of Exotica: Yma Sumac And Her 5 Octave Range

Exotica is a musical genre style "a combination of the South Pacific and the Orient...what a lot of people imagined the islands to be like...it's pure fantasy though."

In 1951 Martin Denny released an album titled RITUAL OF THE SAVAGE. The suburbs had just come into being after World War 2 and a brutal depression that lasted longer than most people think. There was a sterile feeling to the suburbs and their planned communities, and Denny unleashed an atmospheric, layered album that instantly re-created a Pacific Island. Millions of Tiki parties and Tiki drinks would follow. The name of the music movement, was Exotica and millions of records were sold. The fashion style was the Hawaiian shirt!

Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chávarri del Castillo (born Zoila Emperatriz Chávarri Castillo; September 13, 1922 – November 1, 2008), known as Yma Sumac (or Imma Sumack), was a Peruvian-born vocalist, composer, producer, actress and model. "Ima sumaq" means "how beautiful" in Quechua. She has also been called Queen of Exotica and is considered a pioneer of world music. She won a Guinness World Record for the Greatest Range of Musical Value in 1956. Her debut album, Voice of the Xtabay (1950), peaked at number one in the Billboard 200, and its single, "Virgin of the Sun God (Taita Inty)", reached number one on the UK Singles Chart. It sold a million copies worldwide, becoming an international success in the 1950s. Albums like Legend of the Sun Virgin (1952), Fuego del Ande (1959) and Mambo! (1955), were other successes.

Almost immediately the music press simply couldn’t believe her musical range, her name or her back story. They claimed no human being could sing her range, that there had to be electronic manipulation of her voice. Her name couldn’t be Yma Sumac, it was Amy Camus and she was really from New York. I saw her sing her live. She still had the musical range and she was definitely not from New York.

Yma Sumac on David Letterman Show (1987)

In 1951, Sumac became the first Latin American female singer to debut on Broadway. In "Chuncho (The Forest Creatures)" (1953), she developed her own technical singing, named "double voice" or "triple coloratura". At the same time, she performed in the Carnegie Hall and Lewisohn Stadium. In 1960 she became the first Latin American woman to get a phonograph record star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Afterwards she toured the Soviet Union, selling more than 20 million tickets. According to Variety in 1974, Sumac had more than 3,000 concerts "covering the entire globe", breaking any previous records by a performer. Fashion magazine V listed her as one of the 9 international fashion icons of all times in 2010.She has sold over 40 million records, which makes her the best-selling Peruvian singer in history. -Wikipedia

Yma Sumac - Live in Russia

Photo: America had been fortunate in World War 2- it’s cities, supply lines and factories had survived the war. Every nail, every board and hammer was paid for by nations trying to rebuild. This launched the suburbs and a vibrant middle class in the U.S., but suburbs needed color. The Tiki Party would dominate not just partying in the burbs- but restaurants and bars in the U.S. as well. There had been a trend to Pacifica before the war, but nothing like Tiki and Exotica.

You had your exotic clothes, exotic music - and of course exotic drinks!

The 20 best Tiki Cocktails

Here's an overview of the best and most popular Tiki Cocktails. These tropical drinks will make you want to jump onto the next plane to the Caribbean in an instant.

The 20 Best Tiki Cocktail Recipes

Yma Sumac at the Ballroom, NYC, 1987

A complete performance of Yma Sumac's amazing comeback engagement at New York's Ballroom in 1987. The run was extended to a record-breaking seven weeks and every performance was sold out. She received rave reviews in all of the NY newspapers, as well as People Magazine, Time Magazine, Vogue, and the Washington Post. She even did the David Letterman Show.

The movement, and it really was more of a movement than a fad, started prior to the war. Long before Tiki became the rage after World War 2 and the mid 50's, The Tropics in Detroit opened in June of 1941:
A TROPICAL PARADISE
Adjoined to the Wolverine was The Tropics, "Michigan's most unusual night spot and cocktail lounge," as a postcard called it. A huge sign on top of the red brick building blazed "Tropics Room." Inside, bamboo fixtures, fake trees and papier mache animals transported Detroiters to the South Pacific.
The club was made up of the Native Village and the Cocktail Lounge. The former was a replica of a South Pacific island village that "skillfully captured all the beauty and charm of far-off tropic lands. A romantic atmosphere is added by the exotic music of a fine dance orchestra atop America's only traveling band stand," a postcard boasted.
The Native Village offered nightly dancing in air-conditioned comfort. The Cocktail Lounge was authentic right down to the pitter-patter of rain on the roofs of the Rainfall Bars. A waterfall tumbled down behind the bar. Orchestras lured couples out onto a large dance floor that was lighted up in colors.

Here’s the thing- Tiki has never really gone away. You can still find the glasses, clothes and music at Amazon! Watch people smile when you say you are throwing a Tiki Party!

Tiki culture in the United States began in 1934 with the opening of Don the Beachcomber, a Polynesian-themed bar and restaurant in Hollywood. The proprietor was Ernest Raymond Beaumont-Gantt, a young man from Louisiana who had sailed throughout the South Pacific; later he legally changed his name to Donn Beach. His restaurant featured Cantonese cuisine and exotic rum punches, with a decor of flaming torches, rattan furniture, flower leis, and brightly colored fabrics.

Three years later, Victor Bergeron, better known as Trader Vic, adopted a Tiki theme for his restaurant in Oakland, which eventually grew to become a worldwide chain. The theme took on a life of its own during the restaurant's growth in the Bay Area. The Trader Vic's in Palo Alto even spawned architectural choices, such as the concept behind the odd-looking Tiki Inn Motel, which still exists as the Stanford Terrace Inn.
California's World's Fair in 1939 – the Golden Gate International Exposition – celebrated for the first time Polynesian culture in the United States. The theme of this fair was "Pageant of the Pacific" primarily showcasing the goods of nations bordering the Pacific Ocean. The theme was physically symbolized by "The Tower of the Sun" and a giant, 80-foot statue of Pacifica, goddess of the Pacific ocean.

Ready for a harder deep dive? This playlist has the dance, music and style of Tiki or Exotica:

Tiki Party Playlist! Click here!

There are actually conventions of people Tiki partying! Take a look, click on WATCH ON YOUTUBE:

A Swingin’ Trip Through America’s Polynesian Obsession (Tiki Documentary):

Ultra-Lounge, Vol. 1: Mondo Exotica. Here is a mix of the top Exotica artists:

Listen to the top Exotica Music artists here!

Behind the paywall: The year is 1963 and an enchanting new attraction was about to open its doors at Disneyland! Enjoy the origins of the Audio-Animatronic and the early history of one of Walt's most treasured attractions: Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room!