I know she wasn't a classical musician
But her name is one that classical fans tend to be aware of, and her passing may have been overshadowed by election coverage. So here's a link to an obituary for Yma Sumac, who died earlier this week.
The one story that many people know about her, or think they know about her, is that she wasn't really from Peru; she was from Brooklyn. And her real name wasn't Yma Sumac. It was Amy Camus--Yma Sumac, spelled backward!
Just where and when was she born in Brooklyn? And if she wanted to disguise her identity, why didn't she choose a less penetrable stage name? We were never told.
Well, it turns out that it was just a story, after all--as the world of Yma Sumac fandom and scholarship has documented.
Neat coincidence, though, and it fits neatly into the persona of mystery that she seemed to inhabit so easily.
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