Toto la Momposina

Toto is the certainly the greatest messenger of traditional Colombian music around the globe. She is the fourth generation of musicians in her family. She started to sing and dance at a very young age and her professional career began at the end of the 60s. Her music is a pure mix of African, Indian and Latin influences: cumbia, porro, chalupa, bolero, mapale, among many other styles… Everything she plays and sings tells a long story about music, influences and people but at the same time feels so natural. During the 80s, Toto lived in Paris, where she recorded two albums. Now she travels the world in order to share her amazing talent and the roots of her ancestral culture.

We met Toto during a beautiful sunny day in Bogota. She was with her whole band-- almost ten musicians: trumpet, clarinet, babybass, tipple, and 3 drummers! We started recording a version of her famous tune "Los sabores del porro" in front of a giant tree. The band sounded amazing and Toto totally charmed us with her beautiful voice and her unbelievable sincerity. Then Toto agreed to sing a verse on our Song Around Colombia (La tierra del Olvido, by Carlos Vives). She started to improvise and immediately brought the song to another level.