Lima (Peru), 1944

By Fernanda Gdynia Morotti

Susana Esther Baca de la Colina is an Afro-Peruvian historian, musician, educator, singer, and composer. Born in Chorrillos, a small fishing village in the district of Lima, she grew up immersed in music and the arts related to Afro-Peruvian roots. She served as the Minister of Culture in Ollanta Humala’s government, assuming office in August 2011, but remained in the position for only 133 days before being dismissed alongside nine other ministers due to a presidential reform. Between 2011 and 2013, she also chaired the Inter-American Culture Commission of the Organization of American States (OAS).

Baca graduated from the Instituto de Arte Moderna del Peru and the Instituto Nacional de Cultura Peruana, earning her degree from Universidad Enrique Guzmán in 1968. In 2009, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the institution.

For ten years, she traveled along the Peruvian coast, collecting testimonies and documents from Afro-descendant communities to record and preserve Afro-Peruvian traditions. This research led to the publication of her book Del fuego y del agua in 1992, which inspired the album of the same name released in 2012.

As a singer, she has received numerous awards, including two Latin Grammy Awards: in 2002 for the album Lamento negro and in 2011 for the song “Latinoamérica,” recorded in collaboration with Puerto Rican hip-hop group Calle 13, Colombian artist Totó, and Brazilian singer Maria Rita. She has released six albums under the Luaka Bop label of American musician David Byrne, including the acclaimed Afrodiáspora (2011), which helped bring her music to a global audience.

In 2014, she published the book Lo africano en el Perú: el amargo camino de la caña dulce in collaboration with her husband Ricardo Pereira and researcher Francisco Basili. She has been honored with the Order of Arts and Letters of the French Republic and the Order of Merit of the Republic of Peru. Baca manages an Afro-Peruvian cultural center that offers classes in traditional music.

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