Obituary
The renowned "Queen of Cumbia" died amid ongoing medical complications
Totó La Momposina, the revered vocalist and global ambassador for Colombian Caribbean folk traditions, has died at 85 in Mexico following a prolonged battle with neurocognitive health complications.
According to various reports, the singer was pronounced dead on Tuesday, May 19. Her death was confirmed by Colombia’s Ministry of Culture and her family, with her son, Marcio Vinicio, telling Blu Radio that his mother “died in peace” after spending several months in palliative care.
Born Sonia Bazanta Vides in 1940 in Talaigua Nuevo, near the historic town of Santa Cruz de Mompós, Totó La Momposina built a career rooted in the rhythms and oral traditions of Colombia’s Caribbean coast. She began performing alongside relatives at local celebrations during the Fifties before forming her own ensemble, Sus Tambores, in the late-Sixties. That group would eventually carry her music across Europe and Latin America, helping introduce cumbia and bullerengue to audiences far beyond Colombia.
