"New" Yma Sumac Book Now Available!!! - Tiki Music

M Mrdevine Member Joined: Jan 07, 2005 Posts: 10	M Mrdevine Posted posted on Sat, Sep 6, 2008 11:18 PM This book is VILE. The author does not know Yma Sumac, and in fact is an OPERA critic. The "positive" reviews you may see on Amazon, for this outrageously priced book, are written by those mentioned (if not praised) in the book. The rest of us are horrified. There are deeply personal things in this debacle, despite interviewees being told it was a mere "CAREER OVERVIEW." So we all talked quite loosely, only to find EVERY word we said printed in this thing! Sumac's voice is critiqued NOTE BY NOTE, with the word "stacatti" insanely overused throughout. This WILL NOT INTEREST the Tiki community, and I know you all very well. I KNOW what you like about Sumac, as I am her personal assistant and makeup man and webmaster of her site. I met many of you at Hukilau in Florida. This book will DESTROY all of your Exotica fantasies and you will come away from it depressed, and minus $30. I read it in a hotel in San Diego a few months back, and felt "dark" and "invaded" for DAYS afterwards. Miss Sumac is desperately ill right now and will not be recovering. This ghastly book COULD NOT have come at a more cruel time period. If she were to read it, it would kill her, this I assure you, as it dismantles everything she loved and was proud of. And some of the people she had arguments with or parted ways with for a short while, were interviewed OVER A DECADE AGO. The book leaves you thinking "that was that" when in fact three of the interviewees went on to be quite close to her. She is compared ENDLESSLY to an opera performer, and CRUCIFIED for her alleged "kitsch" and "exotica" (which I happen to know you all appreciate very much). The book has no business being plugged on this site, of ALL sites. I know this woman very well. She is like a very close grandmother to me. I am not a sycophant OR an idiot, when I tell you, SOME of Yma Sumac's "myths" are NOT myths at all! I have seen her calm wild animals with a certain look in her face or her voice, and in Macchu Picchu (in 2006) a small bird flew directly to her, sang to her, waited till she responded and then flew away. I have this on video! She is not a "regular" woman! This book knows only what came from 1000 newspaper concert reviews and interviews with a few older gay men with very wild imaginations and a flair for grande embellishment. ANY of us could have "written" this. Any and ALL assumptions about her private life are incorrect, as well as certain alleged "facts" mentioned. I dog-eared the factual errors throughout and could hardly close the book afterwards! Wait a few years. You'll get the facts---the good with the bad, the often strange truths and a deeper understanding of the complex lady behind the legend. IN FACT---she is not so different from what you see on stage or the two documentaries about her. Sometimes it seems as though only her attire and makeup are different! She is beautiful, ferocious, sweet, imperious and innocent (in many ways). I am sure most fans have already gathered this, if they have met her for even a few minutes and, in fact, can probably detect most of this in the music. I have learned from this book, how much we can't accept all that we read as "fact." Famous people's bios are best written by friends, [close]family or co-workers. Seriously. I have restrained from writing a review on Amazon, only because they do not allow foul language on there, and I am quite prone to it, when highly disgusted. Why did she not write her own biography? Because she thought she would live forever (or at least to age 120!) and kept putting it off. With a heavy heart, I can assure you, she will be with us but a short while longer. She turns 86 on September 13th and is not well. Your kindness and support have always meant the world to her, I want you to know that. We spent joyous years going through fanmail, gifts, photos and records sent from all over the world. Her face truly lit up then. That is the image I hope to keep of her in my mind and heart. Sincerely, Damon Devine You can send her a card or whatever you like at: Yma Sumac 4013 W. Sunset Blvd suite #8 Los Angeles, CA 90029 [ Edited by: Mrdevine 2008-09-06 23:36 ]

This book is VILE. The author does not know Yma Sumac, and in fact is an OPERA critic. The "positive" reviews you may see on Amazon, for this outrageously priced book, are written by those mentioned (if not praised) in the book. The rest of us are horrified. There are deeply personal things in this debacle, despite interviewees being told it was a mere "CAREER OVERVIEW." So we all talked quite loosely, only to find EVERY word we said printed in this thing!

Sumac's voice is critiqued NOTE BY NOTE, with the word "stacatti" insanely overused throughout. This WILL NOT INTEREST the Tiki community, and I know you all very well. I KNOW what you like about Sumac, as I am her personal assistant and makeup man and webmaster of her site. I met many of you at Hukilau in Florida. This book will DESTROY all of your Exotica fantasies and you will come away from it depressed, and minus $30. I read it in a hotel in San Diego a few months back, and felt "dark" and "invaded" for DAYS afterwards.

Miss Sumac is desperately ill right now and will not be recovering. This ghastly book COULD NOT have come at a more cruel time period. If she were to read it, it would kill her, this I assure you, as it dismantles everything she loved and was proud of. And some of the people she had arguments with or parted ways with for a short while, were interviewed OVER A DECADE AGO. The book leaves you thinking "that was that" when in fact three of the interviewees went on to be quite close to her.

She is compared ENDLESSLY to an opera performer, and CRUCIFIED for her alleged "kitsch" and "exotica" (which I happen to know you all appreciate very much). The book has no business being plugged on this site, of ALL sites.

I know this woman very well. She is like a very close grandmother to me. I am not a sycophant OR an idiot, when I tell you, SOME of Yma Sumac's "myths" are NOT myths at all! I have seen her calm wild animals with a certain look in her face or her voice, and in Macchu Picchu (in 2006) a small bird flew directly to her, sang to her, waited till she responded and then flew away. I have this on video! She is not a "regular" woman!

This book knows only what came from 1000 newspaper concert reviews and interviews with a few older gay men with very wild imaginations and a flair for grande embellishment. ANY of us could have "written" this. Any and ALL assumptions about her private life are incorrect, as well as certain alleged "facts" mentioned. I dog-eared the factual errors throughout and could hardly close the book afterwards!

Wait a few years. You'll get the facts---the good with the bad, the often strange truths and a deeper understanding of the complex lady behind the legend. IN FACT---she is not so different from what you see on stage or the two documentaries about her. Sometimes it seems as though only her attire and makeup are different! She is beautiful, ferocious, sweet, imperious and innocent (in many ways). I am sure most fans have already gathered this, if they have met her for even a few minutes and, in fact, can probably detect most of this in the music.

I have learned from this book, how much we can't accept all that we read as "fact." Famous people's bios are best written by friends, [close]family or co-workers. Seriously. I have restrained from writing a review on Amazon, only because they do not allow foul language on there, and I am quite prone to it, when highly disgusted.

Why did she not write her own biography? Because she thought she would live forever (or at least to age 120!) and kept putting it off. With a heavy heart, I can assure you, she will be with us but a short while longer. She turns 86 on September 13th and is not well.

Your kindness and support have always meant the world to her, I want you to know that. We spent joyous years going through fanmail, gifts, photos and records sent from all over the world. Her face truly lit up then. That is the image I hope to keep of her in my mind and heart.

Sincerely, Damon Devine

You can send her a card or whatever you like at:

Yma Sumac
4013 W. Sunset Blvd suite #8
Los Angeles, CA
90029

[ Edited by: Mrdevine 2008-09-06 23:36 ]

Post #406397 by Mrdevine on Sat, Sep 6, 2008 11:18 PM