Can you describe your first contact with music?

I believe that I was born singing and I think like all artists in general at school parties, at house parties in my neighborhood in places where one is born. I participated in singing contests in television where I won second place. From there I formed a dance group that was a part of the choreography of the singers on the television program. We were black women and we were called "Los Muñequitas de Eva". 

How old were you?

This was in the years 1976 and 1977. I was around 13 or 14 years old. In 1970 the producer of the program who had heard me sing, told me that I will forget about being a dancer and would become a singer at that moment. Since August 15th, 1970, I have been singing. This is my 30th anniversary in the musical scene. 

Were there any other singers in your family?

There were no other artists in my family. My grandmother was the one who helped me, took me to all the places that I had to sing because my parents were not in agreement with me being an artist. Now yes, now my parents are proud and happy for me. 

Where did you grow up?

I am from the city of Lima. 

When and how did you decide to follow a musical career?

In reality I did not decide, life chose me. I was a singer. I had other aspirations, other wishes but the music scene was my first love.

Can you talk about the community that you grew up in? How did you become interested in black Peruvian music like Lando and creole music?

Yes. The black music of my country that is heard daily is the music that is on the radio. I am in reality a creole singer of Tonteros and Marineras and I am a folkloric singer, black folklore and mixed. My show is a mix of creole music and black music. But in reality I am a pop music and urban folklore singer. 

Throughout your career you have combined creole music with contemporary music...do you think this has helped to popularize black music in Perú?

In reality yes, it is already a purely mixed music. Pure black (Peruvian) music, in reality does not exist. It doesn't exist because the people who made it, who created it are not with us anymore. The times have changed. We are in the 21st century and it is something like this: before existed communication through letters, people only communicated through letters and through the telephone. But now there's the internet. Now we have the internet with cameras. You don't have the need to write a letter or call over the phone because one can send an instant message, put your camera on and see a person. This is how I understand the evolution that is happening in music, in the world, no?

Many people in the United States don't know about Peruvian music. What do you want people in the United States and other countries to know about Peruvian music?

This is absolutely what I want, that people know more about Perú. That they know that Perú is not just the bad news that is on television. Perú is a beautiful country, a marvelous country with three marked regions: the mountain range, the jungle and the coast where I come from. I am a black woman from the coast and our music is very beautiful. We have music from the mountainside with their dress and their "lamentos", their guitars. We have music from the jungle with their dances with the pots and utensils that they make sounds with. We have coastal music that is divided in various parts, in the north, the center and the south. In the north we have little northern dances that the women do. The northern dances are the Marinera and the Tondero. In the capital we have these creole dances that returned with the black slaves that arrived in Perú because they mixed it with the cajon. To the south we have black music because in the south in my country there still exists a majority of black people but cimarrons (marroons). I wish that Perú is known for those things.

What do you think of other Peruvian singers like Susana Baca?

In reality she works outside of the country. She does not work much in Lima. She is totally the opposite of me. I work a lot in my country. People outside of my country do not know about me. But Susana's music is beautiful. 

Which artists would you like to work with in the future?

I have a very diverse taste. I like salsa a lot. I would like one day, if God permits me, to sing with Gilberto Santa Rosa. The opportunity is gone for me to sing with Celia Cruz. She knew me very well. We had a lovely friendship. We wrote each other every Christmas. She always remembered my son's birthday and sent him a gift with his birthday cards, my older son who is know seventeen years old. I would have wanted to sing with her. I also would like to sing with Alberto Cortez from Argentina, who know lives in Spain. I would like to sing with Pavarotti, with Marc Anthony, with Sting. It would be marvelous to do this type of cross.

Can you talk about your latest projects?

Surely. Now with this double Grammy nomination that I have, I am filled with a lot of responsibility because I have to work very hard to record and work here outside (of my country). My tour ends in Boston, August 24th. I will return to Perú to complete some concerts because I also sing Jazz but I sing with a saxophonist. We are going to do a series of concerts where I will sing boleros and Jazz. After that in November, I have to return to Los Angeles to work with Alex Acuña and Los Hijos del Sol, to do a second CD. And there I will return to my country. Every weekend for the past three consecutive years, I perform at a local place called "El Alhambra".

How has your experience been here in the United States?

I have been here before many times. This is not my first time in the United States. I have came here before to sing to the Peruvian community but lately I have been seen by many different people. In March of this year I performed at the Kennedy Center for a marvelous festival that was attended by only Americans. There was only two Peruvians and the rest were Americans. I will be performing in the Queens festival and I don't speak English yet but I promise that I will learn. I was the only artists to have two shows in one night. And there a lot of Americans came as well. My American audience is growing.