María Isabel Granda Larco (Cotabamba, Apurímac, 1920 - Miami 1983) , better known as Chabuca Granda, was a beloved Peruvian singer and composer. She created and intepreted a vast number of Criollo waltzes with Afro-Peruvian rhythms. Her best known song is "La flor de la canela" (The Best of the Bunch" or "Cinnamon Flower".

Biography

She was born on the 3rd of September, 1920, in a copper mining area in the region of Apurimac, Peru. She began singing at 12 years old, in the school choir at the exclusive girl's school Colegio Sophianum, in San Isidro. At this age she sang as a soprano (an operation later gave her the deep voice for which she is remembered). However, she wasn't well known until after her divorce, a scandal in contemporary Lima's conservative Catholic society. Apur mac is a region in central Peru. ... San Isidro is the name of a number of places: The town of San Isidro, Davao Oriental, Philippines the district of San Isidro, in Lima, Peru the district of San Isidro, in Buenos Aires, Argentina This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise... Lima is the capital and largest city in Peru, as well as the capital of Lima Province. ...

Early in her career her work was expressive and picuresque - evoking the romantic and beautiful neighborhood of Barranco in Lima, with its grand French houses with impressive entrances and winter gardens. Some of her most famous songs from this period are “Lima de Veras”, “La flor de la Canela”, “Fina Estampa”, “Gracia”, “José Antonio”, and “Zeñó Manué”, to name a few. She broke the conventional rhythmic structure of the waltz, later broke convention with her poetic cadences as well. Later in her career she wrote songs dedicated to the Chilean Violeta Parra and to Javier Heraud, a Peruvian poet who died in 1968. Barranco is a district in Lima, Peru. ... Violeta del Carmen Parra Sandoval (October 14, 1917 - February 5, 1967) was a notable Chilean folklorist and visual artist. ...

Towards the end of her career, Chabuca Granda incorporated Afro-Peruvian rhythms into her work. Afro-Peruvian music, while popular, was not considered "high art" due to the prevalent racism and devaluation of Afro-Peruvian culture. She masterfully blended the suggestive and colorful rhythms into her work, enriching Peruvian popular music.

She died of heart problems in a clinic in Miami, in the United States, in 1983. Her voice and compositions are known far from the borders of her country, and her popularity has introduced the world to the fine and sensitive character of Peruvian music. The Magic City, The American Riviera, The Sixth Borough Location of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. ...

Chabuca Granda continued to make her presence felt a decade after her death, when Caetano Veloso used her song, "Fina Estampa," as the title track of an album released in 1994, while her song, "Maria Lando," written with Cesar Calvo, provided the North American breakthrough for Peruvian vocalist Susana Baca the following year.

Granda's song "La Flor De La Canela" has become an anthem for the city of Lima. Granda worked with a lengthy list of influential guitarists including Oscar Aviles, Martin Torres, Lucho Gonzalez, Alvaro Lagos, and Felix Casaverde.