Marta Gomez @ GRAMMY Museum, 9/16/09

Photo by Mark Sullivan/Wire Image

Whether purposely or by accident, the late great Chilean folk singer Violeta Parra seems to have been reincarnated through fellow South American singer Marta Gomez.

Gomez recently took the stage at the GRAMMY Museum to help launch the first ever Latin Recording Academy Showcase, a program that will feature various Latin Recording Academy artists fortnightly, through November 4th. It was a performance that was part music and part interview, led by L.A. Times' writer Agustin Gurza.

Gurza expressed how impressed he was by her songwriting and how quickly he came to understand why her release Cantos de Agua Dulce had received so many accolades. Gomez added to the exchange by speaking about her early ventures into music, her inspirations and her career, beginning with the point that she comes from a family lacking any sort of musical inclination.

Gomez, a Cali, Colombia native, enjoyed singing from an early age, eventually joining a school choir where she was exposed to many of the genres that now can be heard in her own works, such as the folk music of the Pacific coast of her native Colombia. Her dream was to become a pop music star, but she later abandoned those plans after moving to the U.S. to study music at the Berklee College of Music.

Photo by Mark Sullivan/Wire Image

Her experience at Berklee was one of the most enriching periods of her life. While at Berklee, she was exposed to musicians from throughout the World and her sense for connecting to her cultural roots became more apparent to her. Her first song on the night, Carnavaleando, demonstrated that fusion. Featuring heavy Andean rhythms, but not necessarily those from Colombia, the song could easily be mistaken with music from Venezuela, Bolivia or other nearby neighbors.

As the night wore on, Gomez spoke of the inspirations for her various songs, including Negrito, a song inspired by a news story of a black boy in Colombia that nearly poisoned himself to death by drinking a bottle of bleach in his attempt to become white, thinking it would lead to a better life. The song has a clear message regarding the evils of racism, but despite its sad undertones, Gomez highlighted its upbeat musical tone. It was in some ways, reminiscent of Caetano Veloso's Odeio.

Gomez's sound, however, is unique, albeit, a bit difficult to describe. Gurza perhaps described it best when he described it as the Gomez after one of her songs. Each song is rich in various Latin American rhythms spanning the entire South American continent and the Caribbean, making it difficult to categorize. It is further complemented by her songwriting that evokes flashbacks of Parra, Veloso, Ruben Blades, Bob Marley and Gilberto Gil.

Next time she is in town, make sure to check her out, and don't forget to check out the GRAMMY Museum website to check out who else will be coming to town.