Martha Toledo

Martha Toledo is an internationally recognized performer whose commanding presence embodies the sensibility and majesty of the Oaxacan culture. The Mexican singer's soulful sound evokes the pulsing, vibrant rhythm of her country's music legacy. With modern instrumentation and arrangements, Toledo brings a social awareness to her repertoire of classic and native songs. Many of these songs carry the contemporary message of respect and dignity, particularly for Latin American women. Biography Martha Toledo, la teca huiini' (Dear Juchiteca), is a Zapotec singer from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in southern Oaxaca, Mexico. Originally from the city of Juchitán, she now lives Oaxaca. She is an expressive singer and dazzling presence, who has performed all over Mexico (including at the National Auditorium in Mexico City), in northern California and throughout Austria. She has been featured twice at the Tamejavi Festival in Fresno, as well as several venues in the Bay Area in 2006. She performed a cappella at the Lluvia de Sueños Concert of Indigenous Poets and Singers in Chiapas and other Mexican festivals. Martha's first CD, "Teca Huiin'i," is a panorama, in Spanish and Zapotec, of traditional songs from her homeland, accompanied by guitar and a regional banda. She is producing her second CD, with songs based on the poetry of three women poets from Juchitán, Oaxaca, set to music. Martha appears in the documentary film, Blossoms of Fire, directed by Bay Area filmmaker, Maureen Gosling. Martha is also an excellent photographer, in the tradition of Graciela Iturbide and Mary Ellen Mark. (For more information visit: www.arteguenda.com.mx)