Totó La Momposina exemplifies the living tradition of Colombian folk music, having carefully studied and performed her native song and dance for several decades. Colombia's indigenous music is a heavily rhythmic hybrid of Spanish, native South American, and Afro-Cuban influences, and La Momposina mastered its different styles and rhythmic variations so well that she was invited to perform at the 1982 Nobel Prize ceremony for Colombian novelist %Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Totó La Momposina was born in the village of Talaigua, on the island of Mompos, located in the Magdalena River near Colombia's northern coast. Not only was her family musical (her parents were fourth-generation musicians, her father a drummer, her mother a singer and dancer), but her village was blessed with the presence of Ramona Ruiz, a skilled, veteran cantadora (female peasant singer) who helped train La Momposina in her teenage years.
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