Suni Paz

Paz in 2009Suni Paz is an Argentinian singer, songwriter, guitarist, poet, folklorist, translator, and teacher, who has recorded and has been published extensively. Paz is part of the progressive Latin American music movement known as nueva canción (new song).

Best known in the United States as a performing artist and prolific songwriter, Paz has been presenting Latin American culture to audiences of all ages for more than thirty years. In addition to eight CDs on the Smithsonian Folkways label, she has recorded more than four hundred songs for children and performed on the world stage alongside American icons that included Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Guy Carawan and Phil Ochs.

Biography

Born into a talented Argentine Italian-Catalan family of writers, musicians, linguists and poets, Paz started playing the guitar, writing songs, singing in choirs, and at family parties at age 12. From 1960 to 1963 she lived in Chile. From 1963 to 1965 she raised her two children alone, making a living by writing and singing advertising jingles for various companies and becoming a copywriter trainee for McCann Erickson-Chile.

In 1967, Paz moved to California with her two children. There, she designed curriculum for elementary schools presenting Latin American culture through songs, stories and dances. She studied voice, began her studies towards a BA in Sociology and Literature, remarried, got a school district permit to perform in the schools in Los Angeles and Oakland, and thus began her teaching and singing career in the United States.

Influenced by the Nueva canción movement, Paz began writing songs in folk styles with lyrics that addressed the poverty and inequality in Latin America.

In 1977, Paz completed an MA from Rutgers University and a teaching credential, and taught in New York City. Paz has two sons whom she enjoys involving in her recordings. Her eldest, Juan, played keyboard on several of her albums. Her youngest, Ramiro Fauve, a singer-songwriter and outstanding artist continues to create music with her. Paz currently splits time between Nevada and Los Angeles, California.

Also in 2007 Paz published a collection of autobiographical stories in English and Spanish entitled Sparkles & Shadows - from Innocence to Wisdom (Destellos y Sombras de la Inoncencia a la Madurez in Spanish) published by Del Sol Books.

In 2008 Paz was featured in Worlds of Sound: The Story of Smithsonian Folkways, by Richard Carlin.

Awards and honors In 2020, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded Paz a National Heritage Fellowship, the nation's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. The NEA described Paz as "One of the first artists to bring the nueva canción tradition—the 'new song' music of the 1960s and 1970s—to North American audiences, Paz's work as an American songwriter and performer of Latin American folk music has resonated as a cultural force engaging people of all backgrounds and ages."

In 2003, The Children's Music Network bestowed the Magic Penny Award on Paz, for her outstanding lifetime contribution to children's music.

Discography

Cantos de Las Posadas and Other Christmas Songs (recorded by Elena Paz and Carlos Garcia Travesi), 1963, Folkways Records

Brotando del Silencio - Breaking Out of the Silence, 1973, Paredon Records

Entre Hermanas: Between Sisters: Women's Songs in Spanish Sung by Suni Paz, 1977, Folkways

From the Sky of My Childhood / Del Cielo de Mi Ninez - Folk Songs from Latin America sung by Suni Paz, 1979, Folkways

Earth and Ocean Songs: Canciones del Mar y de la Tierra, 1982, Folkways

Hagamos Camimos: Andamos Student, 1986, Addison-Wesley

Brotes Sobre el Papel: Buds on Paper, 1987, Suni Paz

La Pajara Pinta, 1988, Santillana Publishing

Manana es Domingo, 1988, Santillana

Estaba la Pastora, 1988, Santillana

Las Semillas Magicas, 1988, Santillana

La Bella Durmiente, 1988, Santillana

La cenicienta, 1988, Santillana

Caperucita Roja, 1988, Santillana

Blancanieves, 1988, Santillana

Alerta Sings and Songs for the Playground/ Canciones Para el Recreo, 1989, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Aprender Cantando, 1990, Alma Flor Ada-Suni Paz

Songs in Spanish, 1992, Sanctuary Wooks-Scholastic

Amigos, 1994, Rei American

El Viejo Abuelo, 1995, Scholastic

Musica Matematica, 1995, Scholastic

Cantando con Suni Paz, 1995, Scholastic

Abecedario de los Animales, 1996, Alma Flor Ada-Suni Paz

Waves, 1996, Mimosa

Como Una Flor, 1996, Alma Flor Ada-Suni Paz

Cielo Abierto (K-2nd Grade), 1996, Harcourt-Brace

Cuentos Cantados (K-3rd Grade), 1997, Mimosa

Gathering the Sun, 1997, Alma Flor Ada-Suni Paz

Canciones Para el Recreo: Children's Songs for the Playground, 1998, Smithsonian Folkways

Smithsonian Folkways Children's Collection, 1998, Smithsonian Folkways

Alerta Sings and Songs for the Playground/ Canciones Para el Recreo, 2000, Smithsonian Folkways

Bandera Mía: Songs of Argentina, 2007, Smithsonian Folkways

Tú eres mi flor: Songs for Children en Español: Elizabeth Mitchell and Suni Paz, 2018, Smithsonian Folkways