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Futuro. the show. Dear listener, we're going to start our episode in Colombia in South America.

The year is 1998.

And what I'm about to play is a clip of Petrona Martinez,

one of the most important black singers in Colombia.

This type of music is called Buyerengue.

It was captured in a documentary called La Tierra Santa of Petrona Martinez.

Petrona was in her late 60s. She was on stage in Bogota, the concert that introduced her to the rest of Colombia.

She was not a known name at all, but the audience loved her music.

And the weird thing is, those in the audience thought she was Cuban or from the Antilles.

They didn't think she was Colombian.

See, the thing is, Colombia kind of likes to portray itself as a very white country.

A lot of people seem to forget that Colombia is the blackest country in all of Latin America, except for Brazil, even though about 20% of the country's population is Afro-Columbian.

Now add to that, the fact that Petronan was from the rural area of Colombia,

and you get a woman who had an extra set of challenges in order to become a musical star.

But against all odds, she became an icon, and this concert was her big break.

She went on to receive national and international accolades. At the age of 82, she received her first Latin Grammy for Best Folklore for her album Ancestras.

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