Yma Sumac’s Untold Ellis Island Story

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Foundation remembers Yma Sumac, the influential Peruvian-born singer, composer, actress, and model.

A music pioneer, Yma Sumac can be found in the Ellis Island Passenger Database as she passed through the Port of New York while traveling back from a tour in Europe. She was held at Ellis Island for seven days for charges that were not made public.

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