Sephardic Songs with the Susana Behar Ensemble: Homegrown Plus

Welcome to the latest post in the Homegrown Plus series, featuring Susana Behar, one of the leading voices in Sephardic Song, along with a hand-picked ensemble of accompanists. Just like other blogs in the series, this one includes a concert video, a video interview with Susana, and connections to Library of Congress collections. Susana Behar was born in Havana to a Cuban family with roots in the Sephardic community of Turkey. From an early age, she was immersed in the traditional music of her homeland as well as the evocative kantikas in Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) passed down by her grandparents. In 1965 she emigrated to Venezuela, where she started to explore and perform the music of her adoptive country as well as Latin American and Jewish folklore. She earned a degree in biology from the Universidad Central de Venezuela before moving to Miami, where she has lived and performed ever since. For the concert, she was joined by Michel Gonzalez on guitar, Adolfo Herrera on percussion, and Saul Vera on mandolin and bandola llana.

For her concert, Susana Behar selected some of her favorite songs from the Ladino and Hebrew repertoires shared by many Sephardic artists, along with a few songs from her Cuban and Venezuelan heritage. This concert was presented in celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month and co-sponsored with the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History. Community support was provided by Sephardic Heritage International DC. Watch the concert in the player below, and follow along with the titles and descriptions just below the player!

Program:

1. Alta, Alta Es la Luna (High, high is the moon) – A poignant dialogue between mother and daughter, woven in a tender melody.
2. La Serena (The mermaid) – A haunting ballad about a young girl confined in a sea-bound tower.
3. Las Kasas de la Boda (The wedding houses) – A wedding song from the Bulgarian tradition, celebrating the beautifully adorned houses where brides dance, families gather and love is honored with music and ritual.
4. Katav Stav (The Winter Wrote) – Hebrew poem by Andalusian poet and philosopher Solomon Ibn Gabirol (c. 1021 – c. 1058); Music by Jose Luis de la Paz, Spain (1967 – 2025) “Katav Stav” is one of Gabirol’s secular poems, where winter becomes a divine artist.
5. Veinte Años (Twenty years) – Music: Maria Teresa Vera, Cuba (1895 – 1965); Lyrics: Guillermina Aramburú, Cuba (1894 – ?) “Veinte Años” is a timeless Cuban ‘habanera’, already considered a classic in the Cuban musical tradition. ‘If wishes came true, you’d love me as you did twenty years ago.’
6. Amor Eterno (Eternal love) – Salvador Salazar, Venezuela. A Venezuelan waltz, celebrating love that transcends time and distance.
7. Anderleto – A Sephardic romanza or ballad, from Sarajevo, tells the tale of a queen who is in love with her slave, Anderleto, and openly declares her love for him, even proclaiming that she loves him more than the king and all his kingdom.
8. Si Veriash a la Rana (If you could see the frog) – A children’s song about a frog, a mouse, and a camel preparing food together and sharing it with their friends. ‘Ben seni severim, çok seni severim’ (I love you, I love you very much!).
9. Erev Shel Shoshanim (Evening of roses) – Lyrics by Moshe Dor, Israel (1932 – 2016); Music by Yosef Hadar, Israel (1926-2006); “Erev Shel Shoshanim” is a Hebrew love song, evoking the fragrance and tenderness of a romantic evening in bloom.
10. Gülpembe (Pink rose) – A Sephardic love song, with lyrics that blend Judeo-Spanish and Turkish, showcasing the rich, multicultural heritage of the Sephardic diaspora. ‘Aman aman Gülpembe, ne bu güzellik sende (Oh, Pink Rose, what beauty is this in you).’
11. Los Kaminos de Sirkeci (The Roads of Sirkeci) – A young man walks up and down the sandy roads of Sirkeci in Istanbul, yearning to see his beloved.
12. Encore: Los Gizados de las Berendjenas (The ways to cook eggplant) – A song listing seven delicious ways to prepare eggplant.

In the interview, I talked to Susana about her life and career. She told me about her life in Cuba, the trauma of her family’s departure, and her life in Venezuela and the United States, with an emphasis on the intersection of her Latin American and Jewish heritage. To give you some career highlights, for almost 20 years, she has focused her artistic career on the preservation and performance of the Sephardic musical repertoire. Passionate about the richness of traditional music and its connection to cultural memory and storytelling, she has performed across the U.S., Latin America, Canada, Israel, and Japan. In 2017, she developed and premiered her project “Ladino Meets Latino,” incorporating songs from the Sephardic and Latin American musical traditions. Her work has been featured in award-winning films, radio programs, and collaborative productions, including the Kennedy Center’s celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month in 2024. To learn more, watch the interview in the player below!

You can find both of these videos with more bibliographic information on the Library of Congress website. You can also find them on the Library of Congress YouTube channel.

Collection Connections and Links

Friends and Partners

• First of all, visit Susana Behar online!
• This concert was presented in celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month.
• The Concert was co-sponsored with the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History.
• Community support was provided by Sephardic Heritage International DC.

Concerts and Other Videos with Sephardic Content

• Three Concerts and an Interview with Flory Jagoda, Trio Sefardi, and other friends
• Nani Noam Vazana Concert and Interview
• Moroccan-Jewish Musical Memory: The Abraham Pinto Collection (Lecture by Edwin Seroussi)
• Musical Soundscapes of Morocco (Lecture by Samuel Torjman Thomas)
• Ladino Songs & the Sephardic Diaspora (Concert by Sarah Aroeste, Shai Bachar, and Ellie Falaris Ganelin)

Collection Guides

• Jewish Culture and Traditions: Resources in the American Folklife Center
• Latinx and Latin American Collections: Resources in the American Folklife Center
• American Folklife Center Collections: Cuba

Munchas Grasyas!

As always, thanks for watching and listening (and reading)!

The American Folklife Center’s Homegrown Concert Series brings music, dance, and spoken arts from across the country, and some from further afield, to the Library of Congress. For information on current concerts, visit the Folklife Concerts page at Concerts from the Library of Congress. For past concerts, visit the Homegrown Concerts Online Archive.