File:Suni Paz in a red poncho, holding her guitar.jpg

English: Suni Paz was one of the first artists to bring the nueva canción tradition—the “new song” music of the 1960s and 1970s—to North American audiences. For more than half of a century, her 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.

“Suni Paz", means “everlasting peace” in the Quechua language of the Andes. She has performed at folk music concerts both nationally and internationally. In 1973, she recorded her first album, Brotando Del Silencio/Breaking Out of the Silence, on Paredón Records, accompanied by her son, Ramiro Fauve. Twenty-two albums followed, including 11 on Smithsonian Folkways.

A 1985 project to create a Spanish-language reading curriculum led to decades of collaboration with renowned authors Alma Flor Ada and Francisca Isabel Campoy (Del Sol Books). “Suni’s gifted voice and exquisite performance reaches all, from young children to adults,” wrote Ada. “Her life has been a determined commitment to support the development of a positive identity in all Latino youth.”

Paz has received many honors, including the CMN Magic Penny Award, the National Culture Through the Arts Award from NY State Assoc. of Foreign Language Teachers, the Nat. Fed. of Local Cable TV Prog. Award, a National Heritage Fellowship, and successive ASCAP Plus Awards. In 2017, Paz’s autobiography, Destellos was recognized with the International Latino Book Awards.