Lhasa de Sela (September 27, 1972 – January 1, 2010), also known by the mononym Lhasa, was an American-Mexican-Canadian singer-songwriter who was raised in Mexico and the United States and divided her adult life between Canada and France. Her first album, La Llorona, went Platinum in Canada and brought Lhasa a Félix Award and a Juno Award.

Following this success, Lhasa toured with Lilith Fair and then joined her sisters in a French circus troupe, contributing her husky voice to the musical backdrop. She lived in Marseille and began to write more songs, then she moved back to Montreal and produced a second album, The Living Road. Once again, she toured in support of her album and collaborated with other musicians on their projects. During this time, BBC Radio 3 honoured her as the best world music artist of the Americas in 2005. She published a book about her impressions of life on the road.

Lhasa recorded a third album, titled Lhasa, but she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008. After 21 months of treatment, she died on New Year's Day 2010. A memorial program of her music was produced in January 2012, performed in Montreal by artists who had worked with her.

Early life

Lhasa was born in Big Indian, New York, the daughter of a Mexican father, language instructor Alejandro "Alex" Sela, and an American mother, photographer and actress Alexandra Karam. According to Lhasa, her parents did not give her a name until the age of five months; her mother was reading a book about Tibet and the word Lhasa "just grabbed her" as the right name for the baby girl. Lhasa's maternal grandmother was Elena Karam (1909–2001), an actress best known for her leading role in Elia Kazan's film America America. Her paternal grandmother was Carmen de Obarrio (1906–1982), a Panamanian pianist who studied in Los Angeles with Egon Petri, and with Edgar Varèse in San Francisco. Lhasa had a Lebanese great-grandfather named Basel who sang in six languages. Her mother played harp and her father played flute. Both her parents spoke fluent Spanish, but she was raised speaking primarily English, with Spanish added during a total of eight years' residence in Mexico. Even though she did not consider herself fluent in Spanish, Lhasa said that she enjoyed singing in the language because it came from "a deeper place". The album brought Lhasa much success, including the Quebec Félix Award in Canada for "Artiste québécois – musique du monde" ("Best world music artist from Quebec") in 1997 and a Canadian Juno Award for Best Global Artist in 1998. The album was certified Platinum in Canada. By 2003, it had sold 120,000 units in Canada, 330,000 in France, and 30,000 in the U.S.

thumb|left|Lhasa performing in [[Stuttgart in 2005]]

After touring in Europe and North America for several years with Lilith Fair, Lhasa moved to France in 1999 to join her sisters in Pocheros, a circus/theatre company. The Living Road was nominated for best "Culture Crossing" album and "Album of the Year", but it did not win. Her song "Anywhere On This Road" was placed on the annual compilation CD of award winners; the BBC cited Ibrahim Maalouf's "alluring Arabic trumpet" on the song as "just one stunning moment" among many within Lhasa's album. Lhasa filmed a video for the song "Con toda palabra"; directed by Ralph Dfouni and Brigitte Henry, the video was nominated in 2006 for a Juno Award but did not win. At the 2007 ION International Film Festival, the video was named the "Music Video of the Year".

Lhasa published a French-language book in 2008, titled La Route chante (The Road sings). The book offers snippets of experiences and impressions of Lhasa's life on the road with her sisters, of music, and of her childhood.

Lhasa's third album Lhasa was released in April 2009 in Canada and Europe, with fewer musicians involved in the production. The album was recorded while Lhasa was being treated for breast cancer. The album's closing song, "Anyone and Everyone", was described as prophetic by Jan Fairley of The Guardian – it was written from the viewpoint of one who knows death is near. Lhasa said that the song was about inner happiness and "feeling my feet in the earth, having a place in the world, of things taking care of themselves."

Death

Following a 21-month-long battle with breast cancer, Lhasa died, age 37, on the evening of January 1, 2010, at her home in Montreal. She was survived by her partner Ryan Morey, by her parents, and by nine siblings.

Following her death, it snowed in Montreal for four days. Lhasa collaborator Patrick Watson said that some of her friends felt it was a last message from her, and with experimental group Esmerine he co-wrote a song dedicated to Lhasa: "Snow Day for Lhasa". Lhasa's manager, David-Étienne Savoie, and her collaborator Watson originated the concept of a memorial concert, and the musicians met in Watson's studio to rehearse. To open the concert, the Barr Brothers played together with Sarah Pagé, Miles Perkin and Joe Grass, interpreting Lhasa's "Small Song". Other performers included Ariane Moffatt, Esmerine, Watson, Mario Légaré, Arthur H, Jérôme Minière and Brazilian-born singer Bïa. A second show was added the following night to accommodate demand for tickets.

On January 16, Jim Corcoran devoted an episode of his CBC Radio One program À Propos, a weekly show about Quebec music, to a Lhasa tribute show.

On the summer solstice, June 21, 2010, another memorial ceremony took place in Bourgogne, France. Some of Lhasa's ashes were dispersed in a small river that flows into the Mediterranean Sea.

In 2014, a park located in her home neighbourhood Mile End, Montreal, was renamed to commemorate her.

She is the subject of Lhasa, a forthcoming documentary film by Sophie Leblond.

Discography

Albums

  • La Llorona (1997)
  • The Living Road (2003)
  • Lhasa (2009)
  • Live in Reykjavik (2017)
  • First Recordings (with Yves Desrosiers) (2024)

Filmography

  • El Desierto (1997)
  • Con toda palabra (2005)
  • Rising (2009)
  • Cold Souls (2009)

References

  • Lhasa de Sela official website