For almost 20 years, Susana Behar 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 ÔLadino 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.

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 eventually started to expl