Golden Voice, Ros Serey Sothea - Print
An homage to Ros Serey Sothea, an artist gone too soon, and to the creativity + resilience of Cambodia’s culture and people.
✨ $10 from every print sold will be donated to Khmer Girls in Action, an organization founded by 1.5-2nd gen Cambodian youth and dedicated to building a progressive and sustainable Long Beach community that works for racial, gender, and economic justice. Learn more at kgalb.org ✨
Note: Currently, only shipping within the United States.
13x16 print
80 lb cover cardstock
Frame not included. Fits 16x20 IKEA Ribba with mat.
Before the Vietnam War and Cambodian genocide devastated SE Asia in the 1970s, the art, music, and cultural landscape in Cambodia was blossoming. One of its most iconic singing voices, one I grew up hearing around the house and at banquet dinner parties year round, belonged to Ros Serey Sothea. She was a country girl from Battambang who grew up on a farm with her siblings, selling sea snails in the village market. After winning a regional singing contest, she was invited to sing in Phnom Penh where her musical career took off. She sang every genre; romantic ballads emerged as her biggest hits.
During the Khmer Rouge regime under Pol Pot, creativity in any form was viewed as decadence and considered too influential in the face of the government. Artists and musicians were rounded up and sent into the killing fields. Sothea disappeared during this time and her exact fate has never been confirmed, but her legacy certainly remains.
To learn more about musical artists like Sothea who shaped Cambodian culture and the vintage music landscape, the documentary Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten is a great place to start.