Fatima will sing some American standards, as well as a number of Vietnamese songs for which she wrote English lyrics. Some samples on her MySpace here.

This mix-and-match may be reflective of her own background: Fatima is 1/4 Asian Indian, her father is half Indian and a Muslim, her mother a successful Vietnamese teen-pop singer and a Buddhist, and so is Fatima. At 2 years old, Fatima moved from Vietnam to France, lived there for 7 years and then moved to California and has been here every since.

Fatima’s father Yersin Mougammadou is named after the Swiss-French physician who discovered the plague bacteria, and who came to live, work, and then die in what was French Indochina. A restaurateur by trade, Fatima’s father is probably the most well-read person in Little Saigon. Any book, magazine, newspaper, whatever that’s printed with Vietnamese words, he reads them. And can critically analyze them.

Yesterday evening was nice for the Bolsavik. First, he was at the Borders bookstore in South Coast Plaza watching a young Vietnamese-American singer/songwriter perform from her upcoming CD. Then he joined up with Duc Nguyen, the director of Bolinao 52, for late-night pho to celebrate the successful screening and panel discussion of his boat people documentary at Chapman University.

Fatima has a very unique ethnic heritage. Her full name is Fatima Mougammadou. Her father is part Vietnamese, part Indian (as in South Asian), and a Muslim. Her mother is Vietnamese and Buddhist.

Fatima’s album Layers is also unique. It features several well-known Vietnamese pop melodies with English lyrics written by Fatima herself.

At Borders, Fatima also sang two of the Bolsavik’s favorite American classics: The Shadow of Your Smile and Moon River.

The title song Layers is Fatima’s English version of Con Gio Thoang by Quoc Dung. Quoc Dung and Fatima’s mother Thanh Mai used to be a hot duet item in pre-communist Vietnam. More or less Vietnam’s answer to Sonny and Cher. Except that Thanh Mai was a cute teenager with a bright sunny voice and not like Cher at all.

Fatima has some of her songs up on her MySpace here.