Mercedes Sosa was born July 9, 1935, in San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina. She was honored throughout the world as “The Voice of Latin America” and revered in her native Argentina as “a symbol of life and freedom,” Mercedes Sosa was a dynamic, inspiring figure, and one of the most versatile artists on the world music scene. Sosa was also widely known for her message of peace, international integration, defense of human rights and artistic and personal integrity.
After humble beginnings growing up in San Miguel de Tucuman, Mercedes Sosa spearheaded a traditional music and dance movement with her husband called Nuevo Cancionero which declared the materialization of protest music across Argentina and Chile. She served as a political figure of sorts by speaking out for the poor Argentines against military dictatorship and oppressive conditions.
In 1966, Sosa recorded Yo no canto por cantar, beginning a 33-year career with PolyGram Records while continuing to record political music banned from radio broadcasts. Viewed as a serious threat to Argentina’s military regime, Sosa was searched and arrested on stage at a concert in La Plata in 1979. After receiving a series of death threats she was forced into exile seeking refuge in Paris and Madrid, Spain, where she finally settled, but persisted touring the United States, Europe and Brazil.
Sosa made a triumphant return to Argentina in 1982, several months before the military regime collapsed as a result of the Malvines (Falklands) War, and gave a series of concerts at the Opera Theater in Buenos Aires. A live double album made up from these performances became an instant best seller.
In 2005, she released Corazón Libre, produced by renowned musician, vocalist, and arranger “Chango” Farias Gómez with Jorge Giuliano (her long-time accompanist) contributing his talents along with leading folk guitarists Luis Salinas, Eduardo Falú, and Alberto Rojo.
Using only simple acoustic guitar arrangements to accompany her legendary vocal style, Sosa went back to her roots and captured the spirit and soul of her homeland. The album contains folk-repertoire classics like “Zamba de Argamonte” and “Tonada del viejo amor,” but focused mainly on contemporary songs by Argentine poets and songwriters, whose lyrical and melancholy verses express a great connection with nature. “Todo Cambia” (Everything Changes), a new version of one of her biggest hits, is a very brave and meaningful song that has turned into a Latin American hymn as voiced by Sosa.
The songs also told of the “suffering earth,” the “forgotten street children,” “lost love,” and the escape into music: “Sometimes I sing ‘Milongas’ when it seems like life won’t go on.” The cover art for the album continued the simplistic theme of the album. It was drawn by friend and fan Joan Baez who gave it to Mercedes Sosa as a gift in 1988.
Through the years she continued to impress fans and critics alike. Mercedes Sosa also won two Latin Grammy Awards in the Best Folk Album category: Misa Criolla (2000) and Acústico (2003).
Mercedes Sosa died October 4, 2009, in Buenos Aires of liver disease. She was 74.
Discography
* Canciones con fundamento (Polygram/Universal, 1965)
* Yo no canto por cantar (Polygram/Universal, 1966)
* Hermano (Polygram/Universal, 1966)
* Para cantarle a mi gente (Polygram/Universal, 1967)
* Con sabor a Mercedes Sosa (Polygram/Universal, 1968)
* Mujeres argentinas (Polygram/Universal, 1969)
* Navidad con Mercedes Sosa (Polygram/Universal, 1970)
* El grito de la tierra (Polygram/Universal, 1970)
* Homenaje a Violeta Parra (Polygram/Universal, 1971)
* Hasta la victoria (Polygram/Universal, 1972)
* Cantata Sudamericana (Polygram/Universal, 1972)
* Traigo un pueblo en mi voz (Polygram/Universal, 1973)
* A que florezca mi pueblo (Polygram/Universal, 1975)
* En direccion del viento (Polygram/Universal, 1976)
* Mercedes Sosa interpreta a Atahualpa Yupanqui (Polygram/Universal, 1977)
* Serenata para la tierra de uno (Polygram/Universal, 1979)
* A quien doy (Polygram/Universal, 1980)
* Gravado ao vivo no Brasil (Polygram, 1980)
* Mercedes Sosa en Argentina (Polygram/Universal, 1982)
* Mercedes Sosa (Polygram/Universal, 1983)
* Como un pajaro libre (Polygram/Universal, 1983)
* Recital (Polygram/Universal, 1983)
* Sera Posible El Sur (Polygram/Universal, 1984)
* Vengo a Ofrecer Mi Corazon (Polygram/Universal, 1985)
* Mercedes Sosa ’86 (Polygram/Universal, 1986)
* Mercedes Sosa ’87 (Polygram/Universal, 1987)
* Amigos Mios (Polygram/Universal, 1988)
* En vivo en Europa (Polygram/Universal, 1990)
* De Mi (Polygram/Universal, 1991)
* 30 Años (Polygram/Verve, 1993)
* Sino (Polygram/Universal, 1993)
* Gestos de Amor (Polygram/Universal, 1994)
* Disco de Oro (Polygram/Universal, 1995)
* Escondido en Mi Pais (Polygram/Universal, 1996)
* Alta fidelidad (Mercury/Universal, 1997)
* Al Despertar (Mercury/Universal, 1998)
* Misa Criolla (2000)
* Acustico (Sony Discos, 2002)
* Corazon Libre (Philips/Edge Music/Deutsche Grammophon/Universal Classics, 2005)
Bibliography
Mercedes Sosa. La Negra (updated) by Rodolfo Braceli (Sudamericana, 2010)
Mercedes Sosa, La Negra is the definitive edition of the only biography that was made with her living word. At 67 years of age, in 2003, La Negra decided to tell his life story. Since she did not want to pretend to be a writer, hers is a biography spoken out loud. She counts and is counted. This is how, for a complex and atypical character, Rodolfo Braceli chose an unusual path. All his background as a writer, journalist, playwright, and poet is displayed in this original book from and about Mercedes Sosa. On the one hand, the story of the supreme singer-singer is the backbone. On the other, voices emerge: that of her mother and her brothers, that of her son and her friends. From time to time, figures such as León Gieco, Horacio Molina, Víctor Heredia, Liliana Herrero, Carlos Alonso and Charly García appear with memories of her. They complete the portrait of the other Mercedes, the one who was far from the ovations and very close to the people.
That’s not all: the montage adds to the voice, at times raw, of the protagonist, the story of dramatic and memorable episodes that marked her life and her career. This book that began to take shape almost half a century ago includes childhood, adolescence, artistic awakening, loves and heartbreaks, ideology, death threats, censorship and exile, glorious return in ’82, world consecration, illness with a desire for suicide in ’97, will. As Liliana Herrero wrote: “We are facing a passionate confession, but also before an extraordinary document. Before a political book and also deeply intimate, public and private, essential to tell the cultural history of this country.”
Mercedes Sosa. La mami (the mommy) by Fabián E. Matus (Planeta, 2016)
Mercedes’ first steps in Mendoza, the beginnings in a boarding house in Buenos Aires, the national tours, the Nuevo Cancionero, the forced exile, the historic return to Argentina, the concerts at the Ópera theater, the world tours, the epic of Singer, the intimacy behind the public figure, the good, and the bad. In Mercedes Sosa. La Mami, Fabián Matus dialogues with his memory to add to the family anecdotes numerous unpublished professional secrets, which include interviews with people from his closest environment and with musicians and friends who, like him, celebrate in this unique document the experiences that They went through together.
Todas las voces, todas. Mercedes Sosa y la política by Alexia Massholder (DLG, 2016)
Fabián Matus says: “Rereading a biography of the Mamma is always a pleasure but, in this case, another feeling is added to that feeling, pride. This work is the first that takes the task of telling us about Mercedes Sosa, companion, active, organizer, and militant. It allows us to know more about why she suffered accusations, persecution, threats, attacks and, finally, exile. It tells us the life of a woman who did not live in vain, who had the intelligence, sensitivity, and delicacy to hear and learn what her people needed from her as a singer. “
Mercedes Sosa by Caparrós, Martín; Rufiner, Álvaro (Andantes Ediciones, 2023)
Mercedes Sosa (1935-2009) was an immense singer and the conscious spokesperson for her ideas in the most diverse – sometimes extremely difficult – moments of her life and the history of the country. Her commitment was artistic and political, she was personal and transcended any border.
“We, the singers, have the obligation to show the works of new authors and composers. I like people who love music and literature. They are people with whom I feel like brothers even though we don’t speak the same language.”
The Musical Trajectories collection presents an essay about her life and work, by Álvaro Rufiner, along with an interview by Martín Caparrós and an extensive discography.
Mercedes Sosa – La Voz de la Esperanza: Un encuentro que cambió mi vida by Anette Christensen (2017)
Cantora: Mercedes Sosa, the Voice of Latin America by Melisa Fernández Nitsche (2023)
(Special thanks to Araceli Matus for providing bibliograby update)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
Updated bibliography.