Forever renamed“la Negra,” Mercedes Sosa left her cherished Tucumán Province to take her singing to other lands and become the greatest singer we ever had.
America's Voice. After her first performance in Cosquín (1965)—the largest festival of folklore music in Argentina—la Negra set off on a journey that took her to an immediate success. She performed on the world's most important stages (the Carnegie Hall in the United States, the Olympia in Paris), and shared albums and concerts with outstanding national and international artists such as Luciano Pavarotti and Sting.But Mercedes' exceptional talent not only gave folklore a voice worldwide; with her music she got to sing the silent voices of a whole continent. Through her “founded singing,” she became a real Latin American, rather than national, ambassador. The numerous accolades she received for her talent and social commitment confirm this—she was awarded several Latin Grammys and the Unesco Prize for her defense of women's rights.
Everything Changes. During her time in Mendoza, she gave birth to a revolutionary singing. There, she founded the New Songbook with other artists. Amidst the Argentine folklore “boom” and the high-spirited 60s, this movement would renew popular music, breaking the barriers of music genres and the corset of the established poetic language, to sing with the freedom and unity that the continent needed.
“If the Singer Falls Silent, Life Falls Silent.” Even in poor health, even during political exile, la Negra continued freeing hope with a shout in her voice, as in her song Canción con todos. In 2009 death tried to silent her voice for ever without taking into account that her singing had already become the root of a people that continues to sing her songs.
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