Haydée Mercedes Sosa, known as La Negra, (July 9, 1935 October 4, 2009) was an Argentine singer who was popular throughout Latin America and internationally. With her roots in Argentine folk music, Sosa became one of the preeminent exponents of nueva canción. She gave voice to songs written by both Brazilians and Cubans. She was best known as the "voice of the voiceless ones".
Sosa performed in venues such as the Lincoln Center in New York City, the Théâtre Mogador in Paris and the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, as well as sell-out shows in New York's Carnegie Hall and the Roman Coliseum during her final decade of life. Her career spanned four decades and she has been the recipient of several Grammy awards and nominations, including three nominations which will be decided posthumously. She served as an ambassador for UNICEF.
Sosa was born on July 9, 1935, in San Miguel de Tucumán, in the northwestern Argentine province of Tucumán, of mestizo, French, and Quechua Amerindian ancestry. In 1950, at age fifteen, she won a singing competition organized by a local radio station and was given a contract to perform for two months. She recorded her first album, La Voz de la Zafra, in 1959.A performance at the National Folklore Festival brought her to the attention of her native countrypeople
Sosa and her first husband, Manuel Óscar Matus, with whom she had one son, were key players in the mid-60s nueva canción movement (which was called nuevo cancionero in Argentina).Her first record was Canciones con Fundamento, a collection of Argentine folk songs.
In 1967, Sosa toured the United States and Europe with great success. In later years, she performed and recorded extensively, broadening her repertoire to include material from throughout Latin America.
In the early 1970s, Sosa released two concept albums in collaboration with composer Ariel Ramírez and lyricist Félix Luna: Cantata Sudamericana and Mujeres Argentinas (Argentine Women). She also recorded a tribute to Chilean poet Violeta Parra in 1971, including what was to become one of Sosa's signature songs, Gracias a la Vida. She also improved the popularity of songs written by Milton Nascimento of Brazil and Pablo Milanés and Silvio Rodríguez of Cuba.
After the military junta of Jorge Videla came to power in 1976, the atmosphere in Argentina grew increasingly oppressive. At a concert in La Plata in 1979, Sosa was searched and arrested on stage, along with the attending crowd.[5] Their release came about through international intervention.Banned in her own country, she moved to Paris and then to Madrid. Her second husband died in 1978.
Sosa returned to Argentina in 1982, several months before the military regime collapsed as a result of the Falklands War, and gave a series of concerts at the Opera Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, where she invited many of her younger colleagues to share the stage. A double album of recordings from these performances became an instant best seller. In subsequent years, Sosa continued to tour both in Argentina and abroad, performing in such venues as the Lincoln Center in New York and the Théâtre Mogador in Paris. In a poor condition of health for much of the 1990s, she performed a comeback show in Argentina in 1998. In 1994, she played the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. In 2002, she sold out both Carnegie Hall in New York and the Coliseum in Rome in the same year.
A supporter of Perón in her youth, she favored leftist causes throughout her life. She opposed President Carlos Menem, who was in office from 1989 to 1999, and supported the election of Néstor Kirchner, who became president in 2003.[7] Sosa was a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Latin America and the Caribbean.
The song Balderrama is featured in the 2008 movie Che, starring Benicio del Toro. In a career consisting of four decades, she worked with performers across several genres and generations, folk, opera, pop, rock, including Lucio Dalla, Nana Mouskouri, Andrea Bocelli, Holly Near, Silvio Rodríguez, Pablo Milanés, Milton Nascimento, Caetano Veloso, Joan Manuel Serrat,[3] Chico Buarque, Gal Costa, Gian Marco, Konstantin Wecker, Lourdes Pérez, Nilda Fernández, Pata Negra, David Broza, Franco Battiato, Luz Casal, Ismael Serrano, Charly Garcia, Joan Baez, Luciano Pavarotti, Shakira and Sting.Sosa also participated in a 1999 production of Ariel Ramírez's Misa Criolla.
She was nicknamed "La Negra" for her Diaguitan origin.
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Luciano Pavarotti and Mercedes Sosa - Caruso (Argentina 1999)by luisalberto211231,605 views
@colina no sabes nada querido , como vas. A decir q esta mal lo q hizo fito,. Estubo muy bien, lo q importa es el momento y la performance, aparte eso lo hace para q no se pierda la negra, si supieras algo de musica te das cuenta, fito aunq le pifies la arregla
tevas8 5 months ago
Nunca pense decir esto, por que Rodolfo me parece lo mejor q tiene latinoamerica y sin miedo a sonar "raro" su musica y el me parecen preciosas en todo el sentido de la palabra, pero Fito en esta oportunidad te ubieras quedado callado!!! mucho Meche pa ti, desentonaste en tu cancion no por ti ni poa la cancion!! que espectacular Meche, se me escarapelo todo que buena version!! asi q fito para la otra con Meche tu shhhhhhhhhhh!!
carlosgarciacolina 9 months ago
desculpem, nao posso escrever mais nada, pois estou com laGRIMAS, E SO POSSO OFERECER MEU CORA©AO
edu1batera 1 year ago
buscando a fito...encontre a la negra.....
fito paez is a genius musician and mercedes sosa a great voice for all latin america.Negra Q.E.P.
elcachus 1 year ago
HUMANA, SENCILLA, PERO GRANDE A LA VEZ
perrote2009 1 year ago
tan tan tan maravillosa iba a ser una persona en esta tierra que los autores le regalaban las canciones, con el ego que suelen tener los artistas hoy en día..
no se puede creer que semejante voz haya expirado.. pero quedará cantando en los corazones de todo aquel que alguna vez la escucho
SofiCentes 2 years ago
thanks ... good bye sosa ..
beyazadamorg 2 years ago