Mercedes Sosa
July 9, 1935 – October 4, 2009
Mercedes Sosa was a popular Argentine folk singer whose countless fans spanned Latin America and beyond. She was both revered and vilified for being a voice of conscience throughout Latin America. When she was just 15, Sosa won a local talent contest which awarded her with her first recording contract. She went on to become one of the pioneers of the nueva cancion movement of the 1960’s. Nueva cancion had much in common with the folk music coming out of America at the time in that it was progressive and political at times. It is considered a foundation for Latin music’s rock en espanol. In the late ’70s, Sosa was arrested on stage due to her leftist political beliefs and banished from her own country, so she moved to Paris. Over the years, Sosa collaborated with the likes of Sting, Joan Baez, Shakira, and Luciano Pavarotti. She was a three-time Latin Grammy winner in the category of Best Folk Album. Mercedes Sosa died of kidney disease and other ailments on October 4, 2009. She was 74 years old.
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